Oregon State Senate | |
|---|---|
| Oregon Legislative Assembly | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
New session started | January 9, 2023 |
| Leadership | |
President pro tempore | |
Majority Leader | |
Minority Leader | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 30 |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Authority | Article IV, Oregon Constitution |
| Salary | $21,612/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
Last election | November 8, 2022 (16 seats) |
Next election | November 5, 2024 (15 seats) |
| Redistricting | Legislative Control |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| State Senate Chamber Oregon State Capitol Salem, Oregon | |
| Website | |
| Oregon State Senate | |
The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Senate, representing 30 districts across the state, each with a population of 141,242.[2] The state Senate meets in the east wing of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.
Oregon, along with Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, and Wyoming, is one of the five U.S. states to not have the office of the lieutenant governor, a position which for most upper houses of state legislatures and for the United States Congress (with the vice president) is the head of the legislative body and holder of the casting vote in the event of a tie. Instead, a separate position of Senate president is in place, removed from the state executive branch. If the chamber is tied, legislators must devise their own methods of resolving the impasse. In the 72nd Oregon Legislative Assembly in 2003, for example, Oregon's state senators entered into a power sharing contract whereby Democratic senators nominated the Senate President while Republican senators chaired key committees.[3]
Like certain other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the United States Senate, the state Senate can confirm or reject the governor's appointments to state departments, commissions, boards, and other state governmental agencies.
The current Senate president is Rob Wagner of Lake Oswego.[4]
- ^ "Oregon Senate GOP tensions are front and center with new bill".
- ^ "Senate Home". www.oregonlegislature.gov. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- ^ National Conference of State Legislatures. "In Case of a Tie..." Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ^ Oregon Blue Book: Senate Presidents of Oregon