Ted Gaines represents the people of the 1st Senate District, which takes in all or parts of Alpine, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra and Siskiyou counties.
Ted currently serves as the chair of the Senate Republican Caucus, as well as vice chair of the Senate Insurance Committee; the Transportation and Housing Committee; and the Environmental Quality Committee. He is also a member of the Public Employment and Retirement Committee.
During his first year in the State Senate (2011), Ted achieved two legislative victories with Senate Bills 593 and 751 becoming law.
Senate Bill 593 creates additional transparency, accountability and oversight within the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).
Senate Bill 751 will provide consumers access to important cost information on hospital healthcare services in their communities.
Prior to his election to the Senate, Ted served the 4th State Assembly District from 2006 to 2011. He acted as vice chair of the prestigious Assembly Rules Committee and was also a member of four additional committees spanning a range of important issues.
As a member of the Assembly, Ted authored legislation to cap the state’s spending and set aside money into a rainy-day reserve fund. Ted also authored the Flexible Work Week Act of 2009, giving employers the flexibility to set new, alternative work schedules. Ted has repeatedly introduced legislation to reduce the number of burdensome regulations on the state’s books and provide tax-relief for hard-working California families.
Known as one of the most accessible Senators, he has hit the road to be accessible throughout the expansive first Senate District by annually holding more than 50 town halls, community meetings and various district outreach events.
Ted has received an “A” grade from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer’s Association for five consecutive years and also received a 100 percent score on the California Taxpayers Association’s 2011 Voting Record. In addition, he obtained a perfect “Job Creator” rating from the California Chamber of Commerce and has consistently appeared on the California Small Business Association’s honor roll, demonstrating his strong advocacy for taxpayer-friendly measures.
Prior to his election to the Legislature, Ted began his public service in local government on the City of Roseville’s Planning Commission from 1997 to 1999. He was then elected to the Placer County Board of Supervisors in 2000 and re-elected in 2004.
Upon graduating with a degree in Business Administration from Lewis and Clark College in Oregon, Ted returned home to follow his dreams of being a small business owner. Today, Ted is running his own successful family business, serving as the owner of Gaines Insurance.
In addition to his service in government, Ted has been involved in professional and community service activities. He is a longtime member of Bayside Covenant Church and served on the Honorary Committee for the Peace for Families Capitol Campaign. Ted also previously served as President of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Sacramento.
As a life-long, avid snow skier, Ted has worked for years on the effort to bring the Winter Olympic Games back to Northern California. Ted currently serves as an Honorary Chair of the California Winter Games Committee and works closely with the Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition.
In his free time, Ted enjoys the outdoors by running, cycling and waterskiing – especially in his beautiful Northern California district that includes the Sierra Nevada to the Cascades Mountains.
Ted has been married to his beautiful wife Beth since 1985. Beth and Ted live in Rocklin and are blessed with six children.