California State Senate

California State Senate
California State Senate
California State Legislature
Type
Type	Upper house of the California State Legislature
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
President	Eleni Kounalakis (D) ; since January 7, 2019
President pro tempore	Mike McGuire (D) ; since February 5, 2024
Majority Leader	Lena Gonzalez (D) ; since February 8, 2024
Minority Leader	Brian Jones (R) ; since December 5, 2022
Structure
Seats	40
Political groups	Majority Democratic (32) Minority Republican (8)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article 4, California Constitution
Salary	$114,877/year + $211 per diem
Elections
Voting system	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.ca.gov

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 1879 constitution,^[1] the State Senate has the largest population per state senator ratio of any state legislative house. In the United States House of Representatives, California is apportioned 52 U.S. representatives, each representing approximately 750,564 people,^[2] while in the California State Senate, each of the 40 state senators represents approximately 931,349 people; almost exactly the population of the entire state of Delaware.^[3] This means that California state senators each represent more people than California's members of the House of Representatives, and more than that of five entire U.S. states.

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

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 districts were drawn according to the "Little Federal Model" by which Assembly seats were drawn according to population and senate seats were drawn according to county lines.^[7] The guidelines were that no senate district would include more than three counties and none would include less than one complete county. This led to the situation of a populous county such as Los Angeles County (1960 population of 6 million) being accorded the same number of state senators (one) as less populous counties such as Alpine County (1960 pop. 397). The senate districts remained unaltered from 1933 to 1967, regardless of the changes in the population distribution. In Reynolds v. Sims, the United States Supreme Court compelled all states to draw up districts with equal population. As such, boundaries were changed to comply with the ruling.

Leadership

The lieutenant governor is the ex officio president of the senate, and may only cast a vote to break a tie. The president pro tempore is elected by the majority party caucus, followed by confirmation of the full senate. Other leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses according to each party's strength in the chamber.

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 British House of Lords, which is outfitted in a similar color. The dais rests along a wall shaped like an "E", with its central projection housing the rostrum. The lower tier dais runs across the entire chamber, there are several chairs and computers used by the senate officers, the most prominent seat is reserved for the secretary who calls the roll. The higher tier is smaller, with three chairs, the two largest and most ornate chairs are used by the president pro tempore (right chair) and the lieutenant governor (left chair). The third and smallest chair, placed in the center, is used by the presiding officer (acting in place of the pro tem) and is rarely sat in as the president is expected to stand. There are four other chairs flanking the dais used by the highest non-member officials attending the senate, a foreign dignitary or state officer for example. Each of the 40 senators is provided a desk, microphone and two chairs, one for the senator, another for guests or legislative aides. Almost every decorating element is identical to the assembly chamber. Along the cornice appears a portrait of George Washington and the Latin quotation senatoris est civitatis libertatem tueri ("It is the duty of the senator to guard the civil liberties of the Commonwealth").

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
	Assistant majority leader	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
	Assistant majority whips	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

	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

Jones

Min

McGuire

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)