Oregon State Senate

Oregon State Senate
Oregon State Senate
Oregon Legislative Assembly
Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 11, 2021
Leadership
President	Peter Courtney (D) ; since January 13, 2003
President pro Tempore	James Manning Jr. (D) ; since January 11, 2021
Majority Leader	Rob Wagner (D) ; since May 22, 2020
Minority Leader	Fred Girod (R) ; since January 11, 2021
Structure
Seats	30
Political groups	Majority; Democratic (18); Minority; Republican (10); Others; IPO (1); Ind. Republican (1);
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

Current map of senators by party affiliation

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 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.^[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

			IR/IPO

	Democratic	Republican	IR	IPO		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)	18	12	0	0	30	0
January 15, 2021^[a]		11	0	1	30	0
April 2021^[b]		10	1	1	30	0
Latest voting share	60%	33.3%	6.7%

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.^[8]

Statewide view of 2012 Senate Districts

Portland Metro Area view of 2012 Senate Districts

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)

District	Senator	Party	Residence	Assumed office
1	Dallas Heard	Republican	Roseburg	2018^[c]
2	Art Robinson	Ind. Rep.	Cave Junction	2021
3	Jeff Golden	Democratic	Ashland	2019
4	Floyd Prozanski	Democratic	Eugene	2003
5	Dick Anderson	Republican	Coos Bay	2021
6	Lee Beyer	Democratic	Springfield	2011
7	James Manning Jr.	Democratic	Eugene	2017^[c]
8	Sara Gelser	Democratic	Corvallis	2015
9	Fred Girod	Republican	Stayton	2008^[c]
10	Deb Patterson	Democratic	Salem	2021
11	Peter Courtney	Democratic	Salem	1999
12	Brian Boquist	Ind. Party	Dallas	2009
13	Kim Thatcher	Republican	Keizer	2015
14	Kate Lieber	Democratic	Beaverton	2021
15	Chuck Riley	Democratic	Hillsboro	2015
16	Betsy Johnson	Democratic	Scappoose	2007
17	Elizabeth Steiner Hayward	Democratic	Portland	2012^[c]
18	Ginny Burdick	Democratic	Portland	1997
19	Rob Wagner	Democratic	Lake Oswego	2018^[c]
20	Alan Olsen^[d]	Republican	Canby	2011
20	Bill Kennemer^[e]	Republican	Canby	2021^[c]
21	Kathleen Taylor	Democratic	Portland	2017
22	Lew Frederick	Democratic		2017
23	Michael Dembrow	Democratic		2013^[c]
24	Kayse Jama	Democratic		2021^[c]
25	Chris Gorsek	Democratic	Troutdale	2021
26	Chuck Thomsen	Republican	Hood River	2010
27	Tim Knopp	Republican	Bend	2013
28	Dennis Linthicum	Republican	Klamath Falls	2017
29	Bill Hansell	Republican	Athena	2013
30	Lynn Findley	Republican	Vale	2020^[c]

Past composition of the Senate[]

Notes[]

^ Republican Brian Boquist (District 12) changed his party registration from Republican to Independent.^[7]
^ Senator Art Robinson left the Republican caucus in order to caucus with Boquist.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Senator was originally appointed.
^ Olsen resigned on January 10, 2021.^[9]
^ Kennemer was appointed as Olsen's successor on February 1, 2021.^[10]

References[]

^ https://www.opb.org/article/2021/05/06/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.
^ "Tracking Senate Bill 989 in the Oregon Legislature". Your Government :: The Oregonian. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
^ 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.

External links[]

[8] Republican Brian Boquist (District 12) changed his party registration from Republican to Independent.^[7]

[9] Senator Art Robinson left the Republican caucus in order to caucus with Boquist.

[appointeds-11] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Senator was originally appointed.

[13] Olsen resigned on January 10, 2021.^[9]

[15] Kennemer was appointed as Olsen's successor on February 1, 2021.^[10]

[1] ttps://www.opb.org/article/2021/05/06/senate-gop-tensions-are-front-and-center-with-new-bill/

[2] "Senate Home". www.oregonlegislature.gov. Retrieved March 13, 2021.

[Oregonian_2002-01-17-3] Green, Ashbel S.; Lisa Grace Lednicer (January 17, 2006). "State high court strikes term limits". Oregonian. Portland, Oregon: Oregonian Publishing. pp. A1.

[4] Oregon Blue Book: Senate Presidents of Oregon

[tiebreak-5] National Conference of State Legislatures. "In Case of a Tie..." Retrieved November 3, 2010.

[6] Kimberly Jensen. "Kathryn Clarke". The Oregon Encyclopedia.

[7] 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.

[10] "Tracking Senate Bill 989 in the Oregon Legislature". Your Government :: The Oregonian. Retrieved December 31, 2020.

[olsen-12] Ramakrishnan, Jayati (January 4, 2021). "Oregon senator from Clackamas County will resign". OregonLive. Retrieved January 10, 2021.

[kennemer-14] Lindstrand, Emily (February 1, 2021). "Commissioners appoint Bill Kennemer to Senate District 20". Pamplin Media Group. Retrieved February 3, 2021.

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show v t Members of the Oregon State Senate
81st Legislative Assembly (2021–present) President of the Senate Peter Courtney (D) President pro tempore James Manning Jr. (D) Majority Leader Rob Wagner (D) Minority Leader Fred Girod (R)
Dallas Heard (R) Art Robinson (IR) Jeff Golden (D) Floyd Prozanski (D) Dick Anderson (R) Lee Beyer (D) James Manning Jr. (D) Sara Gelser (D) Fred Girod (R) Deb Patterson (D) Peter Courtney (D) Brian Boquist (IPO) Kim Thatcher (R) Kate Lieber (D) Chuck Riley (D) Betsy Johnson (D) Elizabeth Steiner Hayward (D) Ginny Burdick (D) Rob Wagner (D) Bill Kennemer (R) Kathleen Taylor (D) Lew Frederick (D) Michael Dembrow (D) Kayse Jama (D) Chris Gorsek (D) Chuck Thomsen (R) Tim Knopp (R) Dennis Linthicum (R) Bill Hansell (R) Lynn Findley (R)
Majority caucus Democratic (18) Minority caucus Republican (10) Others Independent Party (1) Independent Republican (1) Oregon Legislative Assembly Oregon House of Representatives Oregon State Senate

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