Pacific States Senate

26th Pacific States Congress

George D. Bryant (D-WA), since April 17th, 1923

Leonard Michaels (D-NV), since January 3rd, 1921

**Democratic** (13)

The **Senate of the Pacific States of America**, better known simply as the **Pacific States Senate**, is the upper house of the Pacific States Congress, with the House of Representatives serving as the lower house. Together, they compose the national bicameral legislature of the Pacific States of America.

The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the Pacific States Constitution. The Senate is composed of Senators, each of whom represents a state in its entirety. Each state is represented equally by ten senators who serve terms of four years. Senators are elected proportionally by state, with parties running joint tickets of ten candidates, ordered by importance based on votes received in the primary. There are currently fifty senators, representing the five states - California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Nevada. The Vice President of the Pacific States serves as the presiding officer and President of the Senate - the Vice President cannot usually vote in the Senate, but he does have the power to cast a tie-breaking vote if Senators are evenly divided on a motion. In the absence of the Vice President, the President pro tempore of the Senate, by convention the longest-serving member of the party with the largest number of seats, presides over the Senate.

As the upper chamber of Congress, the Senate has several powers of advice and consent which are unique to it. These include the approval of treaties, and the confirmation of Cabinet secretaries, Supreme Court justices, federal judges, flag officers, regulatory officials, ambassadors, other federal executive officials and federal uniformed officers. The Senate conducts trials of those impeached by the House. The Senate, alongside the House of Representatives, is also responsible for voting to confirm a new Vice President in the event of a vacancy in that office, since the passage of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution in 1904.

The Senate is often considered a more prestigious and more deliberative chamber than the House of Representatives, as a result of the longer terms, smaller size and the fact that senators represent states in their entirety, which has often led to a less partisan and more cooperative atmosphere than the House. In the United States, Senators were appointed by state legislatures, a practice that was removed by the constitution of the Pacific States. Senators have, for the entire history of the nation, been elected by popular vote. In the 1890s, the practice of electing Floor Leaders began, with the primary parties - the Republicans, Democrats and Progressives, electing their own leaders. In theory, if a party controlled more than 25 seats, the title of the largest party's leader would be "Senate Majority Leader", but since no party usually receives a majority due to the three-way partisan split, the convention has arisen of referring to the floor leaders as "Senate Republican Leader", "Senate Progressive Leader" and "Senate Democratic Leader". The leader of the party with the plurality of seats is generally responsible for managing legislative and executive business, but is expected to confer with the other floor leaders to seek a consensus on key issues.

The Senate meets in the north wing of the Pacific States Capitol in Sacramento.