| Rhode Island Senate | |
| Coa Pic: | File:Rhode_Island_Senate_Logo.png |
| Coa Caption: | Seal of the Rhode Island Senate |
| Session Room: | RI State Senate chamber IMG 3031.JPG |
| Session Res: | 240px |
| House Type: | Upper house |
| Body: | Rhode Island General Assembly |
| Term Limits: | None |
| New Session: | January 7, 2025 |
| Leader1 Type: | President |
| Leader1: | Valarie Lawson (D) |
| Election1: | April 29, 2025 |
| Leader2 Type: | President pro tempore |
| Leader2: | Hanna Gallo (D) |
| Election2: | January 5, 2021 |
| Leader3 Type: | Majority Leader |
| Leader3: | Frank Ciccone (D) |
| Election3: | April 29, 2025 |
| Leader4 Type: | Minority Leader |
| Leader4: | Jessica de la Cruz (R) |
| Election4: | August 2, 2022 |
| Term Length: | 2 years |
| Authority: | Article VI, Constitution of Rhode Island |
| Salary: | $19,036/year |
| Members: | 38 |
| Redistricting: | Legislative Control |
| Political Groups1: | Majority (34) Minority (4) |
| Voting System1: | First-past-the-post |
| Last Election1: | November 5, 2024 |
| Next Election1: | November 3, 2026 |
| Meeting Place: | Senate Chamber Rhode Island State Capitol Providence, Rhode Island |
| Website: | Rhode Island Senate |
The Rhode Island Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the lower house being the Rhode Island House of Representatives. It is composed of 38 Senators, each of whom is elected to a two-year term. Rhode Island is one of the 14 states where its upper house serves at a two-year cycle, rather than the normal four-year term as in most states. There is no limit to the number of terms that a Senator may serve. The Rhode Island Senate meets at the Rhode Island State Capitol in Providence.
Like other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the Senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to executive departments, commissions and boards and Justices to the Rhode Island Judiciary.
The President of the Senate presides over the body, appointing members to all of the Senate's committees and joint committees, and may create other committees and subcommittees if desired. Unlike most other states, the Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island does not preside over the Senate, and is instead active in other areas such as state commissions on health and businesses. In the Senate President's absence, the President Pro Tempore presides.
| Committee | Chair | |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies | Victoria Gu (D) | |
| Commerce | Robert Britto (D) | |
| Education | Hanna Gallo (D) | |
| Environment and Agriculture | V. Susan Sosnowski (D) | |
| Finance | Louis DiPalma (D) | |
| Health and Human Services | Melissa Murray (D) | |
| Housing and Municipal Government | Jake Bissaillon (D) | |
| Judiciary | Matthew LaMountain (D) | |
| Labor and Gaming | John Burke (D) | |
| Rules, Government Ethics and Oversight | Mark McKenney (D) | |
| Special Legislation and Veterans' Affairs | Walter Felag (D) |
2025–2027 Legislative Session
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | Ind | Vacant | ||||
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | 2011-2012 | 29 | 8 | 1 | 38 | 0 | |
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | 2013-2014 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 38 | 0 | |
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Begin 2015 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 38 | 0 | |
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | 2015-2016 | 33 | 0 | ||||
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Begin 2017 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | 2017-2019 | 32 | 1 | ||||
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Begin 2019 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Begin 2023 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Begin 2025 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | April 21, 2025 | 33 | 37 | 1 | |||
| nowrap style="font-size:80%" | August 5, 2025 | 34 | 38 | 0 | |||
| Latest voting share | |||||||
| District | Senator | Party | Municipalities represented | Counties | First elected | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dem | 2023* | ||||||
| Dem | 2016 | ||||||
| 3 | Dem | 2021* | |||||
| 4 | Dem | 2025* | |||||
| 5 | Sam Bell | Dem | 2018 | ||||
| 6 | Dem | 2020 | |||||
| 7 | Dem | 2002 | |||||
| 8 | Dem | 2024 | |||||
| 9 | Dem | 2020 | |||||
| 10 | Dem | 1998 | |||||
| 11 | Dem | 2022 | |||||
| 12 | Dem | 2008 | |||||
| 13 | Dem | 2017* | |||||
| 14 | Dem | 2018 | |||||
| 15 | Dem | 2020 | |||||
| 16 | Dem | 2020 | |||||
| Rep | 2016 | ||||||
| 18 | Dem | 2022 | |||||
| 19 | Dem | 2012 | |||||
| 20 | Dem | 2024 | |||||
| 21 | Rep | 2018 | |||||
| 22 | Dem | 2022 | |||||
| 23 | Rep | 2018 | |||||
| 24 | Dem | 2018 | |||||
| 25 | Dem | 2024 | |||||
| 26 | Dem | 2024 | |||||
| 27 | Dem | 1998 | |||||
| 28 | Dem | 2024 | |||||
| 29 | Dem | 2024 | |||||
| 30 | Dem | 2018 | |||||
| 31 | Dem | 2022 | |||||
| 32 | Dem | 2022 | |||||
| 33 | Dem | 2012 (1996–2010) | |||||
| 34 | Rep | 2014 | |||||
| 35 | Dem | 2018 | |||||
| 36 | Dem | 2020 | |||||
| 37 | Dem | 1996 | |||||
| 38 | Dem | 2022 |
*Senator was elected in a special election
See main article: Political party strength in Rhode Island.
