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  The tradition of appointing chaplains to the legislative branches of government dates to the beginning of the Republic when chaplains served both houses of Congress. In California, the first chaplain to serve the state Senate was appointed in 1897, the Rev. Charles L. Miel, who was the rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church a few blocks from the State Capitol. Father Miel's church is much a part of California history; St. Paul's was established in 1849 - during the Gold Rush - and among the congregation's members and benefactors were Gov. Leland Stanford and his family. The second chaplain to the California Senate was the Rev. A.J. Sturtevant, a Baptist from Ukiah.

 There have been 48 chaplains to the state Senate, most of them Christian pastors. The chaplains have also included four rabbis (all from Temple B'nai Israel in Sacramento) and one Buddhist. Two women have served as Senate Chaplain, the Rev. Canon Winifred Gaines, who is also the first woman ordained to the Episcopal priesthood in Northern California and currently Rabbi Mona Alfi. The longest serving chaplain was the Rev. Walter J. Little, III, a Roman Catholic Deacon, who served for 10 years and retired at the end of the session in 2004. Several chaplains have served for multiple legislative terms. During the 1970s, chaplains served for a single year; in the 1980s the Senate returned to appointing chaplains to serve for a full two-year legislative session or longer.

  

  The chaplains to the California Senate and their years of service are listed below, beginning with the year of their appointment and ending with the year their service concluded (religious affiliations are listed where known):
Chaplains from 1897-present
Chaplain
Rev. Charles L. Miel (1897-1899; 1903-1905) - Episcopalian
Rev. A.J. Sturtevant (1899-1901) - Baptist
Rev. W.C. Evans (1901-1903)
Rev. W.S. Hoskinson (1905-1907)
Rev. C.H. Darling (1907-1909)
Rev. Fr. Henry Wyman, C.S.P. (1909-1913) - Roman Catholic
Rev. B. Dent Naylor (1913-1915)
Rev. Fr. Henry L. Stark (1915-1917)
Rev. Isaac Dawson (1917-1919)
Rev. S. Fraser (1919-1921)
Rev. Bryant Wilson (1921-1923; 1927-1931)
Rev. William E. Harrison (1923-1927)
Rev. Dr. Sherman L. Divine, D.D., LL.P. (1931-1933)
Rev. William F. Ehmann (1933-1935)
Rev. Mewton E. Moats (1935-1937)
Rev. Clarence A. Kirecher (1937-1941)
Rev. H.W. Opperman (1941-1943)
Rev. Richard C. Dwyer (1943-1945) - Roman Catholic
Rev. Dr. Clarence A. Kircher (1945-1947)
The Very Rev. William C. Pearson (1947-1949) - Episcopalian
Rev. Nelson E. Hinman (1949-1951) - Assembly of God
Rev. Fr. John G. Terwilliger (1951-1953) - Roman Catholic
Rabbi Irving I. Hausman (1953-1955) - Jewish
Rev. Fr. Luke Powleson (1955-1959) - Congregational
I.E. Metcalf (1959-1961) - Christian Churches (non-denominational)
Rev. Edward L. Peet (1961-1963) - Methodist
Rev. Fr. Keith B. Kenny (1963-1965) - Roman Catholic
Rev. Dr. John W. Pressly (1965) - Presbyterian
The Very Rev. Ogden Hoffman, Jr. (1966) - Episcopalian
Rev. Wilbur W.Y. Choy (1967-1969) - Methodist
Rev. Robert L. Carlson (1969) - Congregationalist
Rev. Robert S. Romeis (1970) - Lutheran
Rabbi Amiel Wohl (1971) - Jewish
Rev. Wilbur Carl Christians (1972) - Southern Baptist
Rev. A. Paul Jones (1973) - American Baptist
Rev. David R. Swope (1974) - United Methodist
Rev. Sholo Masunaga (1975) - Buddhist
Rev. Paul G. Trulin (1976) - Assembly of God
Rabbi Lester A. Frazin (1977) - Jewish
The Very Rev. Stavrofor Miladin Garic (1978) - Serbian Orthodox
Rev. Robert F. Clazie (1979) - United Methodist
Pastor Reinhold K. Tilstra (1980) - Seventh Day Adventist
Rev. Wilbur A. Korfhage (1981-1986) - United Methodist
Rev. Fr. Leo McAllister (1987-1991) - Roman Catholic
Rev. Canon Winifred Gaines (1991-1994) - Episcopalian
Rev. Deacon Walter J. Little, III (1994-2004) - Roman Catholic
Rev. Canon James D. Richardson (2004-2008) - Episcopalian
Rabbi Mona Alfi (2008-present) - Jewish