Iowa General Assembly

Infobox Legislature
name = Iowa General Assembly
coa_pic = Iowastateseal.jpg
coa-pic =
session_room = Iowa capitol.jpg
house_type = Bicameral
houses = Senate
House of Representatives
leader1_type = President of the Senate
leader1 = Jack Kibbie
party1 = Democrat
election1 = January 8, 2007
leader2_type = Speaker of the House
leader2 = Pat Murphy
party2 = Democrat
election2 = January 8, 2007
members = 150
p_groups = Democratic Party
Republican Party
election3 = November 7, 2006
meeting_place = Iowa State Capitol, Des Moines
website = http://www.legis.state.ia.us

The Iowa General Assembly (IGA) is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Representatives respectively.

The General Assembly convenes within the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.

Composition

Currently, there are 50 senators and 100 representatives. Each senator represents about 59,500 people and each representative about 29,750 people. The last redistricting was enacted on June 22, 2001 for the 2002 elections of the 108th U.S. Congress and 80th IGA. The IGA convenes annually on the second Monday in January. [http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Central/Guides/gaguide.pdf]

Both houses of the IGA are currently controlled by Democrats, as is the Governor's office, the first time in four decades that such an alignment has occurred. [http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/01/06/news/state/doc459f42a1d7b02884869983.txt] Thirty of the 50 Senate seats and 53 of the 100 House seats are in Democratic hands.

Prior to the 2006 elections, Iowa had one of the most evenly divided state legislatures in the country, with a 25-25 split in the Senate and the House composed of 51 Republicans and 49 Democrats.

Leaders in the Senate are President Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg, and President Pro Tempore Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls. Partisan Senate leadership includes Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, and Minority Leader Ron Wieck, R-Sioux City.

In the House, the Speaker is Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, and the Speaker Pro Tempore Polly Bukta, D-Clinton. Partisan House leadership includes Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines, and Minority Leader Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City.

{| class="wikitable"
-
colspan="2" rowspan="1" align="center" valign="top" | Affiliation (Senate)
valign="top" | Members
-
American politics/party colours/Democratic|
Democratic Party
30
-
American politics/party colours/Republican|
Republican Party
20
-
colspan="2" rowspan="1" | Total
50
-
colspan="2" rowspan="1" | Government Majority
10

ee also

*Iowa Senate
*Iowa House of Representatives
*State of Iowa

External links

* [http://www.legis.state.ia.us/ Iowa General Assembly official website]
* [http://www.legis.state.ia.us/IACODE/ Iowa Code]
* [http://www.legis.state.ia.us/Constitution.html Iowa Constitution]