Massachusetts Senate

Massachusetts Senate
Massachusetts Senate
193rd General Court of Massachusetts
Type
Type	Upper house of the Massachusetts General Court
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 4, 2025
Leadership
President	Karen Spilka (D) ; since July 26, 2018
President pro tempore	William 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 (35) Democratic (35); Minority (5) Republican (5);
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Chapter 1, Massachusetts Constitution
Salary	$70,537/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
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	November 5, 2024
Next election	November 3, 2026
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
	State Senate Chamber; Massachusetts State House; Boston, Massachusetts
Website
	Massachusetts Senate
Rules
	Rules of the 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 state capital.

Qualifications

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

Be 18 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 at 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
Begin 189th (2015–2016)	34	6	40	0
Begin 190th (2017–2018)
Begin 191st (2019–2020)
Begin 192nd (2021–2022)	37	3	40	0
Begin 193rd (2023–2024)	37	3	40	0
End 193rd (2023–2024)	36	4	40	0

Begin 194th (2025–2026)	35	5	40	0
October 2, 2025^[3]	34	5	39	1
Latest voting share	87.2%	12.8%

^[4]

Current leadership

Current members and districts

Massachusetts Senate districts are named for the counties that contain a portion of the district ordered by percentage of the district's population that is within that county. If multiple districts would have the same name under this scheme, they are also given an ordinal number. The one exception is "Cape and Islands" which if the naming scheme were followed would be "Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket".

Current committees 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.

Notes

References

^ Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Article LXXXII.
^ "How to Run for Office in Massachusetts" (PDF). March 2017.
^ Democrat Edward J. Kennedy (1st Middlesex) died. [1]
^ "Massachusetts Senate". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 5, 2023.

External links

Senate Members of the General Court official government website
Official Senate district definitions as of 2021
- 2002
- 2010, with names of senators
- 2011
State Senate of Massachusetts at Project Vote Smart
Massachusetts Senate at Ballotpedia

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

[2] "How to Run for Office in Massachusetts" (PDF). March 2017.

[3] Democrat Edward J. Kennedy (1st Middlesex) died. [1]

[4] "Massachusetts Senate". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 5, 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Members of the Massachusetts Senate
194th General Court (2025–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)
▌Paul Mark (D, Berk., Hpsh., Frnk., & Hpdn.) ▌Paul Feeney (D, Bris. & Norf.) ▌Michael Rodrigues (D, 1st Bris. & Plym.) ▌Mark Montigny (D, 2nd Bris. & Plym.) ▌Kelly Dooner (R, 3rd Bris. & Plym.) ▌Julian Cyr (D, Cape & Islands) ▌Pavel Payano (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.) ▌Adam Gomez (D, Hampden) ▌John Velis (D, Hpdn. & Hpsh.) ▌Jacob Oliveira (D, Hpdn., Hpsh. & Wor.) ▌Jo Comerford (D, Hpsh., Frnk., & Wor.) ▌Vacant (1st Mid.) ▌Patricia D. Jehlen (D, 2nd Mid.) ▌Michael J. Barrett (D, 3rd Mid.) ▌Cindy Friedman (D, 4th Mid.) ▌Jason Lewis (D, 5th Mid.) ▌Karen Spilka (D, Mid. & Norf.) ▌Sal DiDomenico (D, Mid. & Suff.) ▌Jamie Eldridge (D, Mid. & Wor.) ▌Cynthia Stone Creem (D, Norf. & Mid.) ▌John F. Keenan (D, Norf. & Plym.) ▌William Driscoll (D, Norf., Plym. & Bris.) ▌Mike Rush (D, Norf. & Suff.) ▌Becca Rausch (D, Norf., Wor. & Mid.) ▌Dylan Fernandes (D, Plym. & Barn.) ▌Patrick O'Connor (R, 1st Plym. & Norf.) ▌Michael Brady (D, 2nd Plym. & Norf.) ▌Nick Collins (D, 1st Suffolk) ▌Liz Miranda (D, 2nd Suffolk) ▌Lydia Edwards (D, 3rd Suffolk) ▌Will Brownsberger (D, Suff. & Mid.) ▌Robyn Kennedy (D, 1st Worcester) ▌Michael O. Moore (D, 2nd Worcester) ▌Ryan Fattman (R, Wor. & Hpdn.) ▌Peter Durant (R, Wor. & Hpsh.) ▌John Cronin (D, Wor. & Mid.)
▌Democratic (34) ▌Republican (5) ▌Vacant (1) List of Massachusetts Senate delegations Massachusetts General Court Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts Senate

v t e Legislatures of the United States
United States Congress	United States House of Representatives United States Senate
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Legislative elections	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
List of U.S. state legislators Lists of past U.S. state legislatures

v t e 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 Office for Administration and Finance Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Department of Higher Education Emergency Management Agency Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Department of Environmental Protection Department of Revenue Office of Health and Human Services Office of Housing and Economic Development 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 (Judges) Supreme Judicial Court Essex Probate and Family Court Middlesex Probate and Family Court
Independent agencies	Board of Library Commissioners Commission Against Discrimination Commission on the Status of Women Disabled Persons Protection Commission Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board Massachusetts District Attorneys Massachusetts Inspector General Office of Campaign and Political Finance Office of the Comptroller Massachusetts Sheriffs State Ethics Commission
Law	Constitution General Laws Code of Massachusetts Regulations Abortion Alcohol Cannabis Capital punishment Crime Elder law Gambling Gun laws LGBT rights Taxation

Authority control databases
International	VIAF GND
National	United States Israel
Other	Yale LUX