About

About the Model Arkansas Senate.

There are 35 Senate Districts, each with about 86,000 people. 

The Arkansas Model Senate is made up of mostly college students, nonprofit professionals or educators.  There are some model Senators that are high school students that are rising seniors that have college hours, attended Senator Boozman's Student Congressional Cabinet, or the Clinton Student Presidential Leadership Series program. 

Part of the Arkansas Model General Assembly

The Model Arkansas Senate, along with the Model Arkansas House of Representatives, compose the model legislative branch of the model state government. Combined, the two bodies form the Arkansas Model Legislature.

Sessions

Every Monday after the first Tuesday in June, the Arkansas Model General Legislature convenes 

Membership & Rules

The Senate consists of 35 members elected from 35 districts, which are apportioned on a one-person, one-vote basis. Each Senate district (based on Academy for Public Service Districts) has an average population of 86,000, according to the 2020 census.  Parliamentary procedure is guided by the Senate Rules.

A Senate Member must be at least 25 years old to serve, a resident of Arkansas for two years, and a resident of his or her district for one year. Members of the Senate serve four-year terms. In the Academy for Public Service, each House member must be at least 15 years old. Each Senate member must be at least 17 years old. 

The Arkansas Lieutenant Governor presides over the body, however, the President Pro-Tempore presides over the Senate in the absences of the Lieutenant Governor. and is elected every two years by the membership. The president takes the chair every day the Senate is in session and preserves order and decorum, allowing all sides of an issue the opportunity to speak or act on legislation. The president announces how many votes are needed to pass a bill, as required by the state Constitution, certifying all measures passed, assigning committee leadership, and naming members to select committees.  The President Pro-Tempore is also in charge of overseeing all Senate management functions during sessions and during the interim between sessions.

The President Pro-Tempore also appoints a leadership team, which includes the Secretary of the Senate who manages day to day affairs of the Senate. The President Pro-Tempore may also appoint senators from each of the Senate's four caucus districts to serve as Assistant Pro Tempore who assist in leadership duties.

Voting

The actual Senate utilizes a role call voting system. To vote, the Secretary of the Senate calls the name of each senator.  Once the votes have been made and recorded, the votes are displayed on a large electronic board at the front of the Senate Chamber and are counted at the Senate President's desk. Names in green signals a "yes" vote, names in red signals a "no" vote, names in yellow  signals a "present vote". Names in white signals "not voting".

An official record of the tabulations is placed into journals, which become the permanent record of Senate proceedings. In the Academy for Public Service, the Model Secretary of State maintains the journals.