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 127,700.[2] The State Senate meets in the east wing of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.
Oregon State Senate | |
|---|---|
| Oregon Legislative Assembly | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
New session started | January 11, 2021 |
| Leadership | |
President pro tempore | |
Majority Leader | |
Minority Leader (R) | Tim Knopp since October 22, 2021 |
| 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 3, 2020 (16 seats) |
Next election | November 8, 2022 (14 seats) |
| Redistricting | Legislative Control |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| State Senate Chamber Oregon State Capitol Salem, Oregon | |
| Website | |
| Oregon State Senate | |
Oregon state senators serve four-year terms without term limits. In 2002, the Oregon Supreme Court struck down the decade-old Oregon Ballot Measure 3, that had restricted state senators to two terms (eight years) on procedural grounds.[3]
Like certain other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the United States Senate, the State Senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to state departments, commissions, boards, and other state governmental agencies.
The current Senate president is Peter Courtney of Salem.[4]
Oregon, along with Arizona, Maine, and Wyoming, is one of the four 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 2002, 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.[5]
Milestones
Kathryn Clarke was the first woman to serve in Oregon's Senate. Women became eligible to run for the Oregon state legislature in 1914 and later that year Clarke was appointed to fill a vacant seat in Douglas county by her cousin, governor Oswald West. Following some controversy concerning whether West had the authority to appoint someone to fill the vacancy, Clarke campaigned and was elected by voters in 1915.[6] She took office five years before Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution protected the right of all American women to vote.
In 1982, Mae Yih became the first Chinese-American elected to a state senate in the United States.
Composition
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) |
Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | Ind. Rep. | Ind. Party | Vacant | ||
| End of 75th Assembly (2010) | 18 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| 76th Assembly (2011–2012) | 16 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| 77th Assembly (2013–2014) | 16 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| 78th Assembly (2015–2016) | 18 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| 79th Assembly (2017–2018) | 17 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| 80th Assembly (2019–2021) | 18 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| Begin 81st (2021–present)[lower-alpha 1] | 18 | 12 | 0 | 30 | 0 | |
| January 15, 2021[lower-alpha 2] | 11 | 0 | 1 | |||
| April 2021[lower-alpha 3] | 10 | 1 | ||||
| December 15, 2021[lower-alpha 4] | 17 | 29 | 1 | |||
| Latest voting share | 58.6% | 34.5% | 6.9% | |||
Redistricting
During the 2011 legislative session, the House and Senate passed Senate Bill 989, which implemented new legislative districts for the 2012 elections and beyond.[9]
81st Senate
The 81st Oregon Legislative Assembly, which holds its regular session from 2021 to 2023, has the following leadership:
Senate President: Peter Courtney (D–11 Salem)
President Pro Tempore: James Manning Jr. (D–7 Eugene)
Majority Leader: Rob Wagner (D–19 Lake Oswego)
Minority Leader: Fred Girod (R-9 Stayton) until October 22, 2021; Tim Knopp (R-27 Bend) after[10]
81st Senate Committee Assignments
Senators are each assigned to one or more committees.[13]
Education
- Senator Michael Dembrow – Chair
- Senator Chuck Thomsen – Vice-Chair
- Senator Sara Gelser Blouin
- Senator Chris Gorsek
- Senator Art Robinson
Energy and Environment
- Senator Kate Lieber – Chair
- Senator Lynn Findley – Vice-Chair
- Senator Michael Dembrow
- Senator Akasha Lawrence Spence
- Senator Art Robinson
Finance and Revenue
- Senator Lee Beyer – Chair
- Senator Brian Boquist – Vice-Chair
- Senator Rachel Armitage
- Senator Lynn Findley
- Senator Janeen Sollman
Health Care
- Senator Deb Patterson – Chair
- Senator Bill Kennemer – Vice-Chair
- Senator Lee Beyer
- Senator Dennis Linthicum
- Senator James Manning Jr.
Housing and Development
- Senator Kayse Jama – Chair
- Senator Dick Anderson – Vice-Chair
- Senator Fred Girod
- Senator Jeff Golden
- Senator Deb Patterson
Human Services, Mental Health and Recovery
- Senator Sara Gelser Blouin – Chair
- Senator Art Robinson – Vice-Chair
- Senator Bill Kennemer
- Senator Kate Lieber
- Senator Janeen Sollman
Judiciary and Ballot Measure 110 Implementation
- Senator Floyd Prozanski – Chair
- Senator Kim Thatcher – Vice-Chair
- Senator Michael Dembrow
- Senator Sara Gelser Blouin
- Senator Dallas Heard
- Senator Dennis Linthicum
- Senator James Manning Jr.
Labor and Business
- Senator Kathleen Taylor – Chair
- Senator Tim Knopp – Vice-Chair
- Senator Bill Hansell
- Senator Kayse Jama
- Senator Kate Lieber
Natural Resources and Wildfire Recovery
- Senator Jeff Golden – Chair
- Senator Bill Kennemer – Vice-Chair
- Senator Dallas Heard
- Senator Deb Patterson
- Senator Floyd Prozanski
Rules
- Senator Rob Wagner – Chair
- Senator Tim Knopp – Vice-Chair
- Senator Fred Girod
- Senator James Manning Jr.
- Senator Kathleen Taylor
Veterans and Emergency Preparedness
- Senator James Manning Jr. - Chair
- Senator Chuck Thomsen – Vice-Chair
- Senator Rachel Armitage
- Senator Dennis Linthicum
- Senator Deb Patterson
Conduct
- Senator Floyd Prozanski – Co-Chair
- Senator Chuck Thomsen – Co-Chair
- Senator Bill Hansell
- Senator Kathleen Taylor
- Senator Dick Anderson – Alternate
- Senator Lynn Findley – Alternate
- Senator Lew Frederick – Alternate
- Senator Fred Girod – Alternate
- Senator Kate Lieber – Alternate
Past composition of the Senate
See also
Notes
- Intersession, on January 4, 2021, Democrat Shemia Fagan (District 24) resigned to become Secretary of State of Oregon. On January 6, Democrat Kayse Jama was appointed to fill the seat.
- Republican Brian Boquist (District 12) changed his party registration from Republican to Independent Party of Oregon.[7]
- Senator Art Robinson (District 2) left the Republican caucus in order to caucus with Boquist.
- Democrat Betsy Johnson (District 16) resigned to focus on her run for governor.[8]
- Senator was originally appointed.
- Olsen resigned on January 10, 2021.[11]
- Kennemer was appointed as Olsen's successor on February 1, 2021.[12]
References
- "Oregon Senate GOP tensions are front and center with new bill".
- "Senate Home". www.oregonlegislature.gov. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- Green, Ashbel S.; Lisa Grace Lednicer (January 17, 2006). "State high court strikes term limits". Oregonian. Portland, Oregon: Oregonian Publishing. pp. A1.
- Oregon Blue Book: Senate Presidents of Oregon
- National Conference of State Legislatures. "In Case of a Tie..." Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- Kimberly Jensen. "Kathryn Clarke". The Oregon Encyclopedia.
- Oregonian/OregonLive, Hillary Borrud | The (February 25, 2021). "Oregon Senate Republicans walk out for 3rd straight year, citing governor's COVID-19 restrictions". oregonlive. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- {{cite web|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2021/12/longtime-state-sen-betsy-johnson-to-resign-to-focus-on-independent-run-for-oregon-governor.html%7Ctitle=Longtime state Sen. Betsy Johnson to resign to focus on independent run for Oregon governor|authorThe Associated Press|date=December 14, 2021|accessdate=December 15, 2021|work=The Oregonian
- "Tracking Senate Bill 989 in the Oregon Legislature". Your Government :: The Oregonian. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
- Warner, Gary A. (October 22, 2021). "Bend senator named leader of Oregon Senate GOP". Oregon Capital Bureau. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
- Ramakrishnan, Jayati (January 4, 2021). "Oregon senator from Clackamas County will resign". OregonLive. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- Lindstrand, Emily (February 1, 2021). "Commissioners appoint Bill Kennemer to Senate District 20". Pamplin Media Group. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- "Senate Committee Selection". OregonLegislature.gov.