Ohio Senate

Ohio Senate
Ohio Senate
	Ohio General Assembly
Type
Type	Upper House
Term limits	2 terms (8 years)
History
New session started	January 7, 2013
Leadership
President of the Senate	Keith Faber, (R); Since January 7, 2013
President Pro Tempore	Chris Widener, (R); Since January 7, 2013
Majority Leader	Tom Patton, (R); Since September 21, 2011
Minority Leader	Eric Kearney, (D); Since January 31, 2012
Structure
Seats	33
Political groups	Republican Party (23); Democratic Party (10)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article II, Ohio Constitution
Salary	$60,584/year
Elections
Last election	November 6, 2012; (17 seats)
Next election	November 4, 2014; (16 seats)
Meeting place
	State Senate Chamber; Ohio State Capitol; Columbus, Ohio
Website
	Ohio State Senate

The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly, the legislative body for the U.S. state of Ohio. There are 33 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Columbus. The President of the Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Tom Niehaus.

Senators serve four year terms. The terms of the Senators are staggered so that approximately half the membership is elected every two years. The Senators representing the even-numbered districts are elected in years evenly divisible by four. The Senators from the odd-numbered districts are elected in the intervening even-numbered years. Senators are limited to two terms.

Each Senator represents approximately 330,000 Ohioans, and each Senate District encompasses three corresponding Ohio House of Representatives Districts.

Composition

130th General Assembly (2013–2014)

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
End of previous legislature	23	10	33	0

Begin	23	10	33	0
Latest voting share	69.7%	30.3%

Leadership

Seal of the President

Majority leadership

President of the Senate: Keith Faber
President pro tempore of the Senate: Chris Widener
Floor Leader: Tom Patton
Whip: Larry Obhof

Minority leadership

Leader: Eric Kearney
Assistant Leader: Joe Schiavoni
Whip: Nina Turner
Assistant Whip: Edna Brown

Members of the 130th Senate

District	Senator	Party	Residence	First elected	Term Limited	Seniority	Leadership
1	Cliff Hite	Republican	Findlay	2011 (Appt. 02/2011)	2022	24	Agriculture Committee Chairman
2	Randy Gardner	Republican	Bowling Green	2012	2020	32
3	Kevin Bacon	Republican	Worthington	2010	2018	18	Commerce & Labor Committee Chairman
4	Bill Coley	Republican	Middletown	2011 (Appt. 05/2011)	2020	26	Civil Justice Chairman
5	Bill Beagle	Republican	Tipp City	2010	2018	22	Workforce & Economic Development Committee Chairman
6	Peggy Lehner	Republican	Kettering	2011 (Appt. 01/2011)	2020	23
7	Shannon Jones	Republican	Springboro	2009 (Appt. 08/2009)	2018	13	Medicaid, Health & Human Services Committee Chairwoman
8	Bill Seitz	Republican	Cincinnati	2007 (Appt. 08/2007)	2016	7	Public Utilities Committee Chairman
9	Eric Kearney	Democratic	Cincinnati	2005 (Appt. 12/2005)	2014	1	Minority Leader
10	Chris Widener	Republican	Springfield	2008	2016	10	President Pro Tempore
11	Edna Brown	Democratic	Toledo	2010	2018	15	Assistant Minority Whip
12	Keith Faber	Republican	Celina	2007 (Appt. 01/2007)	2016	4	President of the Senate
13	Gayle Manning	Republican	North Ridgeville	2010	2018	20	Transportation Committee Chairwoman
14	Joe Uecker	Republican	Loveland	2012	2020	33
15	Charleta Tavares	Democratic	Columbus	2010	2018	17
16	Jim Hughes	Republican	Columbus	2008	2016	11	Insurance & Financial Institutions Committee Chairman
17	Bob Peterson	Republican	Sabina	2012 (Appt. 03/2012)	2022	31
18	John Eklund	Republican	Munson Township	2011 (Appt. 12/2011)	2020	29	Criminal Justice Committee Chairman
19	Kris Jordan	Republican	Powell	2010	2018	19	Reference Committee Chairman
20	Troy Balderson	Republican	Zanesville	2011 (Appt. 07/2011)	2020	27	Energy & Natural Resources Committee Chairman
21	Shirley Smith	Democratic	Cleveland	2006	2014	2
22	Larry Obhof	Republican	Montville Township	2011 (Appt. 02/2011)	2020	25	Majority Whip
23	Michael J. Skindell	Democratic	Cleveland	2010	2018	16
24	Tom Patton	Republican	Strongsville	2008 (Appt. 12/2008)	2016	9	Majority Leader
25	Nina Turner	Democratic	Cleveland	2008 (Appt. 10/2008)	2018	8	Minority Whip
26	David Burke	Republican	Marysville	2011 (Appt. 07/2011)	2020	28	State Government Oversight & Reform Chairman
27	Frank LaRose	Republican	Copley Township	2010	2018	21	Public Safety, Local Government & Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman
28	Tom Sawyer	Democratic	Akron	2007 (Appt. 02/2007)	2016	6
29	Scott Oelslager	Republican	Canton	2010	2018	14	Finance Committee Chairman
30	Lou Gentile	Democratic	Steubenville	2011 (Appt. 12/2011)	2020	30
31	Tim Schaffer	Republican	Lancaster	2006	2014	3	Ways & Means Committee Chairman
32	Capri Cafaro	Democratic	Hubbard	2007 (Appt. 01/2007)	2016	5
33	Joe Schiavoni	Democratic	Canfield	2009 (Appt. 01/2009)	2018	12	Assistant Minority Leader