Arizona Senate

Arizona Senate
Arizona Senate
56th Arizona Legislature
Type
Type	Upper house
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
Seats	30 senators
Political groups	Majority Republican (16); Minority Democratic (14);
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Article 4, Arizona Constitution
Salary	$24,000/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2022; (30 seats)
Next election	November 5, 2024; (30 seats)
Redistricting	Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission
Meeting place
	State Senate Chamber; Arizona State Capitol; 1700 W. Washington St.; Phoenix, Arizona • 85007
Website
	Arizona State Senate

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

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

Position	Name	Party	Residence	District
President of the Senate	Warren Petersen	Republican	Gilbert	District 14
President Pro Tempore	T. J. Shope	Republican	Coolidge	District 16
Majority Leader	Sonny Borrelli	Republican	Lake Havasu City	District 30
Majority Whip	Sine Kerr	Republican	Buckeye	District 25
Minority Caucus Chair	Lela Alston	Democratic	Phoenix	District 5
Minority Leader	Mitzi Epstein	Democratic	Chandler	District 12
Assistant Minority Leader	Juan Mendez	Democratic	Tempe	District 8
Minority Whip	Eva Burch	Democratic	Mesa	District 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	30	0

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

District	Senator	Party	Residence	Assumed office on	Elected
1	Ken Bennett	Rep	Prescott	2023	2022
2	Shawnna Bolick	Rep	Phoenix	2023	2023†
3	John Kavanagh	Rep	Scottsdale	2023	2022
4	Christine Marsh	Dem	Phoenix	2023	2020
5	Lela Alston	Dem	Phoenix	2023	2018
6	Theresa Hatathlie	Dem	Coal Mine Mesa	2023	2022
7	Wendy Rogers	Rep	Tempe^[7]	2023	2020
8	Juan Mendez	Dem	Tempe	2023	2016
9	Eva Burch	Dem	Mesa	2023	2022
10	Dave Farnsworth	Rep	Mesa	2023	2022
11	Catherine Miranda	Dem	Phoenix	2023	2022
12	Mitzi Epstein	Dem	Chandler	2023	2022
13	J. D. Mesnard	Rep	Chandler	2023	2018
14	Warren Petersen	Rep	Gilbert	2023	2020
15	Jake Hoffman	Rep	Queen Creek	2023	2022
16	T. J. Shope	Rep	Coolidge	2023	2020
17	Justine Wadsack	Rep	Tucson	2023	2022
18	Priya Sundareshan	Dem	Tucson	2023	2022
19	David Gowan	Rep	Sierra Vista	2023	2018
20	Sally Ann Gonzales	Dem	Tucson	2023	2018
21	Rosanna Gabaldón	Dem	Sahuarita	2023	2022
22	Eva Diaz	Dem	Tolleson	2023	2022
23	Brian Fernandez	Dem	Yuma	2023	2022
24	Anna Hernandez	Dem	Phoenix	2023	2022
25	Sine Kerr	Rep	Buckeye	2023	2018†
26	Flavio Bravo	Dem	Phoenix	2023	2023†
27	Anthony Kern	Rep	Glendale	2023	2022
28	Frank Carroll	Rep	Surprise	2023	2022
29	Janae Shamp	Rep	Surprise	2023	2022
30	Sonny Borrelli	Rep	Lake Havasu City	2023	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

References

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

External links

Official Arizona State Senate website
Arizona Senate at Ballotpedia
Billhop – Arizona legislative wiki at the Wayback Machine (archived March 2, 2007)

[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 [1]

[4] Democrat Flavio Bravo appointed to succeed Terán. [2]

[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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v t e Arizona Senate
56th Legislature (2023-present) President of the Senate Warren Petersen (R) President pro tempore T. J. Shope (R) Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli (R) Minority Leader Mitzi Epstein (D)
▌Ken Bennett (R) ▌Shawnna Bolick (R) ▌John Kavanagh (R) ▌Christine Marsh (D) ▌Lela Alston (D) ▌Theresa Hatathlie (D) ▌Wendy Rogers (R) ▌Juan Mendez (D) ▌Eva Burch (D) ▌Dave Farnsworth (R) ▌Catherine Miranda (D) ▌Mitzi Epstein (D) ▌J. D. Mesnard (R) ▌Warren Petersen (R) ▌Jake Hoffman (R) ▌T. J. Shope (R) ▌Justine Wadsack (R) ▌Priya Sundareshan (D) ▌David Gowan (R) ▌Sally Ann Gonzales (D) ▌Rosanna Gabaldón (D) ▌Eva Diaz (D) ▌Brian Fernandez (D) ▌Anna Hernandez (D) ▌Sine Kerr (R) ▌Flavio Bravo (D) ▌Anthony Kern (R) ▌Frank Carroll (R) ▌Janae Shamp (R) ▌Sonny Borrelli (R)
▌Republican (16) ▌Democratic (14) Arizona State Legislature House Senate List of past legislatures

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