California State Assembly

California State Assembly
California State Assembly
California State Legislature
Type
Type	Lower house
Term limits	6 terms (12 years)
History
New session started	December 5, 2022
Leadership
Speaker	Robert Rivas (D) ; since June 30, 2023
Speaker pro tempore	Josh Lowenthal (D) ; since December 2, 2024
Majority Leader	Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D) ; since November 22, 2023
Minority Leader	James Gallagher (R) ; since February 8, 2022
Structure
Seats	80
Political groups	Majority:; Democratic (60)Minority:; Republican (19)Vacant:; (1)
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Article 4, California Constitution
Salary	$114,877/year + $211 per diem
Elections
Voting system	Nonpartisan blanket primary
Last election	November 5, 2024
Next election	November 3, 2026
Redistricting	California Citizens Redistricting Commission
Motto
	Legislatorum est justas leges condere; ("It is the duty of legislators to enact just laws.")
Meeting place
	State Assembly Chamber; California State Capitol; Sacramento, California
Website
	California State Assembly
Rules
	Standing Rules of the Assembly

The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in 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,^[1] 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 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 have a three-fourths supermajority of 60 seats, while Republicans control a minority of 19 seats.

Leadership

The speaker 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 is Democrat Robert Rivas (29th–Hollister). The majority leader is Democrat Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (4th–Winters), while the minority leader is Republican James Gallagher (3rd–Yuba City).^[2]

Terms of office

Members are allowed, by current term limits, to serve 12 years in the legislature in any combination of four-year State Senate or two-year State Assembly terms. However, members elected to the Legislature prior to 2012 are restricted to three two-year terms (six years). Few, if any, legislators remain from this era, though the restriction could affect future candidates running after a hiatus from office.

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 rests along a wall shaped like an "E", with its central projection housing the rostrum. Along the cornice appears a portrait of Abraham Lincoln 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 meet the criteria of the term limits described above. According to Article 4, Section 2(c) of the California Constitution, the candidate must have one year of residency in the legislative district and California residency for three years.^[3]

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. The chief clerk is also responsible for engrossing and enrolling of measures, and the transmission of legislation to the governor.^[4]

The Assembly also employs 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.

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 duties, but customarily also has a ceremonial and protocol role. Today, some fifty employees are part of the Assembly Sergeant-at-Arms Office.^[5]

↓
60	19
Democratic	Republican

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
End of previous legislature	62	17	80	1

Begin	60	19	80	1
Latest voting share	75%	24%

Position		Name	Party	District
	Speaker	Robert Rivas	Democratic	29th–Hollister
	Speaker pro Tempore	Josh Lowenthal	Democratic	69th–Long Beach
	Assistant Speaker pro Tempore	Celeste Rodriguez	Democratic	43rd–San Fernando
	Majority Leader	Cecilia Aguiar-Curry	Democratic	4th–Winters
	Assistant Majority Leader	Robert Garcia	Democratic	50th–Rancho Cucamonga
	Assistant Majority Leader for Policy and Research	LaShae Sharp-Collins	Democratic	79th–San Diego
	Majority Whip	Mark Gonzalez	Democratic	54th–Los Angeles
	Assistant Majority Whips	Jessica Caloza	Democratic	52nd–Los Angeles
	Assistant Majority Whips	Michelle Rodriguez	Democratic	53rd–Pomona
	Democratic Caucus Chair	Rick Chavez Zbur	Democratic	51st–Los Angeles
	Republican Leader	James Gallagher	Republican	3rd–Yuba City
	Republican Floor Leader	Heath Flora	Republican	9th–Lodi
	Republican Caucus Chair	Tom Lackey	Republican	34th–Palmdale
	Republican Deputy Floor Leader	Kate Sanchez	Republican	71st–Trabuco Canyon
	Republican Deputy Leader (Fiscal)	Diane Dixon	Republican	72nd–Newport Beach
	Republican Deputy Leader (Policy)	Joe Patterson	Republican	5th–Rocklin
	Republican Deputy Leader (Operations)	Juan Alanis	Republican	22nd–Modesto
	Republican Deputy Leader (External Relations)	Laurie Davies	Republican	74th–Laguna Niguel
	Republican Chief Whip	Tri Ta	Republican	70th–Westminster
	Republican Deputy Whips	Alexandra Macedo	Republican	33rd–Tulare
	Republican Deputy Whips	Heather Hadwick	Republican	1st–Alturas
Chief Clerk		Sue Parker
Chief Sergeant-at-Arms		Cheryl R. Craft
Chaplain		Vacant

Committee	Chair	Vice Chair
Aging and Long-Term Care	Jasmeet Bains (D)	Devon Mathis (R)
Agriculture	Esmeralda Soria (D)	Juan Alanis (R)
Appropriations	Buffy Wicks (D)	Kate Sanchez (R)
Arts, Entertainment, Sports, & Tourism	Chris Ward (D)	Greg Wallis (R)
Banking and Finance	Avelino Valencia (D)	Phillip Chen (R)
Budget	Jesse Gabriel (D)	Heath Flora (R)
Business and Professions	Marc Berman (D)	Heath Flora (R)
Communications and Conveyance	Tasha Boerner (D)	Jim Patterson (R)
Economic Development, Growth, and Household Impact	Jose Solache (D)	Vacant
Education	Al Muratsuchi (D)	Megan Dahle (R)
Elections	Gail Pellerin (D)	Tom Lackey (R)
Emergency Management	Rhodesia Ransom (D)	Marie Waldron (R)
Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials	Damon Connolly (D)	Josh Hoover (R)
Governmental Organization	Blanca Rubio (D)	Tom Lackey (R)
Health	Mia Bonta (D)	Marie Waldron (R)
Higher Education	Mike Fong (D)	Tri Ta (R)
Housing and Community Development	Matt Haney (D)	Joe Patterson (R)
Human Services	Alex Lee (D)	Bill Essayli (R)
Insurance	Lisa Calderon (D)	Philip Chen (R)
Judiciary	Ash Kalra (D)	Diane Dixon (R)
Labor and Employment	Liz Ortega (D)	Heath Flora (R)
Local Government	Juan Carrillo (D)	Marie Waldron (R)
Military and Veterans Affairs	Pilar Schiavo (D)	Laurie Davies (R)
Natural Resources	Isaac Bryan (D)	Heath Flora (R)
Privacy and Consumer Protection	Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D)	Joe Patterson (R)
Public Employment and Retirement	Tina McKinnor (D)	Tom Lackey (R)
Public Safety	Nick Schultz (D)	Juan Alanis (R)
Revenue and Taxation	Mike Gipson (D)	Tri Ta (R)
Rules	Blanca Pacheco (D)	Devon Mathis (R)
Transportation	Lori Wilson (D)	Laurie Davies (R)
Utilities and Energy	Cottie Petrie-Norris (D)	Jim Patterson (R)
Water, Parks, and Wildlife	Diane Papan (D)	Devon Mathis (R)

Leadership

Terms of office

Meeting chamber

Candidate qualifications

Employees

Current session

Composition

Past composition of the Assembly

Officers

Members

Seating chart

Standing Committees

Recent sessions

See also

References

External links