Kansas Senate

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Kansas Senate
Kansas Legislature
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 11, 2021
Leadership
President
Ty Masterson (R)
since January 11, 2021
Vice President
Rick Wilborn (R)
since January 11, 2021
Majority Leader
Larry Alley (R)
since May 26, 2021
Minority Leader
Dinah Sykes (D)
since January 11, 2021
Structure
Seats40
KansasSenate2021.svg
Political groups
Majority
  •   Republican (29)

Minority

Length of term
4 years
AuthorityArticle 2, Kansas Constitution
Salary$88.66/day + per diem
Elections
Last election
November 8, 2016
(40 seats)
Next election
November 3, 2020
(40 seats)
Redistricting
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber
Kansas State Capitol
Topeka, Kansas
Website
Official website

The Kansas Senate is the upper house of the Kansas Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Kansas. It is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of districts, each with a population of at least 60,000 inhabitants. Members of the Senate are elected to a four-year term. There is no limit to the number of terms that a senator may serve. The Kansas Senate meets at the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka.

Like other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the Senate is reserved with special functions such as confirming or rejecting gubernatorial appointments to executive departments, the state cabinet, commissions and boards.

History[]

The Kansas Senate was created by the Kansas Constitution when Kansas became the 34th state of United States on January 29, 1861. Six days after its admission into the Union, the Confederate States of America formed between seven Southern states that had seceded from the United States in the previous months, leading to the American Civil War.

War bonds became a central political issue in Kansas shortly when the Kansas Senate held impeachment trials in 1862, brought about in part by United States Republican Party infighting.[1] The Kansas Senate voted narrowly to convict Kansas Secretary of State J. W. Robinson, and State Auditor George S. Hillyer over what they believed to be the unlawful sale of state bonds.[1] With little evidence of a conspiracy and the smaller role of Governor Charles L. Robinson, his impeachment trial ended with only three state senators voting to convict him.[1]

The state legislature met in a building known as the Old Constitutional Hall until their offices were moved to the east wing of the Kansas State Capitol in 1869, which was still undergoing construction.[2] The Kansas Senate first met there in 1870, though the east wing was not completed until 1873.[2] Work would continue on the building until March 24, 1903.[2]

Prohibitionist, Progressive and Populist movements rose in Kansas in the late 19th century. On February 19, 1881, Kansas became the first state to amend its constitution to prohibit alcoholic beverages.[3] After 1890, prohibition was joined with progressivism to create a reform movement.[3] The Populist Party won the governor's office and control of the Kansas Senate in 1892.[4] Although they did not gain control of the Kansas House of Representatives, the Populists went ahead and claimed it, alleging election fraud.[4] This led to a legislative war between the two parties and eventually ended with a Kansas Supreme Court decision against the Populist faction of the Kansas House.[4]

The Kansas Senate chamber in 1905

The Kansas Senate helped enact a law in 1905 to restrict children under 14 from working in factories, meatpacking houses, or mines.[5]

With the help of progressive state senators, women gained the right to vote through a constitutional amendment approved by Kansans on November 5, 1912.

The Kansas Democratic Party only gained control of the Kansas Senate briefly in the early 1900s and haven't held it since 1917.[6]

Since 1966, the Kansas Legislature holds annual general sessions. A constitutional amendment adopted at the 1974 general election extended the duration of the session held in the even-numbered years from 60 to 90 calendar days, subject to extension by a vote of two-thirds of the elected membership of each house.[7]

In the 2000s the Kansas Democratic Party was able to win statewide offices and make gains in the Kansas Senate by benefiting from tension in the Kansas Republican Party between its conservative and moderate wings.[8][9][10] These gains, however, were erased in the 2010 Kansas elections.

Legislative procedure[]

Terms begin and the legislature commences on the second Monday in January following the general election.[11][7] Senators introduce a proposed law in the Senate in the form of a bill, which must be approved by a standing committee, the Committee of the Whole and the entire membership of the chamber.[7] Bills are subject to amendment by other senators in committee or on the floor of the chamber.[7]

A bill must be approved by both houses of the Kansas Legislature in order to be submitted to the governor, who can sign it into law or veto the bill.[7] Legislators can override a veto with the support of two-thirds majority of both houses.[7]

Leadership[]

The President of the Senate presides over the body, is a member of the Organization, Calendar and Rules Committee that appoints members to the remaining Kansas Senate committees and joint committees and has the power to create other committees and subcommittees. Unlike many other states, the Lieutenant Governor of Kansas does not preside over the state senate. Since a 1972 amendment to the Kansas Constitution, the lieutenant governor's duties have been severed from the legislative branch, and is active in other areas of the Kansas state government such as commissions on military affairs and health insurance. In the senate president's absence, the senate vice-president presides. The President of the Kansas Senate assigns proposed bills to committees and the majority leader determines the calendar and order of bills to be debated on the floor of the Kansas Senate. The Organization, Rules and Calendar Committee is made up of the President, Vice-President, Majority leader, Assistant Majority Leader, Minority Leader and four senators elected by the majority caucus.

The current President of the Senate is Republican Ty Masterson of District 16 (Wichita). The Senate Majority Leader is Larry Alley of District 32 (Winfield). The Senate Minority Leader is Democrat Dinah Sykes of District 21 (Lenexa).[12]

Party composition[]

Map of current (March 2021) partisan composition of legislative districts for state senate:
  Republican senator
  Democratic senator
  Seat vacant
Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
 Total
Republican Ind Democratic Vacant
End 2008 30 0 10 40 0
Begin (January 2009) 31 0 9 40 0
End 2012 32 8
2013-2016 32 0 8 40 0
Begin (2017) 31 0 9 40 0
April 25, 2017[13] 30 39 1
April 30, 2017[14] 31 40 0
March 7, 2018[15] 30 1
September 25, 2018[16] 29 39 1
October 22, 2018[17] 30 40 0
November 30, 2018[18] 29 39 1
December 1, 2018[19] 8 38 2
December 12, 2018[20] 28 9
December 14, 2018[21] 29 39 1
December 19, 2018[22] 28 10
January 2019[23] 11 40 0
July 29, 2019[24] 29 0
Latest voting share 72.5% 27.5%

Officers[]

Position Name Party
President of the Senate Ty Masterson Republican
Vice President of the Senate Rick Wilborn Republican
Majority Leader Larry Alley Republican
Minority Leader Dinah Sykes Democratic

List of current senators[]

District Senator Party Since Residence Counties represented
1 Dennis Pyle Republican 2005 Hiawatha Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Jackson, Marshall, Nemaha, Pottawatomie
2 Marci Francisco Democratic 2005 Lawrence Douglas, Jefferson
3 Tom Holland Democratic 2009 Baldwin City Douglas, Leavenworth
4 David Haley Democratic 2001 Kansas City Wyandotte
5 Jeff Pittman Democratic 2021 Leavenworth Leavenworth, Wyandotte
6 Pat Pettey Democratic 2013 Kansas City Johnson, Wyandotte
7 Ethan Corson Democratic 2021 Fairway Johnson
8 Cindy Holscher Democratic 2021 Overland Park Johnson
9 Beverly Gossage Republican 2021 Eudora Johnson
10 Mike Thompson Republican 2020 Shawnee Johnson, Wyandotte
11 Kellie Warren Republican 2021 Leawood Johnson
12 Caryn Tyson Republican 2013 Parker Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Franklin, Linn, Miami
13 Richard Hilderbrand Republican 2017 Baxter Springs Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette
14 Michael Fagg Republican 2021 El Dorado Butler, Chautauqua, Coffey, Cowley, Elk, Greenwood, Montgomery, Wilson, Woodson
15 Virgil Peck Jr. Republican 2021 Havana Labette, Montgomery, Neosho
16 Ty Masterson Republican 2009 Andover Butler, Sedgwick
17 Jeff Longbine Republican 2010 Emporia Geary, Lyon, Pottawatomie, Wabaunsee
18 Kristen O'Shea Republican 2021 Topeka Pottawatomie, Shawnee, Wabaunsee
19 Rick Kloos Republican 2021 Berryton Douglas, Jefferson, Osage, Shawnee
20 Brenda Dietrich Republican 2021 Topeka Shawnee, Wabaunsee
21 Dinah Sykes Democratic 2017 Lenexa Johnson
22 Tom Hawk Democratic 2013 Manhattan Clay, Geary, Riley
23 Robert S. Olson Republican 2011 Olathe Johnson
24 J. R. Claeys Republican 2021 Salina Dickinson, Saline
25 Mary Ware Democratic 2019 Wichita Sedgwick
26 Dan Kerschen Republican 2013 Garden Plain Sedgwick
27 Gene Suellentrop Republican 2017 Wichita Sedgwick
28 Mike Petersen Republican 2005 Wichita Sedgwick
29 Oletha Faust-Goudeau Democratic 2009 Wichita Sedgwick
30 Renee Erickson Republican 2021 Wichita Sedgwick
31 Carolyn McGinn Republican 2005 Sedgwick Harvey, Sedgwick
32 Larry Alley Republican 2017 Winfield Barber, Comanche, Cowley, Harper, Kingman, Sedgwick, Sumner
33 Alicia Straub Republican 2021 Ellinwood Barton, Edwards, Hodgeman, Kiowa, Lane, Ness, Pawnee, Pratt, Rice, Rush, Scott, Stafford
34 Mark Steffen Republican 2021 Hutchinson Kingman, Reno
35 Rick Wilborn Republican 2015 McPherson Chase, Dickinson, Ellsworth, Marion, McPherson, Morris, Rice
36 Elaine Bowers Republican 2013 Concordia Cloud, Jewell, Lincoln, Marshall, Mitchell, Osborne, Ottawa, Phillips, Republic, Rooks, Russell, Smith, Washington
37 Molly Baumgardner Republican 2014 Louisburg Johnson, Miami
38 Ron Ryckman Republican 2021 Meade Clark, Ford, Gray, Hodgeman, Meade, Seward
39 John Doll Republican 2017 Garden City Finney, Grant, Greeley, Hamilton, Haskell, Kearny, Morton, Stanton, Stevens, Wichita
40 Rick Billinger Republican 2017 Goodland Cheyenne, Decatur, Ellis, Gove, Graham, Logan, Norton, Phillips, Rawlins, Sheridan, Sherman, Thomas, Trego, Wallace

Past composition of the Senate[]

Main article: Political party strength in Kansas

See also[]

  • List of Kansas state legislatures

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Ewing, Cortez A. M. "Early Kansas Impeachments," Kansas Historical Quarterly, August 1932 (Vol. 1, No. 4), p. 307-325, digitized with permission of the Kansas Historical Society. (accessed July 26, 2013)
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kansas State Capitol, Kansapedia, Kansas Historical Society, December 2004. (accessed July 26, 2013)
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Bader, Robert Smith. Prohibition in Kansas: A History (1986)
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Cool Things – Legislative War Artifacts, Kansapedia, Kansas Historical Society, November 1997. (accessed July 26, 2013)
  5. ^ Children in Kansas – 1890s–1920s, Kansapedia (accessed July 26, 2013)
  6. ^ Office of Secretary of State.[1] Archived 2011-12-25 at the Wayback Machine "Kansas History", August 1, 2011.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Kansas Legislative Research Manual Kansas Legislative Procedures," Archived 2013-05-10 at the Wayback Machine March 12, 2009. (accessed July 26, 2013)
  8. ^ Slevin, Peter (2006-10-19). ""Moderates in Kansas Decide They're Not in GOP Anymore," Washington Post". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  9. ^ Wickham, DeWayne (2006-06-05). ""Kansas Political Shifts Sign Of Things To Come?," USA Today". Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  10. ^ ""Kansas Republicans Evolve – Into Democrats," Salon". Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  11. ^ "Kansas Constitution" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 8, 2021.
  12. ^ http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/chamber/senate/leadership/
  13. ^ Republican Jacob LaTurner (District 13) resigned after being appointed Kansas State Treasurer. [2]
  14. ^ Republican Richard Hildebrand appointed to succeed LaTurner. [3]
  15. ^ Sen. John Doll (R) changed party affiliation to Independent
  16. ^ Republican Steve Fitzgerald (District 5) resigned. [4]
  17. ^ Republican Kevin Braun appointed to succeed Fitzgerald. [5]
  18. ^ Republican Vicki Schmidt (District 20) resigned after being elected Kansas Insurance Commissioner. [6]
  19. ^ Democrat Laura Kelly (District 18) resigned after being elected Governor.
  20. ^ Barbara Bollier (District 7) switched parties from Republican to Democratic. [7]
  21. ^ Eric Rucker is appointed to replace former Senator Vicki Schmidt.
  22. ^ Dinah Sykes (District 21) switched parties from Republican to Democratic. [8]
  23. ^ Vic Miller is appointed to replace former Senator Laura Kelly.
  24. ^ John Doll (District 39) rejoins the Republican party. [9]

External links[]

Coordinates: 39°02′54″N 95°40′41″W / 39.04833°N 95.67806°W / 39.04833; -95.67806

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