President pro tempore of the California State Senate | |
---|---|
since February 5, 2024 | |
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 chief executive and highest-ranking member the California State Senate and serves as chair of the Senate Rules Committee. The Pro Tem is chosen at the beginning of each two-year session, via election by all the other senators-elect.[1]
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 |