Upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature
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
Term limits
NoneNew session started
January 20, 2021 President 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
Brenton Awa(
R)
since November 8, 2024
Seats 25Political groups
MajorityMinority
Length of term
4 years Authority Article III, Constitution of Hawaii Salary $72,348 per year +Last election
November 5, 2024Next election
November 3, 2026 Redistricting Hawaii Reapportionment Commission State Senate ChamberThe 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]
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]
Affiliation Party(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total Democratic Republican Vacant End of previous legislature (2024) 23 2 25 0 Begin (2025) 22 3 25 0 Latest voting share 92% 8% Position Name Chief Clerk Carol T. Taniguchi Assistant Chief Clerk Ainoa A. Naniole Sergeant-at-Arms Bienvenido C. Villaflor Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms C.M. Park Kaleiwahea List of current members[edit] District Name Party County(ies) Areas Represented First Elected 1 Lorraine Inouye Dem Hawaiʻi Hilo, Pauka‘a, Papaikou, Pepe‘ekeo 2014[a] 2 Joy San Buenaventura Dem Puna 2020[b] 3 Dru Kanuha Dem Kona, Kaʻū, Volcano 2018 4 Tim Richards III Dem Hilo, Hāmākua, Kohala, Waimea, Waikōloa, Kona 2022 5 Troy Hashimoto[Note 1] Dem Maui Wailuku, Waiheʻe, Kahului, Mauka, Wai'ehu 2023[c][d] 6 Angus McKelvey Dem West and South Maui, Maalaea, Waikapu 2022[e] 7 Lynn DeCoite Dem Maui, Kalawao Hāna, East and Upcountry Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe, Molokini 2021[c][f] 8 Ron Kouchi Dem Kauaʻi Kauaʻi, Niʻihau 2010[c] 9 Stanley Chang Dem Honolulu Hawaiʻi Kai, ʻĀina Haina, Waiʻalae-Kāhala, Diamond Head, Kaimuki, Kapahulu 2016 10 Les Ihara Jr. Dem Kaimukī, Kapahulu, Pālolo, Maunalani Heights, St. Louis Heights, Mōʻiliʻili, Ala Wai mauka, Kapahulu, Moiliili, McCully 1994[g] 11 Carol Fukunaga Dem Mānoa, Makiki, Punchbowl, Papakōlea, Tantalus 2022[h] 12 Sharon Moriwaki Dem Kakaʻako, Ala Moana, Waikīkī, McCully 2018 13 Karl Rhoads Dem Liliha, Pālama, Iwilei, Nuʻuanu, Pacific Heights, Pauoa, Downtown, Chinatown, Dowsett Heights, Pu'unui 2016[i] 14 Donna Mercado Kim[Note 2] Dem Moanalua, ʻAiea, Fort Shafter, Kalihi Valley, Red Hill, Kapalama 2000[j] 15 Glenn Wakai Dem Kalihi, Māpunapuna, Airport, Salt Lake, Āliamanu, Foster Village, Hickam, Pearl Harbor, Aiea, Pearl City 2010[k] 16 Brandon Elefante Dem Pearl City, Momilani, Pearlridge, ʻAiea, Royal Summit, ʻAiea Heights, Newtown, Waimalu, Hālawa, Pearl Harbor, Waiau, Pacific Palisades 2022 17 Donovan Dela Cruz Dem Mililani Town, Mililani Mauka, Waipi'o Acres, Launani Valley, Wahiawa, Whitmore Village 2010 18 Michelle Kidani Dem Mililani Town, Waipiʻo Gentry, Crestview, Waikele, Village Park, Royal Kunia 2008 19 Henry Aquino Dem Pearl City, Waipahu, West Loch Estates, Hono'ui'uli, Ho'opii 2022[l] 20 Kurt Fevella Rep ʻEwa Beach, Ocean Pointe, ʻEwa by Gentry, Iroquois Point, ʻEwa Village 2018 21 Mike Gabbard Dem Kalaeloa, Fernandez Village, ʻEwa, Kapolei, Makakilo, 2006 22 Samantha DeCorte Rep Honokai Hale, Ko 'Olina, Nanakuli, Maili, Waianae, Makaha, Makua 2024 23 Brenton Awa Rep Kane'ohe, Kahaluu thru Laie, Kahuku to Mokuleia, Schofield Barracks, Kunia Camp 2022 24 Jarrett Keohokalole Dem Kāneʻohe, Kailua 2018[m] 25 Chris Lee Dem Kailua, Waimānalo, Hawaiʻi Kai 2020[n]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[edit]Hawaiʻi Senate Vice President Donna Mercado Kim will make history on Thursday as she is installed as the first Filipina-American State Senate President.
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