- Oregon State Senate
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Oregon State Senate Oregon Legislative Assembly Type Type Upper house Term limits None New session started February 1, 2011 Leadership President of the Senate Peter Courtney, (D)
since January 13, 2003President pro Tempore Ginny Burdick, (D)
since January 10, 2011Majority Leader Diane Rosenbaum, (D)
since January 10, 2011Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli, (R)
since January 8, 2007Structure Members 30 Political groups Democratic Party (16)
Republican Party (14)Length of term 4 years Authority Article IV, Oregon Constitution Salary $21,612/year + per diem Elections Last election November 2, 2010
(16 seats)Next election November 6, 2012
(14 seats)Redistricting Legislative Control Meeting place State Senate Chamber
Oregon State Capitol
Salem, OregonWebsite Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the state-wide legislature for the U.S. 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 114,000. The State Senate meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.
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.[1]
Like certain other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. 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.[2]
Oregon, along with Arizona, Maine, and Wyoming, is one of the four U.S. states to have abolished the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, a position which for most upper houses of state legislatures and indeed for the U.S. 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.[3]
Contents
Milestones
After women became eligible to run for the state legislature in 1914, Kathryn Clarke (cousin of Oswald West) was controversially appointed, and then swiftly elected, to the Oregon State Senate in 1915.[4]
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 Vacant End of previous legislature 18 12 30 0 Begin 16 14 30 0 November 11, 2011[5] 15 29 1 Latest voting share 51.7% 48.3% 76th Senate
Main article: 76th Oregon Legislative AssemblyThe 76th Oregon Legislative Assembly, which holds its regular session from 2011 to 2013, has the following leadership:
- President of the Senate: Peter Courtney (D-11 Salem)
- President Pro Tem: Ginny Burdick (D-18 Portland)
- Majority Leader: Diane Rosenbaum (D-21 Portland)
- Minority Leader: Ted Ferrioli (R-30 John Day)
See also
- List of Presidents of the Oregon State Senate
- 75th Oregon Legislative Assembly (2009 and 2010 sessions)
- 74th Oregon Legislative Assembly (2007 and 2008 sessions)
- Oregon Senate elections, 2008
References
- ^ Green, Ashbel S.; Lisa Grace Lednicer (2006-01-17). "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......". http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=17278. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
- ^ Kimberly Jensen. Kathryn Clarke in the Oregon Encyclopedia
- ^ Democrat Suzanne Bonamici (District 17) resigned after winning a special congressional primary.
External links
Members of the Oregon State Senate 76th Legislative Assembly (2011-2012)
President of the Senate: Peter Courtney (D) • President pro Tempore: Ginny Burdick (D) • Majority Leader: Diane Rosenbaum (D) • Minority Leader: Ted Ferrioli (R)- Jeff Kruse (R)
- Jason Atkinson (R)
- Alan Bates (D)
- Floyd Prozanski (D)
- Joanne Verger (D)
- Lee Beyer (D)
- Chris Edwards (D)
- Frank Morse (R)
- Fred Girod (R)
- Jackie Winters (R)
- Peter Courtney (D)
- Brian Boquist (R)
- Larry George (R)
- Mark Hass (D)
- Bruce Starr (R)
- Betsy Johnson (D)
- Suzanne Bonamici (D)
- Ginny Burdick (D)
- Richard Devlin (D)
- Alan Olsen (R)
- Diane Rosenbaum (D)
- Chip Shields (D)
- Jackie Dingfelder (D)
- Rod Monroe (D)
- Laurie Monnes Anderson (D)
- Chuck Thomsen (R)
- Chris Telfer (R)
- Doug Whitsett (R)
- David Nelson (R)
- Ted Ferrioli (R)
Democratic (16) • Republican (14) • Oregon Legislative Assembly • Oregon House of Representatives • Oregon State SenateCategories:- Oregon Legislative Assembly
- State upper houses in the United States
- Oregon State Senators
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