President pro tempore of the California State Senate | |
---|---|
Member of | California State Senate |
Term length | 2 years |
Inaugural holder | E. Kirby Chamberlain |
Formation | 1849 |
Unofficial names | President Pro Tem |
The president pro tempore of the California State Senate (President Pro Tem) is the highest-ranking leader and most powerful member of the California State Senate. The officeholder also chairs the Senate Rules Committee. At the beginning of each two-year session, all members of the body elect a new State Senate President pro tempore. [1] The President pro tempore is chosen by the other Senators.
The current President pro tempore is Mike McGuire, a Democratic member from the 2nd district, who was sworn in on February 5, 2024. [2]
The President pro tempore acts as the chair of the Senate while the President, the Lieutenant Governor of California, is absent during meetings, having the same powers of the president. [3] If the President Pro Tempore is absent, another Senator appointed by the President pro tempore can act as chair. [4] The President pro tempore has a responsibility to "secure the prompt and businesslike disposition of bills and other business before the Senate." [5]
No. | President pro tempore | Political party | District | Term start | Term end | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
E. Kirby Chamberlain (1805–1852) |
Nonpartisan [a] | Los Angeles– San Diego [a] | December 15, 1849 | January 9, 1851 | ||
2 | Elcan Heydenfeldt (1821–1898) |
Whig | 6th– San Francisco | January 9, 1851 | January 8, 1852 | ||
3 | Benjamin F. Keene (1813–1856) |
Democratic | 12th– Placerville | January 8, 1852 | January 2, 1854 | ||
18th–Placerville [b] | |||||||
4 |
Royal Sprague (1814–1872) |
Democratic | 13th– Shasta | January 1, 1855 | May 7, 1855 | ||
5 |
Delos R. Ashley (1828–1873) |
American | 3rd– San Francisco | January 9, 1856 | April 21, 1856 | ||
6 | Samuel H. Dosh (1827–1861) |
Democratic | 13th– Shasta | January 5, 1857 | April 29, 1857 | ||
7 |
Samuel A. Merritt (1827–1910) |
Democratic | 10th– Shasta | January 4, 1858 | April 26, 1858 | ||
8 | W. B. Dickinson (????–????) |
Democratic | 5th– Sacramento | January 3, 1859 | April 19, 1859 | ||
9 |
Isaac N. Quinn (1795–1865) |
Democratic | 7th– San Rafael | January 2, 1860 | January 19, 1860 | ||
10 | Charles J. Lansing (????–1884) |
Democratic | 16th– Stockton | January 19, 1860 | April 13, 1860 | ||
11 | Richard Irwin (1828–1869) |
Union Democratic | 26th– Quincy | January 7, 1861 | May 20, 1861 | ||
12 |
James M. Shafter (1816–1892) |
Republican | 24th– San Francisco | January 6, 1862 | May 15, 1862 | ||
13 | Addison M. Crane (1814–1889) |
Unionist | 9th– Squatterville | December 7, 1863 | April 4, 1864 | ||
14 |
Ransom Burnell (1821–1880) |
Unionist | 14th– St. Helena | April 4, 1864 | December 4, 1865 | ||
15 | S. P. Wright (????–1874) |
Unionist | 27th– Santa Barbara | December 4, 1865 | April 2, 1866 | ||
16 |
Lansing B. Mizner (1825–1893) |
Unionist | 25th– Tehama | December 2, 1867 | March 30, 1868 | ||
17 | Edward J. Lewis (1832–1881) |
Democratic | 17th– Yountville | December 6, 1869 | April 1, 1872 | ||
18 |
James T. Farley (1829–1886) |
Democratic | 16th– Volcano | December 1, 1873 | March 13, 1874 | ||
19 |
William Irwin (1827–1886) |
Democratic | 28th– San Francisco | March 13, 1874 | February 27, 1875 | ||
20 | Benjamin F. Tuttle (1825–1907) |
Democratic | 21st– San Francisco | February 27, 1875 | April 3, 1876 | ||
21 | Edward J. Lewis (1832–1881) |
Democratic | 25th– Tehama | December 3, 1877 | April 16, 1880 | ||
22 | George F. Baker (1849–1882) |
Republican | 7th– San Jose | April 16, 1880 | January 3, 1881 | ||
23 | William Johnson (1829–1905) |
Republican | 18th– Courtland | January 3, 1881 | April 1, 1882 | ||
24 |
R. F. del Valle (1854–1938) |
Democratic | 2nd– Los Angeles | April 1, 1882 | March 13, 1883 | ||
25 |
Benjamin Knight (1836–1905) |
Democratic | 6th– Santa Cruz | January 5, 1885 | March 12, 1887 | ||
26 |
Stephen M. White (1853–1901) |
Democratic | 38th– Los Angeles | January 3, 1887 | March 16, 1889 | ||
27 | Thomas Fraser (1831–1902) |
Republican | 7th– Placerville | January 5, 1891 | March 25, 1891 | ||
28 | R. B. Carpenter (1831–1909) |
Republican | 33rd– Los Angeles | January 2, 1893 | March 14, 1893 | ||
29 | Thomas Flint Jr. (1857–1936) |
Republican | 33rd– Hollister | January 7, 1895 | March 14, 1903 | ||
30 | Edward I. Wolfe (1860–1920) |
Republican | 21st– San Francisco | January 2, 1905 | March 24, 1909 | ||
31 | Albert E. Boynton (1875–1945) |
Republican | 6th– Oroville | January 2, 1911 | May 12, 1913 | ||
32 | Newton W. Thompson (1865–1936) |
Republican | 35th– Alhambra | January 4, 1915 | January 11, 1916 | ||
33 |
Arthur H. Breed Sr. (1865–1953) |
Republican | 15th– Oakland | January 8, 1917 | July 26, 1933 | ||
16th– Oakland [b] | |||||||
34 | William P. Rich (1880–1965) |
Republican | 10th– Marysville | January 7, 1935 | June 20, 1939 | ||
35 | Jerrold L. Seawell (1897–1952) |
Republican | 7th– Roseville | January 2, 1939 | June 14, 1941 | ||
36 | William P. Rich (1880–1965) |
Republican | 10th– Marysville | January 6, 1941 | January 4, 1943 | ||
37 | Jerrold L. Seawell (1897–1952) |
Republican | 7th– Roseville | January 4, 1943 | June 16, 1945 | ||
38 |
Harold J. Powers (1900–1996) |
Republican | 31st– Cedarville | January 6, 1947 | October 5, 1953 | ||
39 | Clarence C. Ward (1894–1955) |
Republican | 31st– Santa Barbara | March 1, 1954 | May 9, 1955 | ||
40 |
Ben Hulse (1894–1961) |
Republican | 39th– Imperial | January 3, 1955 | April 5, 1956 | ||
41 |
Hugh M. Burns (1902–1988) |
Democratic | 30th– Fresno | January 5, 1957 | May 14, 1969 | ||
16th– Fresno [b] | |||||||
42 | Howard Way (1913–2001) |
Republican | 15th– Exeter | May 14, 1969 | February 10, 1970 | ||
43 |
Jack Schrade (1902–1992) |
Republican | 39th– El Cajon | February 10, 1970 | November 30, 1970 | ||
44 |
James R. Mills (1927–2021) |
Democratic | 40th– San Diego | November 30, 1970 | November 30, 1980 | ||
45 |
David Roberti (born 1939) |
Democratic | 23rd– Los Angeles | November 30, 1980 | January 31, 1994 | ||
46 |
Bill Lockyer (born 1941) |
Democratic | 10th– Oakland | January 31, 1994 | February 5, 1998 | ||
47 |
John Burton (born 1932) |
Democratic | 3rd– San Francisco | February 5, 1998 | November 30, 2004 | ||
48 |
Don Perata (born 1945) |
Democratic | 9th– Alameda | November 30, 2004 | August 21, 2008 | ||
49 |
Darrell Steinberg (born 1959) |
Democratic | 6th– Sacramento | August 21, 2008 | October 15, 2014 | ||
50 |
Kevin de León (born 1966) |
Democratic | 24th– Los Angeles | October 15, 2014 | March 21, 2018 | ||
51 |
Toni Atkins (born 1962) |
Democratic | 39th– San Diego | March 21, 2018 | February 5, 2024 | ||
52 |
Mike McGuire (born 1979) |
Democratic | 2nd– Healdsburg | February 5, 2024 | Incumbent |