The California State Assembly is the lower house of the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislatur ...

, the

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

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. ...

. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the

California State Capitol The California State Capitol is the seat of the Government of California, California state government, located in Sacramento, California, Sacramento, the state capital of California. The building houses the chambers of the California State Legisl ...

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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

after the federal

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. 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 Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

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 caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

es according to each party's strength in the chamber. The current

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 ...

(

63rd 63rd may refer to: ;Metro stations *Ashland/63rd (CTA station), on the Green Line *East 63rd-Cottage Grove (CTA), on the Green Line *63rd (CTA Red Line), on the Red Line *63rd Street station (SEPTA Market–Frankford Line) on the Market-Frankford L ...

– 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 ( 47th–

Grand Terrace Grand Terrace is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 12,040 at the 2010 census, up from 11,626 at the 2000 census. Grand Terrace is located between Highgrove and Colton, along the I-215 and Agua Ma ...

), while the minority leader is

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

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) * Hig ...

–

Yuba City Yuba City (Maidu: ''Yubu'') is a city in Northern California and the county seat of Sutter County, California, United States. The population was 70,117 at the 2020 census. Yuba City is the principal city of the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistica ...

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 A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential ...

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 A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

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

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 In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

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 thro ...

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 ...

, 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 Procedural law, rules, ethics, and Norm (sociology), customs governing meetings of an deliberative assembly, assembly or organization. Its object is to allow orderly deliberation upon questions of interest ...

. 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 chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

, 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. The position of

sergeant-at-arms A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, ...

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 *'' Skip to Assembly, below'' Senate Assembly Democrats: ...

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 *'' Skip to Assembly, below'' Senate : Democrats: 25 : Rep ...

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 *

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 ( D ...

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 Dav ...

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 adjourned sine die on November 30, 2014. Major events Vacancies and special elections * August 31, 2012: Republic ...

* California State Legislature, 2015–2016 session *

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 adjourned sine die on November 30, 2018. Major events Vacancies and special elections * July 11, 2017: Democrati ...

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 adjourned sine die on November 30, 2020. Major events Vacancies and special elections *January 7, 2019: Republica ...

* California State Legislature, 2021–2022 session

References

External links

* of the California State Assembly *
Democratic Caucus
*
Republican Caucus
*
Sergeant-at-Arms

Interactive map of the state assembly districts

California legislative district maps
from 1849 to the present * {{Authority control 1849 establishments in California

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

State lower houses in the United States