Massachusetts Senate

Massachusetts Senate
Massachusetts Senate
2021–2022 Massachusetts legislature
Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 6, 2021
Leadership
President	Karen Spilka (D) ; since July 26, 2018
President pro tempore	Will Brownsberger (D) ; since March 20, 2019
Majority Leader	Cynthia Stone Creem (D) ; since February 28, 2018
Minority Leader	Bruce Tarr (R) ; since January 5, 2011
Structure
Seats	40
Political groups	Majority Democratic (37) Minority Republican (3)
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Chapter 1, Massachusetts Constitution
Salary	$62,500/year; set to increase every two years equal to the increase in the median salary of Massachusetts. Additional stipends are given to leaders of the majority and minority party.
Elections
Last election	November 3, 2020; (40 seats)
Next election	; (40 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
	State Senate Chamber; Massachusetts State House; Boston, Massachusetts
Website
	Massachusetts Senate

The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state. All but one of the districts are named for the counties in which they are located (the "Cape and Islands" district covers Dukes, Nantucket, and parts of Barnstable counties). Senators serve two-year terms, without term limits.^[1] The Senate convenes in the Massachusetts State House, in Boston.

The current session is the 192nd General Court, which convened January 6, 2021. It consists of 37 Democrats and 3 Republicans. The President of the Senate is Karen E. Spilka of Ashland. The Senate Minority Leader, from the Republican Party, is Bruce Tarr of Gloucester. The last state general election was on November 3, 2020.

Qualifications[]

The following are the qualifications to be elected to the Massachusetts Senate:^[2]

Be eighteen years of age
Be a registered voter in Massachusetts
Be an inhabitant of Massachusetts for five years
Be a resident of the district when elected
Receive a least 300 signatures on nomination papers

Recent party control[]

Democrats hold a supermajority in the Senate.

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
189th General Court	34	6	40	0
190th General Court				0
191st General Court				0
192nd General Court	37	3		0
Latest voting share	92.5%	7.5%

Current leadership[]

^[3]

Position	Leader	District	Party
President of the Senate	Karen E. Spilka	Second Middlesex and Norfolk	Democratic
Majority Leader	Cynthia Stone Creem	First Middlesex and Norfolk
President pro tempore	William N. Brownsberger	Second Suffolk and Middlesex
Senate President Emerita	Harriette L. Chandler	First Worcester
Assistant Majority Leader	Joan Lovely	Second Essex
	Michael J. Barrett	Third Middlesex
	Sal N. DiDomenico	Middlesex and Suffolk
Senate Majority Whip	Michael F. Rush	Norfolk and Suffolk
Assistant Majority Whip	Julian Cyr	Cape and Islands
Senate Ways and Means Chair	Michael J. Rodrigues	First Bristol and Plymouth
Minority Leader	Bruce E. Tarr	First Essex and Middlesex	Republican
Assistant Minority Leader	Patrick M. O'Connor	Plymouth and Norfolk
Assistant Minority Leader	Ryan C. Fattman	Worcester and Norfolk

Committees[]

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

Committee	Chair	Vice Chair
Bills in the Third Reading	Sal N. DiDomenico	Joan B. Lovely
Ethics	Eric P. Lesser	Cynthia Stone Creem
Global Warming and Climate Change	Cynthia Stone Creem	Michael J. Barrett
Intergovernmental Affairs	Michael F. Rush	Adam G. Hinds
Personnel and Administration	Joseph A. Boncore	Brendan P. Crighton
Post Audit and Oversight	Michael O. Moore	James B. Eldridge
Reimagining Massachusetts Post-Pandemic Resiliency	Adam G. Hinds	Jason M. Lewis
Redistricting	William N. Brownsberger	Anne M. Gobi
Rules	Joan B. Lovely	Joseph A. Boncore
Steering and Policy	Mark C. Montigny	Michael J. Rodrigues
Ways and Means	Michael J. Rodrigues	Cindy F. Friedman Jason M. Lewis (Assistant Vice Chair)

Current districts and members[]

Past composition of the Senate[]

Composition by municipality in the 187th and 188th General Courts.

Composition by municipality in the 189th General Court and at the opening of 190th General Court.

Composition by municipality in the 190th General Court beginning on December 5, 2017.

Composition by municipality at the beginning of the 191st General Court.

References[]

^ Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Article LXXXII.
^ https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/Candidates-Guide-generic.pdf
^ "Senate Leadership". The 192nd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.

External links[]

Senate Members of the General Court official government website
Official Senate district definitions as of 2011
- 2002
- 2010, with names of senators
State Senate of Massachusetts^{[permanent dead link]} at Project Vote Smart
Massachusetts Senate at Ballotpedia

[1] Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Article LXXXII.

[2] ttps://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/Candidates-Guide-generic.pdf

[3] "Senate Leadership". The 192nd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

show v t Members of the Massachusetts Senate
192nd General Court (2021–present) President of the Senate Karen Spilka (D) President pro tempore Will Brownsberger (D) Majority Leader Cynthia Stone Creem (D) Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R)
Adam G. Hinds (D, Berk., Hpsh., Frnk., & Hpdn.) Paul Feeney (D, Bris. & Norf.) Michael Rodrigues (D, 1st Bris. & Plym.) Mark Montigny (D, 2nd Bris. & Plym.) Julian Cyr (D, Cape & Islands) Diana DiZoglio (D, 1st Essex) Joan Lovely (D, 2nd Essex) Brendan Crighton (D, 3rd Essex) Bruce Tarr (R, 1st Ess. & Mid.) Barry Finegold (D, 2nd Ess. & Mid.) James T. Welch (D, Hampden) Eric Lesser (D, 1st Hpdn. & Hpsh.) John Velis (D, 2nd Hpdn. & Hpsh.) Jo Comerford (D, Hpsh., Frnk., & Wor.) Edward J. Kennedy (D, 1st Mid.) Patricia D. Jehlen (D, 2nd Mid.) Michael J. Barrett (D, 3rd Mid.) Cindy Friedman (D, 4th Mid.) Jason Lewis (D, 5th Mid.) Cynthia Stone Creem (D, 1st Mid. & Norf.) Karen Spilka (D, 2nd Mid. & Norf.) Sal DiDomenico (D, Mid. & Suff.) Jamie Eldridge (D, Mid. & Wor.) Becca Rausch (D, Norf., Bris. & Mid.) Walter Timilty (D, Norf., Bris. & Plym.) John F. Keenan (D, Norf. & Plym.) Mike Rush (D, Norf. & Suff.) Susan Moran (D, Plym. & Barn.) Marc Pacheco (D, 1st Plym. & Bris.) Michael Brady (D, 2nd Plym. & Bris.) Patrick O'Connor (R, Plym. & Norf.) Nick Collins (D, 1st Suffolk) Sonia Chang-Díaz (D, 2nd Suffolk) Joseph Boncore (D, 1st Suff. & Mid.) Will Brownsberger (D, 2nd Suff. & Mid.) Harriette L. Chandler (D, 1st Worcester) Michael O. Moore (D, 2nd Worcester) Anne Gobi (D, Wor., Hpdn., Hpsh., & Midd.) Jamie Eldridge (D, Wor. & Mid.) Ryan Fattman (R, Wor. & Norf.)
Democratic (37) Republican (3) List of Massachusetts Senate delegations Massachusetts General Court Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts Senate

show v t Legislatures of the United States
United States Congress	United States House of Representatives United States Senate
State legislatures	Alabama (H, S) Alaska (H, S) Arizona (H, S) Arkansas (H, S) California (A, S) Colorado (H, S) Connecticut (H, S) Delaware (H, S) Florida (H, S) Georgia (H, S) Hawaii (H, S) Idaho (H, S) Illinois (H, S) Indiana (H, S) Iowa (H, S) Kansas (H, S) Kentucky (H, S) Louisiana (H, S) Maine (H, S) Maryland (H, S) Massachusetts (H, S) Michigan (H, S) Minnesota (H, S) Mississippi (H, S) Missouri (H, S) Montana (H, S) Nebraska Nevada (A, S) New Hampshire (H, S) New Jersey (GA, S) New Mexico (H, S) New York (A, S) North Carolina (H, S) North Dakota (H, S) Ohio (H, S) Oklahoma (H, S) Oregon (H, S) Pennsylvania (H, S) Rhode Island (H, S) South Carolina (H, S) South Dakota (H, S) Tennessee (H, S) Texas (H, S) Utah (H, S) Vermont (H, S) Virginia (H, S) Washington (H, S) West Virginia (H, S) Wisconsin (A, S) Wyoming (H, S)
Other legislatures	District of Columbia American Samoa (H, S) Guam Northern Mariana Islands (H, S) Puerto Rico (H, S) U.S. Virgin Islands
Legislative elections	2010 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
List of U.S. state legislators

show v t Government of Massachusetts
Legislative	General Court Senate (Members, President) House of Representatives (Members, Speaker)
Executive	Governor (List) Lt. Governor Attorney General Auditor Secretary of the Commonwealth Treasurer and Receiver-General Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Department of Higher Education Emergency Management Agency Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Department of Environmental Protection Office of Health and Human Services Office of Labor and Workforce Development Department of Mental Health Department of Public Health Office of Public Safety and Security Department of Public Utilities Department of Transportation Department of Youth Services
Judicial	Boston Municipal Court District Court Superior Court Land Court Juvenile Court Housing Court Massachusetts Probate and Family Court Appeals Court () Supreme Judicial Court Essex Probate and Family Court Middlesex Probate and Family Court
Independent agencies	Board of Library Commissioners Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board
Law	Constitution General Laws Code of Massachusetts Regulations Abortion Alcohol Cannabis Capital punishment Crime Elder law Gambling Gun laws LGBT rights Taxation

show Authority control
General	Integrated Authority File (Germany) VIAF 1 WorldCat
National libraries	United States