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33-743: The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon . Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly . There are 30 members of the state Senate, representing 30 districts across the state, each with a population of 141,242. The state Senate meets in the east wing of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem . Oregon, along with Arizona , Maine , New Hampshire , and Wyoming ,

66-824: A Legislative Council prior to joining Canada , as did Ontario when it was Upper Canada and Quebec from 1791 (as Lower Canada ) to 1968. Nebraska is the only state in the United States with a unicameral legislature, having abolished its lower house in 1934, while the Senate of Nebraska , the upper house prior to 1934, continues to assemble. The Australian state of Queensland also once had an appointed Legislative Council before abolishing it in 1922. All other Australian states continue to have bicameral systems, though all members are now directly elected (the two self-governing territories, along with Norfolk Island until 2016, have always been unicameral). Like Queensland,

99-469: A mixture of these. Many upper houses are not directly elected but appointed: either by the head of state, by the head of government or in some other way. This is usually intended to produce a house of experts or otherwise distinguished citizens, who would not necessarily be returned in an election. For example, members of the Senate of Canada are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of

132-656: A number of ways to block legislation and to reject it; however, the House of Commons can eventually use the Parliament Act to force something through. The Commons will often accept amendments passed by the Lords; however, the two houses have sometimes reached a constitutional standoff. For example, when the Labour Government of 1999 tried to expel all hereditary peers from the Lords, the Lords threatened to wreck

165-410: Is likely room for negotiation in regards to third-trimester abortions. Bonham supports broadening the tax base through reduction of taxes and allowing business to grow. He believes increasing the economy would increase tax revenue which allows the state to investment in the educational system and support reasonable social services. Bonham has stated "Oregon has no greater obligation than to ensure it

198-483: Is one of the five U.S. states to not have the office of the lieutenant governor , a position which for most upper houses of state legislatures and for the United States Congress (with the vice president) is the head of the legislative body and holder of the casting vote in the event of a tie. Instead, a separate position of Senate president is in place, removed from the state executive branch . If

231-407: Is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature , the other chamber being the lower house . The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted power than the lower house. A legislature composed of only one house (and which therefore has neither an upper house nor a lower house) is described as unicameral . An upper house is usually different from

264-476: Is providing the resources necessary for a quality education. A stronger education system means greater opportunities for the future of our kids, community, industry, and our state." Bonham was one of the only Republicans in the house to vote in favor of the Oregon Family Leave Act. Bonham says that he does not believe Medicare actually provides needed services and that "an open, free market

297-554: Is to scrutinise legislation that may have been drafted over-hastily in the lower house and to suggest amendments that the lower house may nevertheless reject if it wishes to. An example is the British House of Lords . Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 , the House of Lords can no longer prevent the passage of most bills, but it must be given an opportunity to debate them and propose amendments, and can thereby delay

330-570: The 82nd Assembly in May and June 2023, the longest ever. Kathryn Clarke was the first woman to serve in Oregon's Senate. Women became eligible to run for the Oregon state legislature in 1914 and later that year Clarke was appointed to fill a vacant seat in Douglas county by her cousin, governor Oswald West . Following some controversy concerning whether West had the authority to appoint someone to fill

363-517: The German state of Bavaria had an appointed second chamber, the Senate of Bavaria , from 1946 to 1999. The Senate of the Philippines was abolished – and restored – twice: from 1935 to 1945 when a unicameral National Assembly convened, and from 1972 to 1987 when Congress was closed, and later a new constitution was approved instituting a unicameral Parliament. The Senate was re-instituted with

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396-470: The Italian Senate is a notable exception to these general rules, in that it has the same powers as its lower counterpart: any law can be initiated in either house and must be approved in the same form by both houses. Additionally, a Government must have the consent of both to remain in office, a position which is known as "perfect bicameralism" or "equal bicameralism." The role of a revising chamber

429-483: The Oregon Constitution , two-thirds of senators are required to form a quorum . Republican senators have used this rule to block legislation by absenting themselves. In response to this practice, Oregon Ballot Measure 113 was passed in 2022 to disqualify members with ten unexcused absences from serving in the legislature following their current term. However, a Republican walkout went for six weeks during

462-648: The United States Senate , the state Senate can confirm or reject the governor's appointments to state departments, commissions, boards, and other state governmental agencies. The current Senate president is Rob Wagner of Lake Oswego . Oregon state senators serve four-year terms without term limits . In 2002, the Oregon Supreme Court struck down the decade-old Oregon Ballot Measure 3 , that had restricted state senators to two terms (eight years) on procedural grounds. According to

495-582: The Government's entire legislative agenda and to block every bill which was sent to the chamber. This standoff led to negotiations between Viscount Cranborne, the then Shadow Leader of the House, and the Labour Government, resulting in the Weatherill Amendment to the House of Lords Act 1999 , which preserved 92 hereditary peers in the house. Compromise and negotiation between the two houses make

528-486: The Parliament Act a very rarely used backup plan. Even without a veto, an upper house may defeat legislation. Its opposition may give the lower chamber a chance to reconsider or even abandon a controversial measure. It can also delay a bill so that it does not fit within the legislative schedule, or until a general election produces a new lower house that no longer wishes to proceed with the bill. Nevertheless, some states have long retained powerful upper houses. For example,

561-660: The President of India. Similarly, at the state level, one-third of the members of the State Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) are nominated by local governments, one-third by sitting legislators, and the rest are elected by select members of the electorate. The United States Senate was chosen by state legislatures until the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. The upper house may be directly elected but in different proportions to

594-749: The Prime Minister. In the past, some upper houses had seats that were entirely hereditary, such as in the British House of Lords until 1999 and in the Japanese House of Peers until it was abolished in 1947. It is also common that the upper house consists of delegates chosen by state governments or local officials. Members of the Rajya Sabha in India are nominated by various states and union territories, while 12 of them are nominated by

627-598: The Republican Senators, confirming Bonham's disqualification after his current term ends in January 2027. Regarding abortion , Bonham describes himself as "a right-to-life person" but "a man who believes in the rule of law." He says that he opposes abortion in most cases with exception in the case of rape or to protect the life of the mother. He admits that Oregon is a heavily pro-choice state and that abortion likely will not be criminalized, but says that there

660-843: The abolition, while the centrist Fianna Fáil was alone among major parties in supporting the retention of the Seanad. Daniel Bonham Bonham was raised in Tigard, Oregon , and graduated from Tigard High School in 1995. He received a bachelor's degree in business from Linfield College in 1999. Bonham then worked for Evergreen International Aviation and RB Rubber Products in McMinnville , before moving to The Dalles in 2007, where he purchased Maupin's Stove and Spas. Bonham lost his wife, Lori, to cancer in December 2022. Daniel has two children: Jennifer and Jack. In early 2023, Bonham

693-466: The chamber is tied, legislators must devise their own methods of resolving the impasse. In the 72nd Oregon Legislative Assembly in 2003, for example, Oregon's state senators entered into a power sharing contract whereby Democratic senators nominated the Senate President while Republican senators chaired key committees. Like certain other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and

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726-582: The consent of the upper house to legislation may be necessary (though, as noted above, this seldom extends to budgetary measures). Constitutional arrangements of states with powerful upper houses usually include a means to resolve situations where the two houses are at odds with each other. In recent times, parliamentary systems have tended to weaken the powers of upper houses relative to their lower counterparts. Some upper houses have been fully abolished; others have had their powers reduced by constitutional or legislative amendments. Also, conventions often exist that

759-422: The current leader, Tim Knopp , resigned from the position due to his ineligibility to seek reelection in 2024. On May 15, 2023, Bonham, along with 8 other Republicans and 1 Independent in the senate, were disqualified from seeking reelection by Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade because they had accumulated more than 10 unexcused absences over the course of the legislative session. The new rule

792-626: The following leadership: Senate President : Rob Wagner (D-19 Lake Oswego ) President Pro Tempore : James Manning Jr. (D–7 Eugene ) Majority Leader : Kathleen Taylor (D-21 Portland ) Minority Leader : Daniel Bonham (R-26 The Dalles ) Senators are each assigned to one or more committees. Conduct Education Energy and Environment Finance and Revenue Health Care Housing and Development Human Services Judiciary Labor and Business Natural Resources Rules Veterans, Emergency Management, Federal and World Affairs Upper house An upper house

825-630: The lower house - for example, the senates of Australia, Brazil and the United States have a fixed number of elected members from each state, regardless of the population. Many jurisdictions once possessed upper houses but abolished them to adopt unicameral systems, including Croatia , Denmark , Estonia , Hungary , Iceland , Iran , Mauritania , New Zealand , Peru , Sweden , Turkey , Venezuela , many Indian states , Brazilian states , Canadian provinces , subnational entities such as Queensland , and some other jurisdictions. Newfoundland had

858-446: The lower house in at least one of the following respects (though they vary among jurisdictions): Powers: Status: In parliamentary systems the upper house is frequently seen as an advisory or a "house of review" chamber; for this reason, its powers of direct action are often reduced in some way. Some or all of the following restrictions are often placed on upper houses: In parliamentary democracies and among European upper houses

891-534: The passage of a bill with which it disagrees. Bills can only be delayed for up to one year before the Commons can use the Parliament Act, although economic bills can only be delayed for one month. The House of Lords is sometimes seen as having a special role of safeguarding the uncodified Constitution of the United Kingdom and important civil liberties against ill-considered change. The House of Lords has

924-533: The restoration of a bicameral Congress via a constitutional amendment in 1941, and via adoption of a new constitution in 1987. A previous government of Ireland (the 31st Dáil) promised a referendum on the abolition of its upper house , the Seanad Éireann , during the 24th Seanad session. By a narrow margin, the Irish public voted to retain it. Conservative-leaning Fine Gael and Left-leaning Sinn Féin both supported

957-399: The upper house ought not to obstruct the business of government for frivolous or merely partisan reasons. These conventions have tended to harden with a passage of time. In presidential systems, the upper house is frequently given other powers to compensate for its restrictions: There are a variety of ways an upper house's members are assembled: by direct or indirect election, appointment or

990-487: The vacancy, Clarke campaigned and was elected by voters in 1915. She took office five years before Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution protected the right of all American women to vote. In 1982, Mae Yih became the first Chinese-American elected to a state senate in the United States. The 82nd Oregon Legislative Assembly , which holds its regular session from 2023 to 2025, has

1023-455: Was injured in a House vs. Senate basketball game. Democratic Representative Hai Pham , a dentist, administered emergency care in the stadium. Bonham was previously on The Dalles City Budget Committee as well as The Dalles Urban Renewal Budget Committee. In 2017, Representative John Huffman resigned. Bonham was appointed by county commissioners to fill the vacancy. Bonham served as Deputy House Minority Leader from 2019 to 2022. Bonham

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1056-584: Was one of the only Republicans in the house to vote in favor of the Oregon Family Leave Act. Bonham was elected to the State Senate in 2022, the first election since redistricting. Bonham won with 59.2% of the vote. He was the only Republican endorsed by the Willamette Week in 2022, and was called "the most sensible Republican we met this cycle". He served as Deputy Senate Minority Leader. Bonham became Senate Minority Leader on April 15, 2024, as

1089-475: Was the result of a recently passed ballot measure aimed at preventing future walkouts. Bonham and 4 other Senators filed a lawsuit in response, arguing that the measure's wording allowed them to serve one additional term before being barred from reelection. On October 24 the Oregon Supreme Court agreed to hear the case with arguments beginning December 14. On February 1, 2024, the Court unanimously ruled against

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