| Background Color: | blue |
| California State Assembly | |
| Legislature: | California State Legislature |
| Coa Pic: | Seal of the Assembly of the State of California.svg |
| Session Room: | California State Assembly room p1080879.jpg |
| House Type: | Lower house |
| Term Limits: | 6 terms (12 years) |
| New Session: | December 5, 2022 |
| Leader1 Type: | Speaker |
| Leader1: | Robert Rivas (D) |
| Election1: | June 30, 2023 |
| Leader2 Type: | Speaker pro tempore |
| Leader2: | Jim Wood (D) |
| Election2: | November 22, 2023 |
| Leader3 Type: | Majority Leader |
| Leader3: | Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D) |
| Election3: | November 22, 2023 |
| Leader4 Type: | Minority Leader |
| Leader4: | James Gallagher (R) |
| Election4: | February 8, 2022 |
| Term Length: | 2 years |
| Authority: | Article 4, California Constitution |
| Salary: | $114,877/year + $211 per diem |
| Seats: | 80 |
| Structure1: | California State Assembly 2019-20 diagram.svg |
| Structure1 Res: | 250px |
| Structure1 Alt: | Composition of the California State Assembly |
| Voting System1: | Nonpartisan blanket primary |
| Last Election1: | November 8, 2022 |
| Redistricting: | California Citizens Redistricting Commission |
| Political Groups1: | Majority: Minority: Vacant: |
| 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 62 seats, while Republicans control a minority of 17 seats.
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]
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 it 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.
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.
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]
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]
| 62 | 17 | |
| Democratic | Republican | |
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | Independent | Vacant | |||
| End of previous legislature | 60 | 19 | 1 | 80 | 0 | |
| Begin | 62 | 18 | 0 | 80 | 0 | |
| May 24, 2024[6] | 62 | 17 | 79 | 0 | ||
| Latest voting share | ||||||
See main article: Political party strength in California.
| Position | Name | Party | District | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speaker | Robert Rivas | Democratic | 29th–Hollister | ||
| Speaker pro Tempore | Jim Wood | Democratic | 2nd–Healsburg | ||
| Assistant Speaker pro Tempore | Stephanie Nguyen | Democratic | 10th–Elk Grove | ||
| Majority Leader | Cecilia Aguiar-Curry | Democratic | 4th–Winters | ||
| Assistant Majority Leader | Miguel Santiago | Democratic | 54th–Los Angeles | ||
| Assistant Majority Leader for Policy and Research | Dawn Addis | Democratic | 30th–Morro Bay | ||
| Majority Whip | Matt Haney | Democratic | 17th–San Francisco | ||
| Assistant Majority Whips | Eloise Gomez Reyes | Democratic | 50th–Colton | ||
| Josh Lowenthal | Democratic | 69th–Long Beach | |||
| 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–Ripon | ||
| Republican Chief Whip | Laurie Davies | Republican | 74th–Laguna Niguel | ||
| Republican Caucus Chair | Tom Lackey | Republican | 34th–Palmdale | ||
| Chief Clerk | Sue Parker | ||||
| Chief Sergeant-at-Arms | Alisa Buckley | ||||
| Chaplain | Imam Mohammad Yasir Khan (Al Misbaah) | ||||
The Chief Clerk, the Chief Sergeant-at-Arms, and the Chaplains are not members of the Legislature.
Current committees, chairs and vice chairs include:[11]
| Committee | Chair | Vice Chair |
|---|---|---|
| Accountability and Administrative Review | Inactive | Inactive |
| 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 | Mike Gipson (D) | Greg Wallis (R) |
| Banking and Finance | Tim Grayson (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) |
| Education | Al Muratsuchi (D) | Megan Dahle (R) |
| Elections | Gail Pellerin (D) | Tom Lackey (R) |
| Emergency Management | Freddie Rodriguez (D) | Marie Waldron (R) |
| Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials | Eduardo Garcia (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 | Chris Ward (D) | Joe Patterson (R) |
| Human Services | Alex Lee (D) | Bill Essayli (R) |
| Insurance | Lisa Calderon (D) | Philip Chen (R) |
| Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy | Carlos Villapudua (D) | Josh Hoover (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 | Kevin McCarty (D) | Juan Alanis (R) |
| Revenue and Taxation | Jacqui Irwin (D) | Tri Ta (R) |
| Rules | Blancha 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) |