Iowa General Assembly

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The Iowa General Assembly (or IGA) is the state legislature of Iowa. The General Assembly convenes within the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. It is a bicameral legislature composed of an upper house, the Iowa Senate, and a lower house, the Iowa House of Representatives.

Prior to the 2006 election, 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.

Role in State Budget

Main article: Iowa state budget

Sometime in January of every year, the Iowa General Assembly receives an annual budget proposal from the Governor. The annual budget proposal is for the next fiscal year, which begins October 1st. The Legislature then revises this budget over the course of the next couple of months. ^[1]

In hard economic times, the Iowa Legislature has scrambled to balance the budget. Reduced revenue projections back in April of 2009 led Gov. Culver to revise and cut 7.9% from his FY 2010 budget recommendation to the Legislature during its session.^[2] The Iowa General Assembly will again convene January 11, 2010.^[3]

Senate

The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 members of the Senate, representing fifty single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 59,500. The Senate meets at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.

Unlike the lower house, the Iowa House of Representatives, Senators serve four-year terms and half of the chamber is up for re-election every two years. There are no term limits.

As of January 2007, the make-up of the Senate is 30 Democrats, 20 Republicans.

House of Representatives

The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 100 members of the House of Representatives, respresenting 100 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 29,750.

Unlike the upper house, the Iowa Senate, state representatives serve two-year terms with the whole chamber up for re-election in even-numbered years. There are no term limits.

The current make-up is 53 Democrats, 47 Republicans.

References

• Wikipedia: Iowa General Assembly

External links

• Iowa General Assembly website
• Iowa Code
• Iowa Constitution

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