Nevada Senate
The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the previous redistricting there were 19 districts, two of which were multimember. Since 2012, there have been 21 districts, each formed by combining two neighboring state assembly districts. Each State Senator represented approximately 128,598 as of the 2010 United States Census. Article Four of the Constitution of Nevada sets that State Senators serve staggered four-year terms.
In addition, the size of the Senate is set to be no less than one-third and no greater than one-half of the size of the Assembly. Term limits, limiting senators to three 4-year terms, took effect in 2010. Because of the change in Constitution, seven senators were termed out in 2010, four were termed out in 2012, and one was termed out in 2014. The Senate met at the Nevada State Capitol in Carson City until 1971, when a separate Legislative Building was constructed south of the Capitol. The Legislative Building was expanded in 1997 to its current appearance to accommodate the growing Legislature.
History
Boom and Bust Era (1861–1918)
The first session of the Nevada Territorial Legislature was held in 1861. The Council was the precursor to the current Senate and the opposite chamber was called a House of Representatives which was later changed to be called the Assembly. There were nine members of the original Council in 1861 elected from districts as counties were not yet established. Counties were established in the First Session of the Territorial Legislature and the size of the Council was increased to thirteen. From the first session of the Nevada Legislature once statehood was granted the size of the Senate ranged from eighteen members, in 1864, to a low of fifteen members from 1891 through 1899, and a high of twenty-five members from 1875 through 1879.Little Federalism Era (1919–1966)
In 1919 the Senate started a practice called "Little Federalism," where each county received one member of the Nevada Senate regardless of population of said county. This set the Senate membership at seventeen which lasted until 1965–1967. The Supreme Court of the United States issued the opinion in Baker v. Carr in 1962 which found that the redistricting of state legislative districts are not a political questions, and thus is justiciable by the federal courts. In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court heard Reynolds v. Sims and struck down state senate inequality, basing their decision on the principle of "one person, one vote." With those two cases being decided on a national level, Nevada Assemblywoman Flora Dungan and Las Vegas resident Clare W. Woodbury, M.D. filed suit in 1965 with the Nevada District Court arguing that Nevada's Senate districts violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and lacked of fair representation and proportional districts. At the time, less than 8 percent of the population of the State of Nevada controlled more than 50 percent of the Senate. The District Court found that both the Senate and the Assembly apportionment laws were "invidiously discriminatory, being based upon no constitutionally valid policy." It was ordered that Governor Grant Sawyer call a Special Session to submit a constitutionally valid reapportionment plan. The 11th Special Session lasted from October 25, 1965 through November 13, 1965 and a plan was adopted to increase the size of the Senate from 17 to 20.Modern Era (1967–Present)
The first election after the judicial intervention and newly adopted apportionment law was 1966 and its subsequent legislature consisted of 40 members from the Assembly and 20 members from the Senate. Nine incumbent Senators from 1965 were not present in the legislature in 1967. In the 1981 Legislative Session the size of the Senate was increased to twenty-one because of the population growth in Clark County. Following the 2008 election, Democrats took control of the Nevada Senate for the first time since 1991. In January 2011, Senator William Raggio resigned after 38 years of service. On January 18, 2011 the Washoe County Commission selected former member of the Nevada Assembly and former United States Attorney Gregory Brower to fill the vacancy and remainder of the term of Senator William Raggio. After the 76th Session and the decennial redistricting the boundary changes and demographic profiles of the districts prompted a resignation of Senator Sheila Leslie, in February 2012, and she announced her intention to run against Sen. Greg Brower in 2012. Later in February 2012, citing personal reasons, Senator Elizabeth Halseth resigned her suburban/rural Clark County seat.Legislative Sessions
Current session
Historical Activity of Political Parties
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from:1870 till:2019 color:RP text:"Republican Party"
from:1878 till:1882 color:CP text:"Citizen's Party"
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- Democratic Party
- National Union Party
- Republican Party
- Citizen's Party
- People's Party
- Silver Party
- Silver-Democrat Party
- Socialist Party
- Independent candidates have been elected to the Senate sporadically from 1863 through 1965
Composition and Leadership of the 80th Legislative session
Presiding over the Senate
The President of the Senate is the body's highest officer, although they only vote in the case of a tie, and only on procedural matters. Per Article 5, Section 17 of the Nevada Constitution, the Lieutenant Governor of Nevada serves as Senate President. In their absence, the President Pro Tempore presides and has the power to make commission and committee appointments. The President Pro Tempore is elected to the position by the majority party. The other partisan Senate leadership positions, such as the Leader of the Senate and Minority Leader, are elected by their respective party caucuses to head their parties in the chamber. The current President of the Senate is Nevada Lieutenant Governor Kate Marshall of the Democratic Party.Non-Member Officers
On the first day of a regular session, the Senate elects the non-member, nonpartisan administrative officers including the Secretary of the Senate and the Senate Sergeant at Arms. The Secretary of the Senate serves as the Parliamentarian and Chief Administrative Officer of the Senate and the Sergeant at Arms is chief of decorum and order for the Senate floor, galleries, and committee rooms. Claire J. Clift was originally appointed by then Republican Senate Majority Leader William Raggio. The Democratic Party took the Majority in 2008 and she was retained until 2010. In August 2010, then Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford appointed David Byerman as the 41st Secretary of the Senate. The day after the 2014 General Election, David Byerman was removed from his position and the previous Secretary, Claire J. Clift was re-appointed. Retired Chief of Police, Robert G. Milby was chosen as the Senate Sergeant at Arms for the 78th Legislative by the Republican Majority Leader. Both of the elected non-member officers serve at the pleasure of the Senate, thus they have a two-year term until the succeeding session. The Senate also approves by resolution the remainder of the nonpartisan Senate Session staff to work until the remainder of the 120 calendar day session.80th Session Leadership
Leadership
Majority Leadership
Minority Leadership
Members of the 80th Senate
Districts of the Nevada Assembly are nested inside the Senate districts, two per Senate district. The final Legislative redistricting plans as created by the Special Masters in 2011 and approved by District Court Judge James Todd Russell represent the first time since statehood Nevada's Assembly districts are wholly nested inside of a Senate district. Each Assembly district represents 1/42nd of Nevada's population and there are two Assembly districts per Senate district which represents 1/21st of Nevada's population.| District | Assembly Districts | Name | Party | Residence | Assumed office | Next election |
| 1 | 1, 17 | Pat Spearman | Democratic | North Las Vegas | 2012 | 2020 |
| 2 | 11, 28 | Mo Denis | Democratic | Las Vegas | 2010 | 2022 |
| 3 | 3, 10 | Chris Brooks | Democratic | Las Vegas | 20182 | 2020 |
| 4 | 6, 7 | Marcia Washington | Democratic | Las Vegas | 20192 | 2020 |
| 5 | 21, 29 | Joyce Woodhouse | Democratic | Henderson | 20121 | 2020 |
| 6 | 34, 37 | Nicole Cannizzaro | Democratic | Las Vegas | 2016 | 2020 |
| 7 | 18, 20 | David Parks | Democratic | Las Vegas | 2008 | 2020 |
| 8 | 2, 5 | Marilyn Dondero Loop | Democratic | Las Vegas | 2018 | 2022 |
| 9 | 9, 35 | Melanie Scheible | Democratic | Las Vegas | 2018 | 2022 |
| 10 | 15, 16 | Yvanna Cancela | Democratic | Las Vegas | 20162 | 2022 |
| 11 | 8, 42 | Dallas Harris | Democratic | Las Vegas | 20182 | 2020 |
| 12 | 19, 23 | Joe Hardy | Republican | Boulder City | 2010 | 2022 |
| 13 | 24, 30 | Julia Ratti | Democratic | Sparks | 20162 | 2022 |
| 14 | 31, 32 | Ira Hansen | Republican | Sparks | 2018 | 2022 |
| 15 | 25, 27 | Heidi Gansert | Republican | Reno | 2016 | 2020 |
| 16 | 26, 40 | Ben Kieckhefer | Republican | Reno | 2010 | 2022 |
| 17 | 38, 39 | James Settelmeyer | Republican | Minden | 2010 | 2022 |
| 18 | 4, 13 | Scott Hammond | Republican | Las Vegas | 2012 | 2020 |
| 19 | 33, 36 | Pete Goicoechea | Republican | Eureka | 2012 | 2020 |
| 20 | 22, 41 | Keith Pickard | Republican | Las Vegas | 2018 | 2022 |
| 21 | 12, 14 | James Ohrenschall | Democratic | Las Vegas | 2018 | 2022 |
- 1 Senator Woodhouse previously served from 2007–2011
- 2 Senator was originally appointed.
Senate Standing Committees of the 80th Session
| Committee | Chair | Vice Chair | Ranking Member of the Minority | Number of Members |
| Commerce and Labor | Patricia Spearman | Vacant | Joseph P. Hardy | 8 |
| Education | Mo Denis | Joyce Woodhouse | Scott Hammond | 7 |
| Finance | Joyce Woodhouse | David Parks | James A. Settelmeyer | 8 |
| Government Affairs | David Parks | Melanie Scheible | Pete Goicoechea | 5 |
| Growth and Infrastructure | Yvanna Cancela | Chris Brooks | Joseph P. Hardy | 8 |
| Health and Human Services | Julia Ratti | Pat Spearman | Joseph P. Hardy | 5 |
| Judiciary | Nicole Cannizzaro | Dallas Harris | Scott T. Hammond | 8 |
| Legislative Operations and Elections | James Ohrenschall | Nicole Cannizzaro | Heidi Seevers Gansert | 5 |
| Natural Resources | Melanie Scheible | Chris Brooks | Pete Goicoechea | 5 |
| Revenue and Economic Development | Marilyn Dondero Loop | Julia Ratti | Ben Kieckhefer | 5 |
Standing committees in the Senate have their jurisdiction set by the Senate Rules as adopted through Senate Resolution 1. To see an overview of the jurisdictions of standing committees in the Senate, see Standing Rules of the Senate, Section V, Rule 40.
Diversity in the Nevada Senate
African American Senators
Nevada's State Senate has included eight self-reported African-American Senators.| Senator | Party | District | Term | Notes |
| Joe Neal Jr. | Democratic | Clark No. 4 | 1972–2004 | Retired |
| Bernice Mathews | Democratic | Washoe No. 1 | 1994–2010 | Retired due to term limits |
| Maurice Washington | Republican | Washoe No. 2 | 1994–2010 | Retired due to term limits |
| Steven Horsford | Democratic | Clark No. 4 | 2004–2012 | Successfully ran for the Nevada's 4th congressional district served 2013–2015 |
| Patricia Spearman | Democratic | District No. 1 | 2012– | |
| Kelvin Atkinson | Democratic | District No. 4 | 2012–2019 | Resigned due to campaign finance violations |
| Aaron D. Ford | Democratic | District No. 11 | 2012–2018 | |
| Dallas Harris | Democratic | District No. 11 | 2018– |
Hispanic/Latino Senators
Nevada's State Senate has included four self-reported Hispanic/Latino Senators.| Senator | Party | District | Term | Notes |
| Bob Coffin | Democratic | Clark No. 3 | 1986–2010 | Term Limited Successfully ran for Las Vegas City Council |
| Mo Denis | Democratic | District No. 2 | 2010– | |
| Ruben Kihuen | Democratic | District No. 10 | 2010–2016 | Elected to Serve Nevada's 4th congressional district in 2016; Term started 2017 |
| Yvanna Cancela | Democratic | District No. 10 | 2016– | Appointed to Serve after the resignation of Ruben Kihuen |
Women in the Senate
Since statehood, 37 women have served in the Nevada Senate, seven of them were originally appointed to fill a vacancy. Twenty-six out of the 34 have been Democrats, 11 have been Republicans, one was elected as a Republican but switched to Non-Partisan and chose to caucus with the Democrats.| Senator | Party | Area Represented/District | Assembly Term | Senate Term | Notes |
| Frances Friedhoff | Democratic | Lyon County | - | 1935–1936 | Appointed to fill vacancy caused by husband's resignation |
| Helen Herr | Democratic | Clark No. 3 | 1956–1960 1962–1966 | 1966–1976 | First woman elected to the Nevada Senate |
| Margie Foote | Democratic | Washoe No. 2 | 1966–1974 | 1974–1978 | |
| Mary Gojack | Democratic | Washoe No. 1 | 1972–1974 | 1974–1978 | |
| Jean Ford | Democratic | Clark No. 3 | 1972–1976 | 1978–1982 | Served in the Assembly as a Republican but elected to the Senate as a Democrat |
| Sue Wagner | Republican | Washoe No. 3 | 1974–1980 | 1980–1990 | Elected in 1990 to Lieutenant Governor of Nevada |
| Helen Foley | Democratic | Clark No. 3 | 1980–1982 | 1982–1986 | |
| Ann O'Connell | Republican | Clark No. 5 | - | 1984–2004 | |
| Dina Titus | Democratic | Clark No. 7 | - | 1988–2008 | Successfully ran for Nevada's 3rd congressional district in 2008 Successfully ran for Nevada's 1st congressional district in 2012 |
| Peggy O'Neill | Democratic | Washoe No. 2 | - | 1989–1990 | Appointed to the vacancy caused by the resignation of Don Mello served in the 1989 Special Session only |
| Stephanie Tyler | Republican | Washoe No. 3 | - | 1990–1992 | Appointed to the vacancy caused by Sue Wagner's election to Lt. Governor |
| Diana Glomb | Democratic | Washoe No. 1 | - | 1990–1994 | |
| Lori Lipman Brown | Democratic | Clark No. 7 | - | 1992-1994 | Elected to fill the term of Nicholas Horn who died in office in 1992 |
| Sue Lowden | Republican | Clark No. 3 | - | 1992–1996 | lost reelection to Valerie Wiener in 1996 lost the 2010 GOP Senate Primary to Sharron Angle |
| Kathy Augustine | Republican | Clark No. 7 | 1992–1994 | 1994–1998 | Successfully ran for Nevada State Controller in 1998 |
| Bernice Mathews | Democratic | Washoe No. 1 | - | 1994–2010 | First woman of color elected to the Nevada Senate First woman of color elected to the Reno City Council in 1990 |
| Valerie Wiener | Democratic | Clark No. 3 | - | 1996–2010 | Term Limited |
| Maggie Carlton | Democratic | Clark No. 2 | 2010– | 1998–2010 | Term Limited in the Senate ran successfully for the Nevada Assembly |
| Christine Milburn | Republican | Clark No. 8 | - | 7/2002 – 11/2002 | Appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mark James served in the 2002 Special Session only |
| Barbara Cegavske | Republican | Clark No. 8 | 1996–2002 | 2002–2014 | Elected Secretary of State |
| Sandra Tiffany | Republican | Clark No. 5 | 1992–2002 | 2002–2006 | Lost reelection to Joyce Woodhouse |
| Joyce Woodhouse | Democratic | Clark No. 5 | - | 2006–2010 2012– | Lost reelection in 2010 but successfully ran in a newly created district in 2012 |
| Shirley Breeden | Democratic | Clark No. 5 | - | 2008–2012 | Did not seek reelection |
| Allison Copening | Democratic | Clark No. 6 | - | 2008–2012 | Did not seek reelection |
| Elizabeth Halseth | Republican | Clark No. 9 | - | 2010–2012 | Resigned mid-term |
| Sheila Leslie | Democratic | Washoe No. 1 | 1998–2010 | 2010–2012 | Resigned mid-term to challenge Greg Brower in 2012, subsequently lost |
| Patricia Spearman | Democratic | District 1 | - | 2012– | |
| Debbie Smith | Democratic | District 13 | 2000–2002 2004–2012 | 2012–2016 | Elected to fill the unexpired term of Sheila Leslie Died in office |
| Patricia Farley | Independent | District 8 | - | 2014– | In 2016, Patricia Farley switched her party affiliation from Republican to Non-Partisan and announced that she would caucus with the Democratic Party |
| Becky Harris | Republican | District 9 | - | 2014–2017 | Resigned mid-term when appointed chairwoman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board |
| Julia Ratti | Democratic | District 13 | - | 2016– | |
| Nicole Cannizzaro | Democratic | District 6 | - | 2016– | |
| Heidi Gansert | Republican | District 15 | 2004–2010 | 2016– | |
| Yvanna Cancela | Democratic | District 10 | - | 2016– | |
| Marilyn Dondero Loop | Democratic | District 8 | 2008–2014 | 2018– | |
| Melanie Scheible | Democratic | District 9 | - | 2018– | |
| Dallas Harris | Democratic | District 11 | - | 2018– | Appointed to fill the seat of Aaron Ford |
LGBT Senators
Nevada's State Senate has included five out LGBT Senators.| Senator | Party | Area Represented/District | Assembly Term | Senate Term | Notes |
| David Parks | Democratic | District 7 | 1996–2008 | 2008– | Term Limited in the Assembly Successfully ran for Senate in 2008 Lost a Primary Election to succeed Rory Reid on the Clark County Commission in 2010, remained in the Senate |
| Patricia Spearman | Democratic | District 1 | - | 2012– | Defeated sitting Senator John Lee in a Democratic Primary |
| Kelvin Atkinson | Democratic | District 4 | 2002-2012 | 2012-2019 | Replaced Steven Horsford who ran for Congress in 2012 |
| Melanie Scheible | Democratic | District 9 | - | 2018– | |
| Dallas Harris | Democratic | District 11 | - | 2018– |