Glass House: California Legislator Tracker

District 4, Roseville

Time in office

Assembly: 2008-2012

Senate: 1978-1990, 2013—Present

Background

Rancher/Independent Businessman

Campaign contributions

Senator Jim Nielsen has taken at least $447,000 from the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sector since he was elected to the legislature. That represents 13% of his total campaign contributions.

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Capitol office

1021 O Street, Suite 7110, Sacramento, CA 95814-4900; (916) 651-4004

District office(s)

2200A Douglas Blvd., Suite 100, Roseville, CA 95661; (916) 772-0571

1110 Civic Center Blvd., Suite 202-A, Yuba City, CA 95993; (530) 751-8657

2635 Forest Ave, Suite 110, Chico, CA 95928; (530) 879-7424

Biographical information

Birth Place

Fresno, CA

Race/Ethnicity

White

Residence

Red Bluff, CA

Gender

Male

Born

July 31, 1944

Identifies as

Straight

See our data sources →

How this legislator voted in 2019-2020

Selected Legislator

Democratic

Republican

Independent

No longer in this office

Liberal

Conservative

This legislator was Right relative to colleagues in the state Senate last year.

See all legislators or read our Methodology →

Campaign contributions received by sector

OpenSecrets and CalMatters have categorized campaign contributions to legislators based on the economic sector that the donor represents. Methodology →

This is how much money Jim Nielsen has taken from the various sectors since he was elected to the legislature.

Broad sector	Amount	Percent
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate	$447,350 $447k	13%
General Business	$386,326 $386k	11%
Agriculture	$379,927 $379k	11%
Health	$296,284 $296k	9%
Energy & Natural Resources	$255,325 $255k	7%
Government Agencies/Education/Other	$222,643 $222k	6%
Labor	$192,750 $192k	6%
Communications & Electronics	$139,750 $139k	4%
Construction	$97,100 $97k	3%
Transportation	$51,777 $51k	2%
Ideology/Single Issue	$40,034 $40k	1%
Candidate Contributions	$31,250 $31k	<1%
Lawyers & Lobbyists	$31,150 $31k	<1%
Unitemized Contributions	$6,973 $6k	<1%
Party	$2,875 $2k	<1%
Defense	$1,000 $1,000	<1%
Note: The above percentages might not add up to exactly 100% because we are not displaying any contributions that have not yet been classified.

Committees this legislator serves on

Being on a policy committee means the legislator works on these issues by considering bills relevant to the policy topic. The committee “chair” , chosen by the chamber leader, oversees the discussions of these bills. Members also serve on additional special, select, joint and sub committees, which can be found here.

Budget and Fiscal Review (Vice Chair)

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Oversees Senate consideration of the annual state budget including oversight of several budget subcommittees

Elections and Constitutional Amendments (Vice Chair)

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Bills relating to Elections, Reapportionment and proposals to amend the California Constitution.

Governance and Finance (Vice Chair)

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Bills pertaining to state and local government revenue mechanisms, taxes, and land use and development. The committee works to restructure state and local government responsibility so that funding sources align with program authority and service delivery.

Governmental Organization (Vice Chair)

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Bills relating to state government organization, horseracing, public gaming, the National Guard, alcoholic beverages, and management of public safety emergencies and disaster response, and legislation permitting the use of state-controlled lands.

How special interest groups rate this legislator

Special interest groups are organizations that advocate on behalf of shared interests, such as protecting the environment. Many interest groups rate politicians on how well their voting records agree with each group's goals. See a selection of these ratings for this legislator. Methodology →

100%

2020

California Chamber of Commerce

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California Chamber of Commerce is an advocacy group for California employers. It claims more than 14,000 members representing a quarter of the state’s private sector workforce.

24%

2020

California Labor Federation

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The California Labor Federation is an umbrella organization that claims to represent more than 1,200 labor unions representing 2.1 million workers in manufacturing, retail, construction, hospitality, public sector, health care, entertainment and other industries.

2020

California Environmental Voters

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California Environmental Voters advocates for environmental protection and climate change mitigation. It was started in 1972.

41%

2020

California Teachers Association

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California Teachers Association is a labor organization representing K12 school teachers. With 310,000 members It is the largest affiliate of the National Education Assn.

2020

Courage California

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Courage California is a progressive advocacy organization seeking policy change on issues including equity, representative democracy and institutional corruption.

84%

2020

Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

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Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association advocates for limited taxation and for the “economical, equitable and efficient use of taxpayer dollars.” It was founded by Howard and Estelle Jarvis, who championed Proposition 13 in 1978, California’s landmark property tax limit.

Senate District 4 demographics

Safe Republican district

Next election: 2022

How to read these charts

District

State

Voter registration

Dem

33%

46%

GOP

38%

24%

No party

21%

24%

Other

Race/ethnicity

Hispanic or Latino

22%

39%

White

62%

37%

Asian

14%

Black or African American

Multi-race

Median household income

$61,077

$75,235

Median age

36.9

36.5

Poverty rate

15%

13%

Bachelor's degree or higher

25%

34%

See our methodology and sources →

Most recent election

2018 General

James Nielsen (Incumbent)

Republican

57.1%

Phillip Kim

Democratic

42.9%

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Glass House: California Legislator Tracker

Jim Nielsen

Time in office

Background

Campaign contributions

Contact or follow this legislator

Capitol office

District office(s)

Biographical information

Birth Place

Race/Ethnicity

Residence

Gender

Born

Identifies as

How this legislator voted in 2019-2020

Campaign contributions received by sector

Committees this legislator serves on

Budget and Fiscal Review (Vice Chair)

Elections and Constitutional Amendments (Vice Chair)

Governance and Finance (Vice Chair)

Governmental Organization (Vice Chair)

How special interest groups rate this legislator

California Chamber of Commerce

California Labor Federation

California Environmental Voters

California Teachers Association

Courage California

Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

Senate District 4 demographics

Most recent election

2018 General

CalMatters coverage about this legislator

Strict COVID vaccine bills could face uphill battle

Mask up: Statewide mandate returns

After 453 days, California reopens

Did you find what you were looking for?

Glass House: California Legislator Tracker

Jim Nielsen

Time in office

Background

Campaign contributions

Contact or follow this legislator

Capitol office

District office(s)

Biographical information

Birth Place

Race/Ethnicity

Residence

Gender

Born

Identifies as

How this legislator voted in 2019-2020

Campaign contributions received by sector

Committees this legislator serves on

Budget and Fiscal Review (Vice Chair)

Elections and Constitutional Amendments (Vice Chair)

Governance and Finance (Vice Chair)

Governmental Organization (Vice Chair)

How special interest groups rate this legislator

California Chamber of Commerce

California Labor Federation

California Environmental Voters

California Teachers Association

Courage California

Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

Senate District 4 demographics

Most recent election

2018 General

CalMatters coverage about this legislator

Strict COVID vaccine bills could face uphill battle

Mask up: Statewide mandate returns

After 453 days, California reopens

Learn how state government affects you and your 40 million neighbors

Did you find what you were looking for?