California State Senate

The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
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 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 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 and none would include less than one complete county. This led to the situation of a populous county such as Los Angeles County being accorded the same number of state senators as less populous counties such as Alpine County. 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. The California State Senate has never been expanded since the enactment of the 1879 constitution. In 1962, voters were asked via initiative 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%.

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 2025, the president pro tempore is Democrat Monique Limón of Santa Barbara. The majority leader is Democrat Angelique Ashby of Sacramento, and 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, 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, 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 and the lieutenant governor. The third and smallest chair, placed in the center, is used by the presiding officer 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.

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:

Committee	Chair	Vice Chair
Agriculture	Melissa Hurtado	Marie Alvarado-Gil
Appropriations	Anna Caballero	Kelly Seyarto
Banking and Financial Institutions	Tim Grayson	Roger Niello
Budget and Fiscal Review	John Laird	Roger Niello
Business, Professions and Economic Development	Angelique Ashby	Steven Choi
Education	Sasha Renée Pérez	Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Elections and Constitutional Amendments	Sabrina Cervantes	Steven Choi
Energy, Utilities and Communications	Josh Becker	Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Environmental Quality	Catherine Blakespear	Suzette Martinez Valladares
Governmental Organization	Steve Padilla	Suzette Martinez Valladares
Health	Caroline Menjivar	Suzette Martinez Valladares
Housing	Aisha Wahab	Kelly Seyarto
Human Services	Jesse Arreguín	Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Insurance	Susan Rubio	Roger Niello
Judiciary	Tom Umberg	Roger Niello
Labor, Public Employment and Retirement	Lola Smallwood-Cuevas	Tony Strickland
Legislative Ethics	Scott Wiener	Shannon Grove
Local Government	Maria Elena Durazo	Steven Choi
Military and Veterans Affairs	Bob Archuleta	Shannon Grove
Natural Resources and Water	Josh Becker	Kelly Seyarto
Public Safety	Jesse Arreguín	Kelly Seyarto
Revenue and Taxation	Jerry McNerney	Suzette Martinez Valladares
Rules	Monique Limón	Shannon Grove
Transportation	Dave Cortese	Tony Strickland