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The Alaska Senate is the Upper House in the Alaska Legislature , the State Legislature of the U.S. State of Alaska . The Senate consists of 20 members representing an equal amount of districts, with an average constituent population per district at 31,347 (2000 figures). Senators serve four-year terms and half of the Alaska Senate is up for re-election every two years,without Term Limits . With 20 Senators, the Alaska Senate is the smallest upper house state legislative body in the United States . Like other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate , the Senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to the state Cabinet , commissions and boards. The Senate convenes at the State Capitol in Juneau . CURRENT COMPOSITION LEADERSHIP The President Of The Senate presides over the body, appointing 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 Alaska does not preside over the Senate. Instead, the Lieutenant Governor oversees the Alaska Division Of Elections , fulfilling the role of Secretary Of State as in a majority of U.S. states. Only two other states, Hawaii and Utah , have similar constitutional arrangements for their lieutenant governors. The other partisan Senate leadership positions, such as the Majority and Minority leaders, are (usually) elected by their respective party caucuses to head their parties in the chamber. Current leadership The President Of The Senate is Republican Lyda Green of District G ( Matanuska-Susitna Valley ). The Majority Leader is Republican Gary Stevens of District R ( Kodiak ). The Minority Leader is Republican Gene Therriault of District F (North Pole). Republican split Shortly after the 2006 November election, a bi-partisan , Health, Education, & Social Services , Labor And Commerce , Community And Regional Affairs , and Transportation Committees, as well as co-chair the powerful Finance Committee . The senate Republicans in the coalition will also have a co-chair for the Finance Committee (the minority Republicans will only be giving one seat on the committee), and chair the State Affairs , Resources , and Rules Committees {Link without Title} . Because of the Republican split, the Democrats control a majority of committee chairmanships while Republicans in the governing coalition chair the others. The Majority Leader is the same legislator as it was in the last session, a Republican, who has joined the bi-partisan coalition. Because of this, the Minority Leader is head of the five-member Republican organization. Hence, all three listed officers of the body are Republicans, as different aspects are in the majority (with the chamber-wide minority Democrats) while others are in the official minority. The split is largely viewed as over the senate presidency. The Minority Leader was the Republicans' suspected, initial choice for Senate President {Link without Title} . The coalition commands three-quarters of the body. A similar move was made in the 24th Legislature, on the House side. It, however, was torn apart. CURRENT MEMBERSHIP SEE ALSO
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