California State Senate

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California State Senate
California State Legislature
Type
Type	Upper house
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	Eleni Kounalakis (D) since January 7, 2019
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   Democratic (31) Minority   Republican (9)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article 4, California Constitution
Salary	$114,877/year + $211 per diem
Elections
Voting system	Nonpartisan blanket primary
Last election	November 5, 2024 (20 seats)
Next election	November 3, 2026 (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
California State Senate
Rules
Standing Rules of the 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.

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 31 out of the 40 seats, which constitutes a 78% majority—well over the two-thirds supermajority threshold of 27.