North Carolina Senate

North Carolina Senate
North Carolina General Assembly
Seal of the North Carolina Senate
Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 1, 2023
Leadership
President	Mark Robinson (R) since January 3, 2021
President pro tempore	Phil Berger (R) since January 26, 2011
Majority Leader	Paul Newton (R) since January 1, 2023
Minority Leader	Dan Blue (D) since March 5, 2014
Structure
Seats	50
Political groups	Majority   Republican (30) Minority   Democratic (20)
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.ncleg.gov/Senate
Constitution
North Carolina Constitution

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]

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 lieutenant governor has very limited powers and only votes to break a tie. Before the office of lieutenant governor was created in 1868, the Senate was presided over by a "speaker." After the 1988 election of James Carson Gardner, the first Republican lieutenant governor since Reconstruction, Democrats in control of the Senate shifted most of the power held by the lieutenant 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 lieutenant governor is the official who has been impeached, the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court presides.