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 114,000. The State Senate meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.

Oregon State Senate
Oregon Legislative Assembly
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 22, 2019
Leadership
President of the Senate
Peter Courtney (D)
since January 13, 2003
President pro Tempore
Laurie Monnes Anderson (D)
since January 9, 2017
Majority Leader
Rob Wagner (D)
since May 22, 2020
Minority Leader
Fred Girod (R)
since January 22, 2019
Structure
Seats30
Political groups
Majority

Minority

Length of term
4 years
AuthorityArticle IV, Oregon Constitution
Salary$21,612/year + per diem
Elections
Last election
November 6, 2018
(14 seats)
Next election
November 3, 2020
(16 seats)
RedistrictingLegislative Control
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber
Oregon State Capitol
Salem, Oregon
Website
Oregon State Senate
2017-2018 map of Senators

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 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.[2]

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 indeed 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.[3]

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.[4] 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 Vacant
End of 75th Assembly (2010) 18 12 30 0
76th Assembly (2011-2012) 16 14 30 0
77th Assembly (2013-2014) 16 14 30 0
78th Assembly (2015-2016) 18 12 30 0
79th Assembly (2017-2018) 17 13 30 0
Begin 80th (2019) 18 12 30 0
May 29, 2019[5] 11 29 1
June 28, 2019[6] 12 30 0
January 2, 2020[7] 11 29 1
January 6, 2020[8] 12 30 0
Latest voting share 62.1% 37.9%

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.

Statewide view of 2012 Senate Districts
Portland Metro Area view of 2012 Senate Districts

80th Senate
Main article: 80th Oregon Legislative Assembly

The 80th Oregon Legislative Assembly, which holds its regular session from 2019 to 2021, has the following leadership:

Senate President: Peter Courtney (D–11 Salem)
President Pro Tempore: Laurie Monnes Anderson (D–25 Gresham)
Majority Leader: Rob Wagner (D–19 Lake Oswego)
Minority Leader: Herman Baertschiger Jr. (R-2 Grants Pass)

Past composition of the Senate
Main article: Political party strength in Oregon
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See also

References
  1. Green, Ashbel S.; Lisa Grace Lednicer (January 17, 2006). "State high court strikes term limits". Oregonian. Portland, Oregon: Oregonian Publishing. pp. A1.
  2. Oregon Blue Book: Senate Presidents of Oregon
  3. National Conference of State Legislatures. "In Case of a Tie..." Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  4. Kimberly Jensen. "Kathryn Clarke". The Oregon Encyclopedia.
  5. Republican Jackie Winters (District 10) died.
  6. Republican Denyc Boles appointed to succeed Winters.
  7. Republican Cliff Bentz (District 30) resigned.
  8. Republican Lynn Findley appointed to succeed Bentz.
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