The Iowa General Assembly (IGA) is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. The General Assembly convenes within the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. Like the United States Congress, the IGA is composed of an upper house and a lower house: the Iowa Senate and Iowa House of Representatives respectively. 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 for the 108th US Congress and 80th IGA. The IGA convenes annually on the second Monday in January. [1] 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.[2] Thirty of the 50 Senate seats and 53 of the 100 House seats are in Democratic hands. 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. 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 Mary Lundby, R-Marion. 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.
