California's 17th senatorial district is one of 40 California State Senate districts.

It is currently represented by Democrat John Laird of Santa Cruz.

The district encompasses the Big Sur section of the Central Coast, including Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey Counties, along with northern San Luis Obispo County.

Due to redistricting, the 17th district has been moved around different parts of the state.

The current iteration resulted from the 2011 redistricting by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.