33°26′53″N 112°5′45″W / 33.44806°N 112.09583°W / 33.44806; -112.09583

Arizona Senate
56th Arizona Legislature
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
4 terms (8 years)
History
New session started
January 9, 2023
Leadership
President
Warren Petersen (R)
since January 9, 2023
President pro tempore
T. J. Shope (R)
since January 9, 2023
Majority Leader
Sonny Borrelli (R)
since January 9, 2023
Minority Leader
Mitzi Epstein (D)
since March 2, 2023
Structure
Seats30 senators
Political groups
Majority
  •   Republican (16)

Minority

Length of term
2 years
AuthorityArticle 4, Arizona Constitution
Salary$24,000/year + per diem
Elections
Last election
November 8, 2022
(30 seats)
Next election
November 5, 2024
(30 seats)
RedistrictingArizona Independent Redistricting Commission
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber
Arizona State Capitol
1700 W. Washington St.
Phoenix, Arizona  85007
Website
Arizona State Senate

The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figures). Members serve two-year terms with term limits that limit Senators to a maximum four consecutive terms (eight years) before requiring a one-term respite prior to running again. Members of the Republican Party are currently the majority in the Senate. There are currently 16 women serving in the Senate after Raquel Terán was appointed, making it the first time a majority of the body was composed of female members.

As with the Arizona House of Representatives, members to the Senate are elected from the same legislative districts as House members, however one Senator represents the constituency, while for the House there are two Representatives per district. This districting system is similar to those of the Idaho and Washington State Senate. In political science, this type of legislative district is called a multi-member district.

Like other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the Senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions and boards.

The Senate convenes in the adjacent legislative chambers at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix.

Leadership of the Senate

Arizona, along with Oregon, Maine, New Hampshire and Wyoming, is one of the five U.S. states to have abolished the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, the nominal senate president in many states. As a result, the Senate elects its own presiding officer, the President of the Senate, who presides over the body, appoints members to all of the Senate's committees and to joint committees, and may create other committees and subcommittees if desired. The Senate President also appoints a President pro tempore, who serves for the duration of a session of the legislature, to preside in their absence, and may appoint a temporary President pro tempore in the absence of the President and President pro tempore.[1]

The current President of the Senate is Republican Warren Petersen of District 14, the Senate Majority Leader is Sonny Borrelli of District 30. The current Minority Leader is Mitzi Epstein of District 12 with Juan Mendez of District 8 as the Assistant Minority Leader.[2]

Leadership information

PositionNamePartyResidenceDistrict
President of the SenateWarren PetersenRepublicanGilbertDistrict 14
President Pro TemporeT. J. ShopeRepublicanCoolidgeDistrict 16
Majority LeaderSonny BorrelliRepublicanLake Havasu CityDistrict 30
Majority WhipSine KerrRepublicanBuckeyeDistrict 25
Minority Caucus ChairLela AlstonDemocraticPhoenixDistrict 5
Minority LeaderMitzi EpsteinDemocraticChandlerDistrict 12
Assistant Minority LeaderJuan MendezDemocraticTempeDistrict 8
Minority WhipEva BurchDemocraticMesaDistrict 9

Current composition

14 16
Democratic Republican
Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
Republican Democratic Vacant
2011–12 21 9 29 1
2013–14 17 13 30 0
Begin 2015 17 13 30 0
End 2016 18 12
2017–18 17 13 30 0
2019–20 17 13 30 0
2021–22 16 14 30 0
Begin 2023 16 14 30 0
March 2, 2023[3] 13 29 1
May 8, 2023[4] 14 30 0
June 16, 2023[5] 15 14 29 1
July 21, 2023[6] 16 14 30 0
Latest voting share 51.7% 48.3%

Current members, 2023–2025

DistrictImageSenatorPartyResidenceAssumed office on Elected
1Ken BennettRepPrescott2023 2022
2Shawnna BolickRepPhoenix2023 2023†
3John KavanaghRepScottsdale2023 2022
4Christine MarshDemPhoenix2023 2020
5Lela AlstonDemPhoenix2023 2018
6Theresa HatathlieDemCoal Mine Mesa2023 2022
7Wendy RogersRepTempe[7]2023 2020
8Juan MendezDemTempe2023 2016
9Eva BurchDemMesa2023 2022
10Dave FarnsworthRepMesa 2023 2022
11Catherine MirandaDemPhoenix2023 2022
12Mitzi EpsteinDemChandler2023 2022
13J. D. MesnardRepChandler2023 2018
14Warren PetersenRepGilbert2023 2020
15Jake HoffmanRepQueen Creek2023 2022
16T. J. ShopeRepCoolidge2023 2020
17Justine WadsackRepTucson2023 2022
18Priya SundareshanDemTucson2023 2022
19David GowanRepSierra Vista2023 2018
20Sally Ann GonzalesDemTucson2023 2018
21Rosanna GabaldónDemSahuarita2023 2022
22Eva DiazDemTolleson2023 2022
23Brian FernandezDemYuma2023 2022
24Anna HernandezDemPhoenix2023 2022
25Sine KerrRepBuckeye2023 2018†
26Flavio BravoDemPhoenix2023 2023†
27Anthony KernRepGlendale2023 2022
28Frank CarrollRepSurprise2023 2022
29Janae ShampRepSurprise2023 2022
30Sonny BorrelliRepLake Havasu City2023 2016

† Member was originally appointed.

Committees

The current standing committees of the Arizona Senate are as follows:

Committee Chair Vice Chair
Appropriations John Kavanagh Jake Hoffman
Commerce Steve Kaiser Frank Carroll
Director Nominations Jake Hoffman Sine Kerr
Education Ken Bennett Justine Wadsack
Elections Wendy Rogers Ken Bennett
Finance J. D. Mesnard Steve Kaiser
Government Jake Hoffman Wendy Rogers
Health & Human Services T. J. Shope Janae Shamp
Judiciary Anthony Kern John Kavanagh
Military Affairs, Public Safety & Border Security David Gowan David Farnsworth
Natural Resources, Energy & Water Sine Kerr T. J. Shope
Rules Warren Petersen Sonny Borrelli
Transportation & Technology David Farnsworth Frank Carroll

Past composition of the Senate

See also

References

  1. "Senate Rule 2: The President". Archived from the original on November 9, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
  2. "Member Roster". Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  3. Democrat Raquel Terán (District 26) resigns
  4. Democrat Flavio Bravo appointed to succeed Terán.
  5. #BREAKING: Sen. Steve Kaiser, a Republican from N. Phoenix, confirmed that he is resigning his seat effective at the end of the week.
  6. "New Republican senator bashes Freedom Caucus | Arizona Capitol Times". July 21, 2023.
  7. "Open Letter Raises Questions About Wendy Rogers Candidacy – Arizona Daily Independent". May 25, 2020.
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