North Carolina Senate
Upper house of the bicameral North Carolina General Assembly / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for each senator is only two years.[1]
North Carolina Senate | |
|---|---|
| North Carolina General Assembly | |
| |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
New session started | January 1, 2023 |
| Leadership | |
Majority Leader | |
Minority Leader | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 50 |
 | |
Political groups | Majority
Minority
|
Length of term | 2 years |
| Elections | |
Last election | November 8, 2022 (50 seats) |
Next election | November 5, 2024 (50 seats) |
| Meeting place | |
| Senate chamber North Carolina Legislative Building Raleigh, North Carolina, United States | |
| Website | |
| www | |
| Constitution | |
| North Carolina Constitution | |
The Senate's prerogatives and powers are similar to those of the other house, the House of Representatives. Its members do, however, represent districts that are larger than those of their colleagues in the House. The President of the Senate is the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, but the Lt. Governor has very limited powers and only votes to break a tie. Before the office of Lt. Governor was created in 1868, the Senate was presided over by a "Speaker." After the 1988 election of James Carson Gardner, the first Republican Lt. Governor since Reconstruction, Democrats in control of the Senate shifted most of the power held by the Lt. Governor to the senator who is elected President Pro Tempore (or Pro-Tem). The President Pro Tempore appoints members to standing committees of the Senate, and holds great sway over bills.
According to the state constitution, the Senate is also the "Court for the Trial of Impeachments". The House of Representatives has the power to impeach state officials, after which the Senate holds an impeachment trial, as in the federal system. If the Governor or Lt. Governor is the official who has been impeached, the Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court presides.