The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figures). Members serve two-year terms with

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of Term of office, terms a Incumbent, person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and Semi-presidential republic, semi-president ...

that limit Senators to a maximum four consecutive terms (eight years) before requiring a one-term respite prior to running again. Members of the Republican Party are currently the majority in the Senate. As with the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Arizona Senate, Senate. The House convenes in the le ...

, members to the Senate are elected from the same legislative districts as House members; however, one senator represents the constituency, while for the House there are two Representatives per district. This districting system is similar to those of the

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, and

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Washington State Capitol, Legis ...

. In political science, this type of legislative district is called a multi-member district. Like other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, the Senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions and boards. The Senate convenes in the adjacent legislative chambers at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix.

Leadership

Unlike in other states, where an elected lieutenant governor presides over the senate, in Arizona, the Senate elects its own presiding officer, the

president of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

, who presides over the body, appoints members to all of the Senate's committees and to joint committees, and may create other committees and subcommittees if desired. The Senate president also appoints a president pro tempore, who serves for the duration of a session of the legislature, to preside in their absence, and may appoint a temporary president pro tempore in the absence of the president and president pro tempore. The current president of the Senate is Republican Warren Petersen of district 14, the Senate Majority Leader is Janae Shamp of district 29. The current minority leader is Priya Sundareshan of district 18 with Catherine Miranda of district 11 as the assistant minority leader.

Leadership information

Current composition

Current members, 2025–2027

† Member was originally appointed.

Committees

The current standing committees of the Arizona Senate are as follows:

Past composition of the Senate

Notes

References

External links

Official Arizona State Senate website
* * {{Authority control

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

State upper houses in the United States