California State Legislature, 2007–2008 session explained

2007–2008 session of the California State Legislature
Body:	California State Legislature
State:	California
Term Start:	December 4, 2006
Term End:	August 30, 2008
Before:	2005–2006
After:	2009–2010
Chamber1:	Senate
Membership1:	40
Control1:	Democratic
Chamber1 Leader1 Type:	President of the Senate
Chamber1 Leader1:	John Garamendi (D)
Chamber1 Leader2 Type:	President pro tempore
Chamber1 Leader2:	Don Perata (D–9th)
Chamber1 Leader3 Type:	Minority Leader
Chamber1 Leader3:	Dick Ackerman (R–33rd) Dec. 4, 2006–Apr. 15, 2008 Dave Cogdill (R–14th) Apr. 15, 2008–Aug. 31, 2008
Chamber2:	Assembly
Membership2:	80
Control2:	Democratic
Chamber2 Leader1 Type:	Speaker
Chamber2 Leader1:	Fabian Núñez (D–46th) Dec. 4, 2006–May 13, 2008 Karen Bass (D–47th) May 13, 2008–Aug. 31, 2008
Chamber2 Leader2 Type:	Minority Leader
Chamber2 Leader2:	Michael Villines (R–29th)

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) resigns to take a seat on the Los Angeles City Council
• May 15, 2007: Felipe Fuentes (D-Sylmar) wins the special election for the 39th Assembly District seat to replace Alarcón and is sworn in on May 25
• September 4, 2007: Assemblywoman Laura Richardson (D-55) resigns to take a seat in the United States House of Representatives, replacing Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald, who died on April 22, 2007
• February 5, 2008: Warren T. Furutani (D-Gardena) wins the special election for the 55th Assembly District seat to replace Richardson and is sworn in on February 7
• June 3, 2008: The recall election against Senator Jeff Denham (R-12) fails, with over 75% of the voters deciding to keep Denham in office

Leadership changes

• February 7, 2008: Senator Darrell Steinberg (D-6) is named to replace Senator Don Perata (D-9) as president pro tempore of the Senate, as Perata is termed out at the end of the term
• April 15, 2008: Senator Dave Cogdill (R-14) replaces Senator Dick Ackerman (R-33) as Senate Republican Leader, as Ackerman is termed out at the end of the term
• May 13, 2008: Assemblywoman Karen Bass (D-47) replaces Assemblyman Fabian Núñez (D-46) as Speaker of the Assembly, as Núñez is termed out at the end of the term

Members

• Skip to Assembly, below

Senate

Democrats: 25

Republicans: 15

California State Senate
Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
				bgcolor=black
	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
nowrap style="font-size:80%"	End of previous legislature		25	15	40	0
nowrap style="font-size:80%"	Begin		25	15	40	0
Final voting share		62.5%	37.5%

Officers

President Pro Tem: Don Perata (D-9)
Majority Leader: Gloria Romero (D-24)
Minority Leader: Dick Ackerman (R-33) to April 15, 2008; Dave Cogdill (R-14) from April 15, 2008

Full list of members, 2007-2008

District	Name	Party	Seat Up
1st			Rep	2008
2nd			Dem	2010
3rd			Dem	2008
4th			Rep	2010
5th	Michael Machado Term limited		Dem	2008
6th			Dem	2010
7th	Tom Torlakson Term limited		Dem	2008
8th			Dem	2010
9th	Don Perata Term limited		Dem	2008
10th			Dem	2010
11th			Dem	2008
12th			Rep	2010
13th			Dem	2008
14th			Rep	2010
15th			Rep	2008
16th			Dem	2010
17th			Rep	2008
18th			Rep	2010
19th	Tom McClintock Term limited		Rep	2008
20th			Dem	2010
21st	Jack Scott Term limited		Dem	2008
22nd			Dem	2010
23rd	Sheila Kuehl Term limited		Dem	2008
24th	Gloria Romero		Dem	2010
25th	Edward Vincent Term limited		Dem	2008
26th			Dem	2010
27th			Dem	2008
28th			Dem	2010
29th	Bob Margett Term limited		Rep	2008
30th			Dem	2010
31st			Rep	2008
32nd			Dem	2010
33rd	Dick Ackerman Term limited		Rep	2008
34th			Dem	2010
35th			Rep	2008
36th			Rep	2010
37th	Jim Battin Term limited		Rep	2008
38th			Rep	2010
39th			Dem	2008
40th			Dem	2010

Assembly

Affiliation		Members
	Democratic Party	48
	Republican Party	32
Total		80
Majority		16

California State Assembly
Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
				bgcolor=black
	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
nowrap style="font-size:80%"	End of previous legislature		48	32	80	0
nowrap style="font-size:80%"	Begin		48	32	80	0
nowrap style="font-size:80%"	March 16, 2007		47		79	1
nowrap style="font-size:80%"	May 15, 2007		48		80	0
nowrap style="font-size:80%"	September 4, 2007		47		79	1
nowrap style="font-size:80%"	February 7, 2008		48		80	0
Final voting share		60.0%	40.0%

Officers

• Speaker Karen Bass (D-47) from May 13, 2008
  • Fabian Núñez (D-46) to May 13, 2008
• Speaker pro Tempore Sally J. Lieber (D-22)
• Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore Lori Saldaña (D-76) from May 16, 2008
  • Laura Richardson (D-55) to September 4, 2007
• Majority Floor Leader Alberto Torrico (D-20) from May 13, 2008
  • Karen Bass (D-47) to May 13, 2008
• Minority Floor Leader Michael Villines (R-29)
• Chief Clerk E. Dotson Wilson
• Sergeant at Arms Ronald Pane

Note: The Chief Clerk and the Sergeant at Arms are not Members of the Legislature

Full List of Members, 2007-2008

District	Name	Party
1st			Dem
2nd			Rep
3rd			Rep
4th			Rep
5th			Rep
6th			Dem
7th			Dem
8th			Dem
9th			Dem
10th			Rep
11th			Dem
12th			Dem
13th			Dem
14th			Dem
15th			Rep
16th			Dem
17th			Dem
18th			Dem
19th			Dem
20th			Dem
21st			Dem
22nd			Dem
23rd			Dem
24th			Dem
25th			Rep
26th			Rep
27th			Dem
28th			Dem
29th			Rep
30th			Dem
31st			Dem
32nd			Rep
33rd			Rep
34th			Rep
35th			Dem
36th			Rep
37th			Rep
38th			Rep
39th	Richard Alarcón Felipe Fuentes		Dem
40th			Dem
41st			Dem
42nd			Dem
43rd			Dem
44th			Dem
45th			Dem
46th			Dem
47th			Dem
48th			Dem
49th			Dem
50th			Dem
51st			Dem
52nd			Dem
53rd			Dem
54th			Dem
55th	Laura Richardson Warren T. Furutani		Dem
56th			Dem
57th			Dem
58th			Dem
59th			Rep
60th			Rep
61st			Dem
62nd			Dem
63rd			Rep
64th			Rep
65th			Rep
66th			Rep
67th			Rep
68th			Rep
69th			Dem
70th			Rep
71st			Rep
72nd			Rep
73rd			Rep
74th			Rep
75th			Rep
76th			Dem
77th			Rep
78th			Rep
79th			Dem
80th			Rep

*Felipe Fuentes won the May 15, 2007 special election for the 39th Assembly District seat to replace Richard Alarcón, who resigned on March 16, 2007, to take a seat on the Los Angeles City Council.

**Warren T. Furutani won the February 5, 2008 special election for the 55th Assembly District seat to replace Laura Richardson, who resigned on September 4, 2007, to take a seat in the United States House of Representatives, replacing Juanita Millender-McDonald who died on April 22, 2007.

2006 elections

See main article: California State Assembly elections, 2006.

The last Assembly elections occurred on November 7, 2006. The Democratic Party retained their majority, with no loss or gain of seats for any party.^[1]

Party		Votes	Seats	Loss/Gain	Share of Vote (%)
	Democratic	4,449,698	48	0	55.2
	Republican	3,448,781	32	0	42.8
	Libertarian	93,588	0	0	1.16
	Green	35,283	0	0	.44
	Peace and Freedom	29,384	0	0	.36
Total		8,056,734	80	0	100.0%

See also

• List of California state legislatures

Notes and References

1. Web site: State Assembly results, California Secretary of State . 2008-06-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080625203905/http://vote.ss.ca.gov/Returns/stasm/all.htm# . 2008-06-25 . dead .