STATE SENATOR

State Senators are responsible for representing the interests of the citizens in their district when considering legislation for the state. Their job is to improve the lives of their constituents. As elected officials, state senators are paid servants of the people, but their salaries vary greatly. Senators in Idaho, for example, were paid $16,438, while senators earned as much as $90,526 in California in 2014.

The job of a state senator is:

• To create and pass legislation that will benefit the citizens of his or her district, as well as the entire state.

• To do this, state senators must work within their committees and form relationships with senators who have different political views.

• Negotiating is a major part of a state senator's job. They must debate and persuade other senators to support or oppose particular legislation.

State senators represent small populations of citizens compared with U.S. senators, and much of their job consists of:

• Responding to constituents' needs. Many voters contact their state senators to request they vote a certain way for legislation or simply to vent their frustrations.

• As an elected official, the state senator must reply to the needs of the voters and keep them satisfied.

• Some provide monthly or quarterly newsletters to the voters in their district.