Pennsylvania State Senate

The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the seats are contested at each election.^[2] Even numbered seats and odd numbered seats are contested in separate election years. The president pro tempore of the Senate becomes the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania in the event of the sitting lieutenant governor's removal, resignation or death. In this case the president pro tempore and lieutenant governor would be the same person.^[3] The Pennsylvania Senate has been meeting since 1791.

Pennsylvania State Senate
Pennsylvania General Assembly
Type
Type	Upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly
Term limits	None
History
Founded	1790; 234 years ago (1790)
New session started	January 3, 2023
Leadership
President	Austin Davis (D) since January 17, 2023
President pro tempore	Kim Ward (R) since November 30, 2022
Majority Leader	Joe Pittman (R) since November 30, 2022
Minority Leader	Jay Costa (D) since January 4, 2011
Structure
Seats	50
Political groups	Majority   Republican (28) Minority   Democratic (22)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article II, Pennsylvania Constitution
Salary	$102,844/year + per diem^[1]
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2022 (even-numbered districts)
Next election	November 5, 2024 (odd-numbered districts)
Redistricting	Bipartisan Commission
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber Pennsylvania State Capitol Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Website
Pennsylvania State Senate

The president of the Senate is the lieutenant governor, who has no vote except to break a tie vote.

Qualifications

Senators must be at least 25 years of age. They must be a U.S. citizen and a Pennsylvania resident four years, and a resident of that district one year prior to their election and must reside in that district during their term.^[4]

Senate leadership

President of the Senate: Austin Davis (D)
President Pro Tempore of the Senate: Kim Ward (R)

Majority party (R)	Leadership position	Minority party (D)
Joe Pittman	Floor Leader	Jay Costa
Ryan Aument	Whip	Christine Tartaglione
Kristin Phillips-Hill	Caucus Chairman	Wayne D. Fontana
Camera Bartolotta	Caucus Secretary	Maria Collett
Scott Martin	Appropriations Committee Chairman	Vincent Hughes
Dan Laughlin	Policy Committee Chairman	Katie Muth
Lisa Baker	Caucus Administrator	Judy Schwank

Composition

Historical sessions

Main article: 2022 Pennsylvania Senate election

Affiliation	Party (shading indicates majority caucus)			Total
	Republican	Ind	Democratic		Vacant
1995–1996 session	29	0	21	50	0
1997–1998 session	30		20	50	0
1999–2000 session	30		20	50	0
2001–2002 session	30		20	50	0
2003–2004 session	29		21	50	0
2005–2006 session	30		20	50	0
2007–2008 session	29		21	50	0
2009–2010 session	30		20	50	0
2011–2012 session	30		20	50	0
2013–2014 session	27		23	50	0
2015–2016 session	30		20	50	0
2016–2017 session	31		19	50	0
2017–2018 session	34		16	50	0
2018–2019 session	28		22	50	0
2019–2020 session	29	1	21	50	0
2021–2022 session	28	1	21	50	0

Current session

As of January 3, 2023:

↓

22	28
Democratic	Republican

Affiliation	Party (shading indicates majority caucus)			Total
	Republican	Ind	Democratic		Vacant
End of previous legislature	28	1	21	50	0
January 3, 2023	27	0	22	49	1
February 28, 2023^[5]	28			50	0
Latest voting share	56%	0%	44%

Membership

The Senate is made up of 50 members who are elected by district. In 2012, a State Senate district had an average population of 254,047 residents.

List of current members

District	Senator	Party	Residence	Counties represented	First elected	Term ends
1	Nikil Saval	Dem	Philadelphia	Philadelphia	2020	2024
2	Christine Tartaglione	Dem	Philadelphia	Philadelphia	1994	2026
3	Sharif Street	Dem	Philadelphia	Philadelphia	2016	2024
4	Art Haywood	Dem	Philadelphia	Montgomery, Philadelphia	2014	2026
5	Jimmy Dillon	Dem	Philadelphia	Philadelphia	2022^[note 1]	2024
6	Frank Farry	Rep	Langhorne Borough	Bucks	2022	2026
7	Vincent Hughes	Dem	Philadelphia	Montgomery, Philadelphia	1994	2024
8	Anthony Williams	Dem/Fwd^[note 2]	Philadelphia	Delaware, Philadelphia	1998	2026
9	John Kane	Dem	Birmingham	Chester, Delaware	2020	2024
10	Steve Santarsiero	Dem	Lower Makefield Township	Bucks	2018	2026
11	Judy Schwank	Dem	Fleetwood	Berks	2011	2024
12	Maria Collett	Dem	Lower Gwynedd Township	Montgomery	2018	2026
13	Scott Martin	Rep	West Lampeter Township	Berks, Lancaster	2016	2024
14	Nick Miller	Dem	Allentown	Lehigh, Northampton	2022	2026
15	John DiSanto	Rep	Susquehanna Township	Dauphin	2016	2024
16	Jarrett Coleman	Rep	Upper Macungie Township	Bucks, Lehigh	2022	2026
17	Amanda Cappelletti	Dem	East Norriton Township	Delaware, Montgomery	2020	2024
18	Lisa Boscola	Dem/Fwd^[note 3]	Bethlehem Township	Lehigh, Northampton	1998	2026
19	Carolyn Comitta	Dem	West Chester	Chester	2020	2024
20	Lisa Baker	Rep	Lehman Township	Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming	2006	2026
21	Scott Hutchinson	Rep	Oil City	Butler, Clarion, Forest, Venango, Warren	2012	2024
22	Marty Flynn	Dem	Scranton	Lackawanna, Luzerne	2021^[note 4]	2026
23	Eugene Yaw	Rep	Loyalsock Township	Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Tioga, Union	2008	2024
24	Tracy Pennycuick	Rep	Harleysville	Berks, Montgomery	2022	2026
25	Cris Dush	Rep	Pine Creek Township	Cameron, Centre, Clinton, Elk, Jefferson, McKean, Potter	2020	2024
26	Tim Kearney	Dem	Swarthmore	Delaware	2018	2026
27	Lynda Culver	Rep	Sunbury	Columbia, Luzerne, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder	2023	2024
28	Kristin Phillips-Hill	Rep	York Township	York	2018	2026
29	Dave Argall	Rep	Rush Township	Carbon, Luzerne, Schuylkill	2009	2024
30	Judy Ward	Rep	Hollidaysburg	Blair, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin	2018	2026
31	Mike Regan	Rep	Carroll Township	Cumberland, York	2016	2024
32	Pat Stefano	Rep	Bullskin Township	Bedford, Fayette, Somerset, Westmoreland	2014	2026
33	Doug Mastriano	Rep	Greene Township	Adams, Franklin	2019	2024
34	Greg Rothman	Rep	Silver Spring Township	Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry County	2022	2026
35	Wayne Langerholc	Rep	Johnstown	Cambria County, Centre, Clearfield	2016	2024
36	Ryan Aument	Rep	East Hempfield Township	Lancaster	2014	2026
37	Devlin Robinson	Rep	Bridgeville	Allegheny, Washington	2020	2024
38	Lindsey Williams	Dem	West View	Allegheny	2018	2026
39	Kim Ward	Rep	Hempfield Township	Westmoreland	2008	2024
40	Rosemary Brown	Rep	East Stroudsburg	Lackawanna, Monroe, Wayne	2022	2026
41	Joe Pittman	Rep	Indiana	Armstrong, Indiana, Jefferson, Westmoreland	2019	2024
42	Wayne Fontana	Dem	Pittsburgh	Allegheny	2005	2026
43	Jay Costa	Dem	Forest Hills	Allegheny	1996	2024
44	Katie Muth	Dem	East Vincent Township	Berks, Chester, Montgomery	2018	2026
45	Jim Brewster	Dem	McKeesport	Allegheny	2010	2024
46	Camera Bartolotta	Rep	Monongahela	Beaver, Greene, Washington	2014	2026
47	Elder Vogel	Rep	New Sewickley Township	Beaver, Butler, Lawrence	2008	2024
48	Chris Gebhard	Rep	North Cornwall Township	Berks, Lancaster, Lebanon	2021^[note 5]	2026
49	Dan Laughlin	Rep	Millcreek Township	Erie	2016	2024
50	Michele Brooks	Rep	Jamestown	Crawford, Lawrence, Mercer	2014	2026

1. John Sabatina resigned on December 31, 2021. Dillon was elected in a special election on May 17, and seated on June 7.
2. Affiliated with the Forward Party.
3. Affiliated with the Forward Party.
4. John Blake resigned on February 15, 2021. Flynn was elected in a special election on May 18.
5. Dave Arnold died January 17, 2021. Gebhard was elected in a special election on May 18.

Standing committees

Committee Name	Majority chair	Minority chair
Aging & Youth	Judy Ward	Maria Collett
Agriculture & Rural Affairs	Elder Vogel	Judy Schwank
Appropriations	Scott Martin	Vincent Hughes
Banking & Insurance	John DiSanto	Sharif Street
Communications & Technology	Tracy Pennycuick	Jimmy Dillon
Community, Economic & Recreational Development	Chris Gebhard	Anthony H. Williams
Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure	Patrick J. Stefano	Lisa Boscola
Education	Dave Argall	Lindsey Williams
Environmental Resources & Energy	Eugene Yaw	Carolyn Comitta
Finance	Scott Hutchinson	Nick Miller
Game & Fisheries	Greg Rothman	Jim Brewster
Health & Human Services	Michele Brooks	Arthur L. Haywood III
Intergovernmental Operations	Jarrett Coleman	Christine Tartaglione
Judiciary	Lisa Baker	Steve Santarsiero
Labor & Industry	Devlin Robinson	John I. Kane
Law & Justice	Mike Regan	Jim Brewster
Local Government	Rosemary Brown	Tim Kearney
Rules & Executive Nominations	Joe Pittman	Jay Costa
State Government	Cris Dush	Amanda Cappelletti
Transportation	Wayne Langerholc	Marty Flynn
Urban Affairs & Housing	Frank Farry	Nikil Saval
Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparednesss	Doug Mastriano	Katie Muth

Past composition of the Senate

Main article: Political party strength in Pennsylvania

See also

•  Pennsylvania portal
•  Politics portal

• Pennsylvania State Senate information and voting records
• Pennsylvania House of Representatives
• President of the Pennsylvania Senate
• President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate
• List of Pennsylvania state legislatures

References

1. The Pennsylvania Manual, pp. 3–7.
2. Article II, section 3, Pennsylvania Constitution.
3. Article IV, section 14, Pennsylvania Constitution.
4. "Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania"."Article II. The Legislature"."§5. Qualifications of Members".
5. Jones, Matt (February 15, 2023). "Schlegel-Culver to be sworn in to Senate Feb. 28". The Standard-Journal. Retrieved February 24, 2023.

Sources

• Trostle, Sharon, ed. (2009). The Pennsylvania Manual. Vol. 119. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Department of General Services. ISBN 978-0-8182-0334-3.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pennsylvania State Senate.

• The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania State Senate
• Pennsylvania State Senate information and voting records

40°15′52.9″N 76°53′1.9″W / 40.264694°N 76.883861°W / 40.264694; -76.883861