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 amount 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.
The President of the Senate presides over the body, Is a member of the Organization,Calendar and Rules Committee that appoints members to all of the Senate's committees and joint committees, and may create other committees and subcommittees if desired. Unlike other states, the Lieutenant Governor of Kansas does not preside over the 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 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 4 senators elected by the majority caucus.
