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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.
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.
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 (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, 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% (2,181,758 - 2,495,440).
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 Mike McGuire of Geyserville. The majority leader is Democrat Lena Gonzalez of Long Beach, and the minority leader is Republican Brian Jones of Santee.
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.
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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.
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.
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 (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, 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% (2,181,758 - 2,495,440).
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 Mike McGuire of Geyserville. The majority leader is Democrat Lena Gonzalez of Long Beach, and the minority leader is Republican Brian Jones of Santee.
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.