21°18′26.4″N 157°51′26.2″W / 21.307333°N 157.857278°W / 21.307333; -157.857278

Hawaii State Senate
Ka ‘Aha Kenekoa
Hawaii State Legislature
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 20, 2021
Leadership
Ron Kouchi (D)
since May 5, 2015
Vice President
Michelle Kidani (D)
since November 10, 2016
Majority Leader
Dru Kanuha (D)
since May 5, 2021
Minority Leader
Kurt Fevella (R)
since November 6, 2018
Structure
Seats25
Political groups
Majority
  •   Democratic (23)

Minority

Length of term
4 years
AuthorityArticle III, Constitution of Hawaii
Salary$72,348 per year +
$225 per diem for non-Oʻahu members (2023)[1]
Elections
Last election
November 8, 2022
(25 seats)
Next election
November 5, 2024
RedistrictingHawaii Reapportionment Commission
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber
Hawaii State Capitol
Honolulu, Hawaii
Website
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/senate.aspx

The Hawaii State Senate (Hawaiian: Ka ‘Aha Kenekoa) is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President of the Senate, elected from the membership of the body, currently Ron Kouchi. The forerunner of the Hawaii Senate during the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii was the House of Nobles originated in 1840. In 1894, the Constitution of the Republic of Hawaii renamed the upper house the present senate. Senators are elected to four-year terms and are not subject to term limits.

Like most state legislatures in the United States, the Hawaii State Senate is a part-time body and senators often have active careers outside government. The lower house of the legislature is the Hawaii House of Representatives. The membership of the Senate also elects additional officers to include the Senate Vice President, Senate Chief Clerk, Assistant Chief Clerk, Senate Sergeant at Arms, and Assistant Sergeant at Arms. The Hawaii Senate convenes in the Hawaii State Capitol in Honolulu.

According to Article III, section 4 of the Hawaii State Constitution, a legislator's term begins on the day of the general election and ends the day of the general election if a new member is elected.[2]

Composition

The Democrats have controlled the chamber since 1963, and have held a supermajority since 1984.

From 2016 (when Sen. Sam Slom, Hawaii's sole Republican state Senator, was defeated in his bid for reelection) to 2018, the Democratic Party held all 25 seats in the Hawaii Senate. This made the Hawaii Senate the only state legislative chamber with no opposition members (this excludes the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature).[3] It was the first time since 1980 (when both the Alabama Senate and Louisiana Senate were all-Democratic) that any state legislative chamber had been completely dominated by a single party.[4]

23 2
Democratic Rep
Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
Democratic Republican Vacant
End of previous legislature (2022) 24 1 25 0
Begin (2022) 23 2 25 0
Latest voting share 92% 8%

Leadership

PositionNamePartyDistrict
President of the SenateRon KouchiDemocratic8
Majority LeaderDru KanuhaDemocratic3
Minority LeaderKurt FevellaRepublican20

Officers

PositionName
Chief ClerkCarol T. Taniguchi
Assistant Chief ClerkJennifer T. Chow
Sergeant at ArmsBienvenido C. Villaflor
Assistant Sergeant at ArmsC.M. Park Kaleiwahea

List of current members

DistrictNamePartyAreas Represented
1Lorraine InouyeDemHilo, Pauka‘a, Papaikou, Pepe‘ekeo
2Joy San BuenaventuraDemPuna
3Dru KanuhaDemKona, Kaʻū, Volcano
4Tim Richards IIIDemHilo, Hāmākua, Kohala, Waimea, Waikōloa, Kona
5Troy Hashimoto[Note 1]DemWailuku, Waiheʻe, Kahului, Mauka, Wai'ehu
6Angus McKelveyDemWest and South Maui, Maalaea, Waikapu
7Lynn DeCoiteDemHāna, East and Upcountry Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe, Molokini
8Ron KouchiDemKauaʻi, Niʻihau
9Stanley ChangDemHawaiʻi Kai, ʻĀina Haina, Waiʻalae-Kāhala, Diamond Head, Kaimuki, Kapahulu
10Les Ihara Jr.DemKaimukī, Kapahulu, Pālolo, Maunalani Heights, St. Louis Heights, Mōʻiliʻili, Ala Wai mauka, Kapahulu, Moiliili, McCully
11Carol FukunagaDemMānoa, Makiki, Punchbowl, Papakōlea, Tantalus
12Sharon MoriwakiDemKakaʻako, Ala Moana, Waikīkī, McCully
13Karl RhoadsDemLiliha, Pālama, Iwilei, Nuʻuanu, Pacific Heights, Pauoa, Downtown, Chinatown, Dowsett Heights, Pu'unui
14Donna Mercado Kim[Note 2]DemMoanalua, ʻAiea, Fort Shafter, Kalihi Valley, Red Hill, Kapalama
15Glenn WakaiDemKalihi, Māpunapuna, Airport, Salt Lake, Āliamanu, Foster Village, Hickam, Pearl Harbor, Aiea, Pearl City
16Brandon ElefanteDemPearl City, Momilani, Pearlridge, ʻAiea, Royal Summit, ʻAiea Heights, Newtown, Waimalu, Hālawa, Pearl Harbor, Waiau, Pacific Palisades
17Donovan Dela CruzDemMililani Town, Mililani Mauka, Waipi'o Acres, Launani Valley, Wahiawa, Whitmore Village
18Michelle KidaniDemMililani Town, Waipiʻo Gentry, Crestview, Waikele, Village Park, Royal Kunia
19Henry AquinoDemPearl City, Waipahu, West Loch Estates, Hono'ui'uli, Ho'opii
20Kurt FevellaRepʻEwa Beach, Ocean Pointe, ʻEwa by Gentry, Iroquois Point, ʻEwa Village
21Mike GabbardDemKalaeloa, Fernandez Village, ʻEwa, Kapolei, Makakilo,
22Maile ShimabukuroDemHonokai Hale, Ko 'Olina, Nanakuli, Maili, Waianae, Makaha, Makua
23Brenton AwaRepKane'ohe, Kahaluu thru Laie, Kahuku to Mokuleia, Schofield Barracks, Kunia Camp
24Jarrett KeohokaloleDemKāneʻohe, Kailua
25Chris LeeDemKailua, Waimānalo, Hawaiʻi Kai
  1. Democrat Gilbert Keith-Agaran resigned on October 31, 2023. State representative Troy Hashimoto was appointed on November 9, 2023 to fill the seat until a special election is held in November 2024.[5]
  2. Became President of the Senate on December 28, 2012, after Shan Tsutsui was appointed by Governor Neil Abercrombie to be Lieutenant Governor.[6] Ousted as Senate President in unusual mid-year leadership reorganization on May 5, 2015.[7] First Filipina, but second Filipino American, Hawaiʻi Senate President[8][9]
Entrance to the Hawaii State Senate chamber

Capitol

The Hawaiʻi State Senate has been meeting at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol in downtown Honolulu since March 15, 1969. Previous to the decision of Governor John A. Burns to build the new Capitol building, the Hawaiʻi State Senate met in ʻIolani Palace.

Past composition of the Senate

References

  1. National Conference of State Legislatures. "2023 Legislator Compensation by State". Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  2. "ELECTION OF MEMBERS; TERM".
  3. Cocke, Sophie (November 9, 2016). "Chang ousts Slom to create nation's only all-blue Senate". Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
  4. Cathy Bussewitz, If Democrat wins seat, Hawaii could be first state in U.S. with one-party rule, Associated Press (October 23, 2016).
  5. "Hawaii Governor Appoints Troy Hashimoto To State Senate". Honolulu Civil Beat. November 9, 2023.
  6. "State Senate chooses Donna Kim as new president". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. December 28, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  7. Dayton, Kevin (May 5, 2015). "Kauai's Kouchi replaces Kim as Senate president". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  8. Medina, Andrei (January 16, 2013). "Donna Kim makes history as first Filipina-American Hawaiʻi Senate President". GMA News. Retrieved January 19, 2013. Hawaiʻi Senate Vice President Donna Mercado Kim will make history on Thursday as she is installed as the first Filipina-American State Senate President.
  9. "Senator Donna Mercado Kim's Biography". Project Vote Smart. One Common Ground. 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
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