Massachusetts Senate

Massachusetts Senate
Massachusetts Senate
193rd General Court of Massachusetts
	Seal of the Senate of Massachusetts
Type
Type	Upper house of the Massachusetts General Court
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 4, 2023
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 (37) Democratic (37); Minority (3) Republican (3);
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 8, 2022; (40 seats)
Next election	November 5, 2024; (40 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place
	State Senate Chamber; Massachusetts State House; Boston, Massachusetts
Website
	Massachusetts Senate
Rules
	Rules of the Massachusetts Senate (English)

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.

QualificationsEdit

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 a least 300 signatures on nomination papers

Recent party controlEdit

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 (2022-2023)	37	3	40	0
Latest voting share	92.5%	7.5%