The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

of the US state of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figures). Members serve two-year terms with

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential ...

that limit Senators to four terms for a total of eight years. Members of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

are currently the majority in the Senate. There is currently 16 women serving in the Senate after

Raquel Terán Raquel Terán is an American politician serving as a member of the Arizona Senate from the 30th district. She previously served in the Arizona House of Representatives. Early life Terán was born in Douglas, Arizona. Her citizenship was challe ...

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 Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

and

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olymp ...

. In political science, this type of legislative district is called a

multi-member district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

. 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

, along with

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

, is one of the five U.S. states to have abolished the Office of the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, 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. The current President of the Senate is Republican

Karen Fann Karen Fann (born September 1, 1954) is a Republican member of the Arizona Senate, representing Arizona Legislative District 1. Fann became President of the Arizona Senate in 2019. After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election and Donald Tru ...

of District 1, the Senate

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

is Rick Gray of District 21. The current Minority Leader is Rebecca Rios of District 27 with Lupe Contreras of District 19 as the Assistant Minority Leader.

Leadership information

Current composition

Current members, 2021–2023

† Member was originally appointed.

Committees

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

Past composition of the Senate

References

External links

Official Arizona State Senate website

Billhop – Arizona legislative wiki
{{Authority control

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

State upper houses in the United States