Secretary of the California State Senate

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The Secretary of the California Senate is a nonpartisan officer of the Senate and is elected at the beginning of each two-year session. The secretary's primary role is the chief parliamentarian of the Senate (Senate Rule 9, Standing Rules of the Senate. See S.R. 4, 2007-08 Regular Session). The secretary also oversees the clerical workforce on the floor of the California State Senate. This workforce includes staff responsible for producing the daily files, histories, and journals of the Senate, as well as clerks that amend, engross, and enroll bills. The secretary is also responsible for recording votes on the Senate floor.

A parliamentarian is an expert on parliamentary procedure who advises organizations and deliberative assemblies. This sense of the term "parliamentarian" is distinct from the usage of the same term to mean a member of Parliament.

California State Senate upper house of the California State Legislature

The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.

The secretary is one of three non-member officers selected for each two-year session; the body also appoints a chaplain and sergeant-at-arms. (California's Legislature (2006 edition), California State Assembly: Sacramento. p. 149)

The current secretary of the Senate is Daniel Alvarez, who was first elected on October 15, 2014. [1]

The longest-serving secretary of the Senate was Joseph Beek, who served from 1919 to 1968 (with the exception of 1921, when he did not serve).

Joseph Beek American politician

Joseph Allan Beek was the longest-serving Secretary of the Senate in California history (1919–68). The Secretary of the California State Senate is a nonpartisan officer of the Senate who advises the presiding officer and Senators on parliamentary procedures and is the chief recordkeeper of the Senate. The Secretary is elected by majority vote of the Senators for each two-year session.

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References

  1. "Office of the Secretary of the Senate". California State Senate. State of California. Retrieved 4 July 2016.