California State Senate
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California State Senate | |
---|---|
California State Legislature | |
Type | |
Type | |
Term limits | Elected before 2012: 2 terms (8 years) Elected 2012 and after: 3 terms (12 years) |
History | |
New session started | December 5, 2022 |
Leadership | |
Majority Leader | |
Minority Leader | |
Structure | |
Seats | 40 |
Political groups | Majority
Democratic (32)
Minority California Constitution |
Salary | $114,877/year + $211 per diem |
Elections | |
Nonpartisan blanket primary | |
Last election | November 8, 2022 (20 seats) |
Next election | November 5, 2024 (20 seats) |
Redistricting | California Citizens Redistricting Commission |
Motto | |
Senatoris est civitatis libertatem tueri ("It is a senator's duty to protect the liberty of the people.") | |
Meeting place | |
State Senate Chamber California State Capitol Sacramento, California | |
Website | |
senate |
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
Due to a combination of the state's large population and a legislature that has not been expanded since the ratification of the
In the current legislative session, the Democratic Party holds 32 out of the 40 seats, which constitutes an 80% majority—well over the two-thirds supermajority threshold of 27.
History
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The 1849 constitution of California provided that the "number of Senators shall not be less than one third, nor more than one half of that of the members of the Assembly..."[4] The 1849 constitution also provided that senators served two-year terms and were to be elected bienally, with the total number of senators being divided into two classes so that one half of the senators would be elected annually.[4]
Following the ratification of the 1879 constitution of California, the constitution prescribed that the senate is composed of 40 senators and that all senators must have resided within California for three years and their district for one year.[5] Such districts were to be "as nearly equal in population as may be, and composed of contiguous territory". There was to be one senate district for each senator. Such districts were also required to preserve political boundaries: "In the formation of such districts, no county, or city and county, shall be divided, unless it contain a sufficient population within itself to form two or more districts; nor shall a part of any county, or of any city and county, be united with any other county, or city and county, in forming any district."[6]
Between 1933 and 1967, state legislative
Leadership
The
As of 2024, the president pro tempore is Democrat Mike McGuire of Geyserville. The minority leader is Republican Brian Jones of Santee.
Terms of office
Each state senator represents a population roughly equivalent to the State of Delaware. As a result of Proposition 140 in 1990 and Proposition 28 in 2012, members elected to the legislature prior to 2012 are restricted by term limits to two four-year terms (eight years), while those elected in or after 2012 are allowed to serve 12 years in the legislature in any combination of four-year state senate or two-year state assembly terms.[8]
Members of the state senate serve four-year terms. Every two years, half of the senate's 40 seats are subject to election. This is in contrast to the state assembly, in which all 80 seats in the assembly are subject to election every two years.
Meeting chamber
The red tones of the California State Senate chamber are based on the
Composition
↓ | ||
32 | 8 | |
Democratic | Republican |
Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Republican | Vacant | |||
End of previous legislature | 31 | 9 | 40 | 0 | |
Begin[9] | 31 | 8 | 39 | 1 | |
Current | 32 | 8 | 40 | 0 | |
Latest voting share | 80% | 20% |
Past composition of the Senate
Officers
Position | Name | Party | District | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lieutenant Governor
|
Eleni Kounalakis | Democratic | California | |
President pro tempore | Mike McGuire | Democratic | 2nd–Geyserville
| |
Majority leader | Lena Gonzalez | Democratic | 33rd–Long Beach
| |
Assistant majority leader | Angelique Ashby | Democratic | 8th–Sacramento
| |
Aisha Wahab | Democratic | 10th–Hayward
| ||
Democratic Caucus Chair | Monique Limón | Democratic | 19th–Santa Barbara
| |
Majority Whip | Dave Cortese | Democratic | 15th–San Jose
| |
Assistant majority whips | María Elena Durazo | Democratic | 24th–Los Angeles
| |
Steve Padilla | Democratic | 18th–Chula Vista
| ||
Minority leader | Brian Jones | Republican | 40th–Santee
| |
Secretary | Erika Contreras | |||
Sergeant-at-Arms
|
Katrina Rodriguez | |||
Chaplain | Sister Michelle Gorman, RSM |
The secretary, the sergeant-at-arms, and the chaplain are not members of the legislature.
Members
District | Name | Party | Residence | First elected | Term limited | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brian Dahle | Republican | Bieber | 2019† | 2024 | Previously served as Minority Leader of the California State Assembly and in the Assembly from 2012 to 2019. | |
2 | Mike McGuire | Democratic | Geyserville | 2014 | 2026 | President pro tempore since February 5, 2024. Majority leader before February 5, 2024. | |
3 | Bill Dodd | Democratic | Napa | 2016 | 2024 | Previously served in the Assembly from 2014 to 2016. | |
4 | Marie Alvarado-Gil | Democratic | Jackson | 2022 | 2034 | ||
5 | Susan Eggman | Democratic | Stockton | 2020 | 2024 | Previously served in the Assembly from 2012 to 2020. | |
6 | Roger Niello | Republican | Fair Oaks | 2022 | 2030 | Previously served in the Assembly from 2004 to 2010. | |
7 | Steve Glazer | Democratic | Orinda | 2015† | 2024 | Decided not to test the 12-year term limit in 2024. | |
8 | Angelique Ashby | Democratic | Natomas | 2022 | 2034 | ||
9 | Nancy Skinner | Democratic | Berkeley | 2016 | 2024 | Previously served in the Assembly from 2008 to 2014. | |
10 | Aisha Wahab | Democratic | Hayward | 2022 | 2034 | ||
11 | Scott Wiener | Democratic | San Francisco | 2016 | 2028 | ||
12 | Shannon Grove | Republican | Bakersfield | 2018 | 2026 | Previously served as Minority Leader from 2019 to 2021 and in the Assembly from 2010 to 2016. | |
13 | Josh Becker | Democratic | Menlo Park | 2020 | 2032 | ||
14 | Anna Caballero | Democratic | Merced | 2018 | 2026 | Previously served in the Assembly from 2006 to 2010 and 2016 to 2018. | |
15 | Dave Cortese | Democratic | San Jose | 2020 | 2032 | ||
16 | Melissa Hurtado | Democratic | Bakersfield | 2018 | 2030 | ||
17 | John Laird | Democratic | Santa Cruz | 2020 | 2028 | Previously served in the Assembly from 2002 to 2008. | |
18 | Steve Padilla | Democratic | Chula Vista
|
2022 | 2034 | ||
19 | Monique Limón | Democratic | Santa Barbara | 2020 | 2028 | Previously served in the Assembly from 2016 and 2020. | |
20 | Caroline Menjivar | Democratic | Panorama City
|
2022 | 2034 | ||
21 | Scott Wilk | Republican | Santa Clarita | 2016 | 2024 | Previously served as Minority Leader from 2021 to 2022 and in the Assembly from 2012 to 2016. | |
22 | Susan Rubio | Democratic | Baldwin Park | 2018 | 2030 | ||
23 | Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh | Republican | Yucaipa | 2020 | 2032 | ||
24 | Benjamin Allen | Democratic | Santa Monica | 2014 | 2026 | ||
25 | Anthony Portantino | Democratic | Burbank | 2016 | 2024 | Previously served in the Assembly from 2006 to 2012. | |
26 | María Elena Durazo | Democratic | Los Angeles
|
2018 | 2030 | ||
27 | Henry Stern | Democratic | Malibu | 2016 | 2028 | ||
28 | Lola Smallwood-Cuevas | Democratic | Los Angeles
|
2022 | 2034 | ||
29 | Josh Newman | Democratic | Fullerton | 2020 | 2028 | Previously served in the State Senate from 2016 to 2018. | |
30 | Bob Archuleta | Democratic | Pico Rivera | 2018 | 2030 | ||
31 | Richard Roth | Democratic | Riverside | 2012 | 2024 | ||
32 | Kelly Seyarto | Republican | Murrieta | 2022 | 2030 | Previously served in the Assembly from 2020 to 2022. | |
33 | Lena Gonzalez | Democratic | Long Beach | 2019† | 2032 | Majority Leader since February 8, 2024 | |
34 | Tom Umberg | Democratic | Santa Ana | 2018 | 2026 | Previously served in the Assembly from 1990 to 1994 and 2004 to 2006. | |
35 | Steven Bradford | Democratic | Gardena | 2016 | 2024 | Previously served in the Assembly from 2009 to 2014. | |
36 | Janet Nguyen | Republican | Huntington Beach | 2022 | 2026 | Previously served in the State Senate from 2014 until 2018 and in the Assembly from 2020 to 2022. | |
37 | Dave Min | Democratic | Irvine | 2020 | 2032 | ||
38 | Catherine Blakespear
|
Democratic | Encinitas | 2022 | 2034 | ||
39 | Toni Atkins | Democratic | San Diego | 2016 | 2024 | President pro tempore until February 5, 2024. Previously served as Speaker of the State Assembly and in the Assembly from 2010 to 2016.
| |
40 | Brian Jones | Republican | Santee | 2018 | 2026 | Minority Leader. Previously served in the Assembly from 2010 to 2016. |
- †: elected in a special election
Seating chart
Standing committees
Current committees, chairs and vice chairs include:[10]
Committee | Chair | Vice Chair |
---|---|---|
Agriculture | Melissa Hurtado (D) | Shannon Grove (R) |
Appropriations | Anna Caballero (D) | Brian Jones (R) |
Banking and Financial Institutions | Monique Limón (D) | Roger Niello (R) |
Budget and Fiscal Review | Scott Wiener (D) | Roger Niello (R) |
Business, Professions and Economic Development | Angelique Ashby (D) | Janet Nguyen (R) |
Education | Josh Newman (D) | Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R) |
Elections and Constitutional Amendments | Catherine Blakespear (D) | Janet Nguyen (R) |
Energy, Utilities and Communications | Steven Bradford (D) | Brian Dahle (R) |
Environmental Quality | Ben Allen (D) | Brian Dahle (R) |
Governance and Finance | Anna Caballero (D) | Kelly Seyarto (R) |
Governmental Organization | Bill Dodd (D) | Scott Wilk (R) |
Health | Richard Roth (D) | Janet Nguyen(R) |
Housing | Nancy Skinner (D) | Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R) |
Human Services | Marie Alvarado-Gil (D) | Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R) |
Insurance | Susan Rubio (D) | Roger Niello (R) |
Judiciary | Tom Umberg (D) | Scott Wilk (R) |
Labor, Public Employment and Retirement | Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D) | Scott Wilk (R) |
Legislative Ethics | Dave Cortese (D) | Shannon Grove (R) |
Local Government | Maria Elena Durazo (D) | Kelly Seyarto (R) |
Military and Veterans Affairs | Bob Archuleta (D) | Shannon Grove (R) |
Natural Resources and Water | Dave Min (D) | Kelly Seyarto (R) |
Public Safety | Aisha Wahab (D) | Kelly Seyarto (R) |
Revenue and Taxation | Steve Glazer (D) | Brian Dahle (R) |
Rules | Mike McGuire (D) | Shannon Grove (R) |
Transportation | Dave Cortese (D) | Roger Niello (R) |
See also
- List of special elections to the California State Senate
- 2020 California State Senate election
- Impeachment in California
- California State Legislature
- California State Legislature, 2021–2022 session
- California State Assembly
- California State Capitol
- California State Capitol Museum
- Districts in California
- Members of the California State Legislature
References
- ^ "California Constitution of 1879, prior to any amendments" (PDF). California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ^ "Apportionment Data". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "Senate Roster". State of California.
- ^ a b Cal. Const. Art. IV § 6 (1849)
- ^ Cal. Const. Art. IV § 4 (1879)
- ^ "California Constitution of 1879, prior to any amendments" (PDF). CalPolyPomona. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
- ^ "JoinCalifornia - Redistricting". www.joincalifornia.com. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ^ "California Constitution Article 4; Legislative". California Office of Legislative Counsel. Archived from the original on February 23, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
- ^ Democrat Melissa Hurtado (District 16) was prevented from being sworn-in until her 20-vote re-election was certified.
- ^ "Committees | California State Senate". www.senate.ca.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
External links
- Official website of the California State Senate
- Interactive map of the state senate districts
- California legislative district maps from 1849 to the present