California State Senate

California State Senate
California State Legislature

Type
Type	Upper House
Term limits	2 terms (8 years)
New session started	December 6, 2010
Leadership
President of the Senate	Gavin Newsom, (D) since January 10, 2011
President Pro Tem of the Senate	Darrell Steinberg, (D) since November 30, 2008
Majority Leader	Ellen Corbett, (D) since December 6, 2010
Minority Leader	Bob Dutton, (R) since October 11, 2010
Structure
Members	40

Political groups	Democratic Party (25) Republican Party (15)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article IV, California Constitution
Salary	$95,291/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 2, 2010 (20 seats)
Next election	November 6, 2012 (20 seats)
Redistricting	California Citizens Redistricting Commission
Meeting place

State Senate Chamber California State Capitol Sacramento, California
Website
California State Senate

The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote. The officers of the Senate, elected at the start of each legislative session, are the President pro tem Darrell Steinberg, Secretary of the Senate Gregory Schmidt, and Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Tony Beard, Jr.

Prior to 1968, state senate districts were restricted such that one county could hold at most only one seat. This led to the situation of Los Angeles County, with 6 million residents as of 1968, receiving 600 times less representation than residents of Alpine County and Calaveras County, some of California's least populous counties. The federal Reynolds v. Sims decision by the United States Supreme Court compelled all states to draw up districts with equal populations. As such, boundaries were changed to provide more equitable representation.^[1]

Senators are limited to serving two four-year terms, which are staggered so that half the membership is elected every two years. The Senators representing the odd-numbered districts are elected in years evenly divisible by four. The senators from the even-numbered districts are elected in the intervening even-numbered years.^[2]

Each senator represents approximately 846,791 Californians, which is more than the approximately 639,088 residents in each of California's congressional districts.

The red tones of the California State Senate Chamber are based on the British House of Lords, which is outfitted in a similar color. Likewise, the California State Assembly Chamber is decorated green, parallel to the British House of Commons. Almost every decorating element of the Senate chamber is identical to those in the Assembly.

1 Senators
2 Senate
- 2.1 Officers
- 2.2 Composition
3 Seating chart
4 Senate Committees
- 4.1 Standing
- 4.2 Joint Committees
5 Senate Offices
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Senators

See:

Senate

Officers

Position	Name	Party	District
Lieutenant Governor	Gavin Newsom	Democratic
President Pro Tem of the Senate	Darrell Steinberg	Democratic	6th–Sacramento
Majority Leader	Ellen Corbett	Democratic	10th–San Leandro
Majority Caucus Chair	Kevin de León	Democratic	22nd–Los Angeles
Majority Whip	Vacant
Minority Leader	Bob Dutton	Republican	31st–Rancho Cucamonga
Minority Caucus Chair	Bob Huff	Republican	29th–Diamond Bar
Minority Whip	Doug LaMalfa	Republican	4th–Richvale
Secretary	Greg Schmidt
Sergeant at Arms	Tony Beard, Jr.

Note: The Secretary and the Sergeant at Arms are not Members of the Legislature

Composition

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
End of previous legislature	24	14	38	2

Begin^[3]	24	14	38	2
December 21, 2010^[4]		13	37	3
January 6, 2011^[5]		14	38	2
February 18, 2011^[6]	25	15	40	0
Latest voting share	62.5%	38.5%

Seating chart

Lieutenant Governor/Senate President Newsom

Dutton

Steinberg

Corbett

Wolk

Senate Committees

Standing

Senate Committee on Agriculture
Senate Committee on Appropriations
- Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Fiscal Oversight and Bonded Indebtedness
Senate Committee on Banking and Financial Institutions
Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review
- Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
- Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Resources
- Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services
- Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration and General Government
- Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Corrections
Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development
Senate Committee on Education
- Senate Education Subcommittee on Sustainable School Facilities
Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments
Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications
Senate Committee on Environmental Quality
Senate Committee on Governmental Organizations
Senate Committee on Governance and Finance
Senate Committee on Health
Senate Committee on Human Services
Senate Committee on Insurance
Senate Committee on Judiciary
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Senate Committee on Legislative Ethics
Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water
- Senate Natural Resources and Water Subcommittee on Urban Rivers
Senate Committee on Public Employment and Retirement
Senate Committee on Public Safety
Senate Committee on Rules
Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing
Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs

Joint Committees

Joint Committee on Arts
Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture
Joint Committee on Fairs, Allocation, and Classification
Joint Committee on Legislative Audit
Joint Committee on Rules
Joint Committee on Legislative Budget
Joint Legislative Sunset Review Committee

Senate Offices

Senate Office of Research
Senate Office of Demographics
Senate Office of Floor Analysis
Senate Office of International Relations
Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes

References

^ Stephen Ansolabehere, James M. Snyder, Jr., and Jonathan Woon (August 1999). "Why Did a Majority of Californians Vote to Limit Their Own Power?". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. http://web.mit.edu/polisci/research/representation/apsa_99_v2.pdf.
^ Cal. Const. Art. IV. §2(a)
^ Republican Dave Cox (District 1) and Democrat Jenny Oropeza (District 28) died on July 13 and October 20, 2010, respectively. Their vacancies had not yet been filled at the time the new legislature assumed office.
^ Republican George Runner (District 17) resigned after his election to the State Board of Equalization
^ Republican Ted Gaines sworn in to succeed Dave Cox (District 1)
^ Republican Sharon Runner and Democrat Ted Lieu sworn in to succeed George Runner and Oropeza, respectively.

External links

Members of the California State Senate

President of the Senate: Gavin Newsom (D) • President pro Tempore: Darrell Steinberg (D) • Majority Leader: Ellen Corbett (D) • Minority Leader: Bob Dutton (R)

Ted Gaines (R)
Noreen Evans (D)
Mark Leno (D)
Doug LaMalfa (R)
Lois Wolk (D)
Darrell Steinberg (D)
Mark DeSaulnier (D)
Leland Yee (D)
Loni Hancock (D)
Ellen Corbett (D)

Joe Simitian (D)
Anthony Cannella (R)
Elaine Alquist (D)
Tom Berryhill (R)
Sam Blakeslee (R)
Michael Rubio (D)
Sharon Runner (R)
Jean Fuller (R)
Tony Strickland (R)
Alex Padilla (D)

Carol Liu (D)
Kevin de León (D)
Fran Pavley (D)
Edward Hernández (D)
Roderick Wright (D)
Curren Price (D)
Alan Lowenthal (D)
Ted Lieu (D)
Bob Huff (R)
Ronald Calderon (D)

Bob Dutton (R)
Gloria McLeod (D)
Mimi Walters (R)
Lou Correa (D)
Tom Harman (R)
Joel Anderson (R)
Bill Emmerson (R)
Mark Wyland (R)
Christine Kehoe (D)
Juan Vargas (D)

Democratic (25) • Republican (15) • California State Legislature • California State Assembly • California State Senate

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