California State 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.
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 | |
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
Minority |
Length of term | 4 years |
| Authority | Article 4, 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 | |
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, 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, 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. 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.