California State Senate

Upper house

of the California State Legislature

Elected before 2012:
2 terms (8 years)
Elected 2012 and after:
3 terms (12 years)

December 5, 2022

Eleni Kounalakis (D)
since January 7, 2019

Mike McGuire (D)
since February 5, 2024

Lena Gonzalez (D)
since February 8, 2024

Brian Jones (R)
since December 5, 2022

40

Majority

Democratic (32)

Minority

Republican (8)

4 years

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.

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Terms of office[edit]

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.

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.

38°34′36″N 121°29′37″W / 38.57667°N 121.49361°W / 38.57667; -121.49361

Leadership[edit]

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.

The current president pro tempore is Democrat Mike McGuire of Geyserville. The minority leader is Republican Brian Jones of Santee.

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Meeting chamber[edit]

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Official website

Interactive map of the state senate districts

from 1849 to the present

California legislative district maps

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†: elected in a special election

List of special elections to the California State Senate

2020 California State Senate election

Impeachment in California

California State Legislature

California State Legislature, 2021–2022 session

California State Assembly

California State Capitol

California State Capitol Museum

Districts in California

Members of the California State Legislature

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Article 4, California Constitution

$114,877/year + $211 per diem

Nonpartisan blanket primary

November 8, 2022 (20 seats)

November 5, 2024 (20 seats)

California Citizens Redistricting Commission

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