The California State Assembly is the
lower house of the
California State Legislature, the
upper house being the
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
D ...
. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the
California State Capitol in
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
.
The Assembly consists of 80 members, with each member representing at least 465,000 people. Due to a combination of the state's large population and a legislature that has not been expanded since the ratification of the
1879 Constitution,
the Assembly has the largest population-per-representative ratio of any state lower house and second largest of any legislative lower house in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
after the federal
House of Representatives.
Members of the California State Assembly are generally referred to using the titles Assemblyman (for men), Assemblywoman (for women), or Assemblymember (gender-neutral). In the current legislative session,
Democrats enjoy a three-fourths supermajority of 62 seats, while
Republicans control a minority of 18 seats.
Leadership
The
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
presides over the State Assembly in the chief leadership position, controlling the flow of legislation and committee assignments. The Speaker is nominated by the caucus of the majority party and elected by the full Assembly. Other leaders, such as the
majority and
minority leaders, are elected by their respective
party caucuses according to each party's strength in the chamber.
The current
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
is
Democrat Anthony Rendon
Anthony Michael Rendon (, ; born June 6, 1990) is an American baseball third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the Washington Nationals and was a member of the Nationals' 2019 World S ...
(
63rd–
Lakewood). The
majority leader
In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body. is Democrat
Eloise Reyes
Eloise Gómez Reyes (born January 27, 1956) is an American politician serving as the Majority Leader of the California State Assembly. She is a Democrat representing the 47th Assembly District, encompassing urban parts of southwestern San Berna ...
(
47th–
Grand Terrace), while the minority leader is
Republican James Gallagher (
3rd
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* H ...
–
Yuba City).
Terms of office
As a result of Proposition 140 in 1990 and Proposition 28 in 2012, members elected to the Legislature prior to 2012 are restricted by
term limits to three two-year terms (six years), while those elected in or after 2012 are allowed to serve 12 years in the legislature in any combination of four-year
State Senate or two-year State Assembly terms.
Every two years, all 80 seats in the Assembly are subject to election. This is in contrast to the State Senate, in which only half of its 40 seats are subject to election every two years.
Meeting chamber
The chamber's green tones are based on the
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 ...
. The
dais
A dais or daïs ( or , American English also but sometimes considered nonstandard)[dais]
in the Random House Dictionary< ...
rests along a wall shaped like an "E", with its central projection housing the rostrum. Along the
cornice appears a portrait of
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
and a Latin quotation: ''legislatorum est justas leges condere'' ("It is the duty of legislators to pass just laws"). Almost every decorating element is identical to the Senate Chamber.
Candidate qualifications
To run for the Assembly, a candidate must be a United States citizen and a registered voter in the district at the time nomination papers are issued, and may not have served three terms in the State Assembly since November 6, 1990. According t
Article 4, Section 2(c)of the
California Constitution
The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's original c ...
, the candidate must have one year of residency in the legislative district and California residency for three years.
Employees
The
chief clerk of the Assembly, a position that has existed since the Assembly's creation, is responsible for many administrative duties. The chief clerk is the custodian of all Assembly bills and records and publishes the ''Assembly Daily Journal'', the minutes of floor sessions, as well as the ''Assembly Daily File'' (the Assembly agenda). The chief clerk is the Assembly's
parliamentarian, and in this capacity gives advice to the presiding officer on matters of
parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure is the accepted rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings of an assembly or organization. Its object is to allow orderly deliberation upon questions of interest to the organization and thus to arrive at the sense ...
. The chief clerk is also responsible for engrossing and
enrolling of measures, and the transmitting passed legislation to the governor.
The Assembly also holds the position of
chaplain, a position that has existed in both houses since the first legislative session back in 1850. Currently, the chaplain of the Assembly is Imam Mohammad Yasir Khan, the first chaplain historically that practices
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
.
The position of
sergeant-at-arms of the Assembly has existed since 1849; Samuel N. Houston was the first to hold this post, overseeing one deputy. The sergeant-at-arms is mostly tasked with
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...
duties, but customarily also has a ceremonial and protocol role. Today, some fifty employees are part of the Assembly Sergeant-at-Arms Office.
Current session
Composition
Past composition of the Assembly
Officers
The Chief Clerk, the Chief Sergeant-at-Arms, and the Chaplains are not members of the Legislature.
Members
* elected in a special election
Seating chart
Committees
Current committees, chairs and vice chairs include:
[
]
Recent sessions
*
California State Legislature, 1997–1998 session
The 1997–1998 session was a former session of the California State Legislature.
Dates of sessions
Major events
Major legislation
Enacted
Pending or failed
Vetoed
Members
*''#Assembly, Skip to Assembly, below''
Senate
Assembly
D ...
*
California State Legislature, 1999–2000 session
The 1999–2000 session was a session of the California State Legislature.
Dates of sessions
Major events
Major legislation
Enacted
Pending or failed
Vetoed
Members
*''#Assembly 3, Skip to Assembly, below''
Senate
: Democratic ...
*
California State Legislature, 2001–2002 session
The 2001–2002 session was a session of the California State Legislature.
Dates of sessions
Major events
Vacancies and special elections
*December 1, 2000: After pleading guilty to campaign finance violations, Jan Leja (R) agreed not to ta ...
*
California State Legislature, 2003–2004 session
The 2003–2004 session was a session of the California State Legislature.
Major legislation
Enacted
* California Shine the Light Law (S.B. 27), a landmark privacy law governing customers' rights in a business's disclosure of personal infor ...
*
California State Legislature, 2005–2006 session
The 2005–2006 session was a session of the California State Legislature.
Major legislation
Enacted
*SB 1613 - Law banning the use of cell phones in cars.
Senate
: Democratic Party (United States), Democrats: 25
: Republican Party (U ...
*
California State Legislature, 2007–2008 session
The 2007–2008 session was a meeting of the California State Legislature.
Dates of sessions
Convene: December 4, 2006
Adjourn: August 31, 2008
Major events
Vacancies and special elections
*March 16, 2007: Assemblyman Richard Alarcón (D-39) r ...
*
California State Legislature, 2009–2010 session
The 2009–2010 session was a meeting of the California State Legislature.
Dates of sessions
Convene: December 1, 2008
Adjourn: November 30, 2010
Major events
Vacancies and special elections
*November 30, 2008: Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas (Dem ...
*
California State Legislature, 2011–2012 session
The 2011–2012 session was a session of the California State Legislature. The session first convened on December 6, 2010, and adjourned sine die on November 30, 2012.
Major events
Vacancies and special elections
*July 13, 2010: Senator Da ...
*
California State Legislature, 2013–2014 session
The 2013–2014 session was a session of the California State Legislature. The session first convened on December 3, 2012, and Adjournment sine die, adjourned sine die on November 30, 2014.
Major events
Vacancies and special elections
* Augu ...
*
California State Legislature, 2015–2016 session
The 2015–2016 session was a session of the California State Legislature. The session first convened on December 1, 2014, and adjourned sine die on November 30, 2016.
Major events
Vacancies and special elections
* September 22, 2014: Demo ...
*
California State Legislature, 2017–2018 session
The 2017–2018 session was a session of the California State Legislature. The session first convened on December 5, 2016, and adjournment sine die, adjourned sine die on November 30, 2018.
Major events
Vacancies and special elections
* Jul ...
*
California State Legislature, 2019–2020 session
The 2019–2020 session was a session of the California State Legislature. The session first convened on December 3, 2018 and Adjournment sine die, adjourned sine die on November 30, 2020.
Major events
Vacancies and special elections
*Janua ...
*
California State Legislature, 2021–2022 session
See also
*
Bill (proposed law)
*
California State Assembly districts
California's State Assembly districts are numbered 1st through 80th, generally in north-to-south order.
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. The Assembly has 80 members, each representing one distri ...
*
2018 California State Assembly election
*
California State Capitol
*
California State Capitol Museum
*
California State Legislature
*
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
D ...
*
Districts in California
Districts in California geographically divide the U.S. state into overlapping regions for political and administrative purposes.
History of California political districts
From the founding of the state until 2008, the responsibility of redrawing ...
*
List of speakers of the California State Assembly
*
Members of the California State Legislature These are tables of members of the California State Legislature ( California State Senate and California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California S ...
References
External links
* of the California State Assembly
*
Democratic Caucus*
Republican Caucus*
Sergeant-at-ArmsInteractive map of the state assembly districtsCalifornia legislative district mapsfrom 1849 to the present
*
{{Authority control
1849 establishments in California
Assembly
State lower houses in the United States