The California State Senate is the
upper house
An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...
of the
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
(the
lower house
A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...
being the
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the
California State Capitol
The California State Capitol is the seat of the California state government, located in Sacramento, the state capital of California. The building houses the chambers of the California State Legislature, made up of the Assembly and the Senat ...
in
Sacramento
Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
.
Neither house has expanded from the sizes set in the
1879 constitution,
and each of the 40 state senators represents approximately 931,349 people. This is a higher number than that of any other state legislative house and than that of
California's representatives in the United States House of Representatives, and each state senator represents more than the population of each of five U.S. states. In the current legislative session, the
Democratic Party holds 30 out of the 40 seats, which constitutes a 75% majority, more than the two-thirds
supermajority
A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...
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..."
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.
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.
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."
Between 1933 and 1967, state legislative
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
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. The guidelines were that no senate district would include more than three
counties
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
and none would include less than one complete county. This led to the situation of a populous county such as
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...
(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
''Reynolds v. Sims'', 377 U.S. 533 (1964), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the single-seat electoral districts of state legislative chambers must be roughly equal in population. Along with '' Bak ...
'', the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
compelled all states to draw up districts with equal population. As such, boundaries were changed to comply with the ruling. The California State Senate has never been expanded since the enactment of the 1879 constitution. In 1962, voters were asked via
initiative
Popular initiative
A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition.
In direct initiative, the proposition is put direct ...
California Proposition 23 whether to expand the state senate by 10 seats, thereby increasing the size of the body to 50 seats, and to abandon the little federal model. This proposition was rejected by the voters 46.65% - 53.35% (2,181,758 - 2,495,440).
Leadership
The
lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
is the ''
ex officio
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...
'' 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
A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the "#Related terms, Related terms" section below.
It is a subset of a Set (mathematics), set consisting of more than half of the se ...
and
minority leaders, are elected by their respective
party caucus
A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures.
The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...
es according to each party's strength in the chamber.
As of 2024, the president pro tempore is
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY)
**Democratic Part ...
Mike McGuire of
Geyserville. The majority leader is Democrat
Lena Gonzalez of
Long Beach
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
, and the minority leader is
Republican Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...
of
Santee.
Terms of office
Each state senator represents a population roughly equivalent to the
State of Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey to its northeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state' ...
. 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
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 ...
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.
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
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest extant institutions in the world, its origi ...
, 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
George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
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
Past composition of the Senate
Officers
The secretary, the sergeant-at-arms, and the chaplain are not members of the legislature.
Members
*: elected in a special election
Seating chart
Standing committees
Current committees, chairs and vice chairs include:
See also
*
List of special elections to the California State Senate
Special elections to the California State Senate are called by the Governor of California, Governor of California when a vacancy arises within the California State Senate, State Senate. Most special elections are conducted in two rounds. The fir ...
*
2020 California State Senate election
The 2020 California State Senate election was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, with the primary election scheduled for March 3, 2020. Voters in the California State Senate districts, 20 odd-numbered districts of the California State Senate el ...
*
Impeachment in California
In California, the process of impeachment has existed throughout its statehood allowing the California State Legislature, State Legislature to remove certain officeholders. The California State Assembly, State Assembly can initiate an impeachment, ...
*
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
*
California State Legislature, 2021–2022 session
The 2021–2022 session is the most recent former session of the California State Legislature. The session first convened on December 7, 2020 and ended November 30, 2022.
Major events
Vacancies and special elections
*December 6, 2020: C ...
*
List of California state legislatures
*
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
*
California State Capitol
The California State Capitol is the seat of the California state government, located in Sacramento, the state capital of California. The building houses the chambers of the California State Legislature, made up of the Assembly and the Senat ...
*
California State Capitol Museum
The California State Capitol Museum consists of a museum in and grounds around the California State Capitol in Sacramento, California, United States. The building has been the home of the California State Legislature since 1869. The State Ca ...
*
Districts in California
Districts in California geographically divide the U.S. state into overlapping regions for political and administrative purposes.
History of California political districts
From the founding of the state until 2008, the responsibility of redrawing ...
*
Members of the California State Legislature
Notes
References
External links
* of the California State Senate
*
Democratic Caucus*
Republican Caucus*
Sergeant-at-ArmsInteractive map of the state senate districtsCalifornia legislative district mapsfrom 1849 to the present
{{Coord, 38, 34, 36, N, 121, 29, 37, W, region:US-CA_type:landmark, display=title
1849 establishments in California
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