California State Legislature

Coordinates: 38°34′36″N 121°29′36″W / 38.576572°N 121.493411°W / 38.576572; -121.493411
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

California State Legislature
R)
since February 8, 2022
Structure
Seats120
40 Senators
80 Assemblymembers
Senate political groups
  •   Democratic (32)
  •   Republican (8)
Assembly political groups
Elections
Last Senate election
November 8, 2022
(20 seats)
Last Assembly election
November 8, 2022
Next Senate election
November 5, 2024
(20 seats)
Next Assembly election
November 5, 2024
Meeting place
California State Capitol
Sacramento
Website
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

38°34′36″N 121°29′36″W / 38.576572°N 121.493411°W / 38.576572; -121.493411

California State Assembly chamber
California State Senate chamber
A few volumes of the journals of each house (Senate [upper chamber] is red; Assembly [lower chamber] is green).
Capitol Annex Swing Space. During the replacement of the Capitol Annex, starting in 2022 Legislature offices are located at 1021 O Street two blocks from the Capitol.

The California State Legislature is a

state legislatures in the United States.[2] The houses are distinguished by the colors of the carpet and trim of each house. The Senate is distinguished by the color red and the Assembly by the color green, inspired by the United Kingdom's House of Lords and House of Commons respectively.[3]

The Democratic Party currently holds veto-proof supermajorities in both houses of the California State Legislature.[4] The Assembly consists of 62 Democrats and 18 Republicans, while the Senate is composed of 32 Democrats and 8 Republicans. Except for a brief period from 1995 to 1996, the Assembly has been in Democratic hands since the 1970 election. The Senate has been under Democratic control since 1970, except for a brief period from 1973 to 1975.

History

1849 Constitution

Article IV of the

private bill), Section 34 prohibited the legislature from granting a charter "for banking purposes" while Section 35 required the legislature to enact a statute which prohibited any person or corporation from "..exercising the privileges of banking or creating paper to circulate as money", and Section 38 required all votes in the legislature to be conducted via voice vote. [10]

1879 Constitution

In its original form, Article IV of the 1879 California Constitution structured the legislature in a similar way to the 1849 Constitution. However, the 1879 Constitution explicitly stated that the Senate has 40 members and that the Assembly has 80 members.[11] The constitution also explicitly provides that Senators terms are four years and the terms of members of the Assembly are two years.

Legislative session schedule

New legislators convene each new two-year session, to organize, in the Assembly and Senate chambers, respectively, at noon on the first Monday in December following the election.[12]

After the organizational meeting, both houses are in recess until the first Monday in January, except when the first Monday is January 1 or January 1 is a Sunday, in which case they meet the following Wednesday. Aside from the recess, the legislature is in session year-round.[13]

State House

Since California was given official statehood by the U.S. on September 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850,[14] the state capital was variously San Jose (1850–1851), Vallejo (1852–1853) and Benicia (1853–1854), until Sacramento was finally selected in 1854.

The first Californian State House was originally a hotel in

Pierre "Don Pedro" Sainsevain and his associates.[15]

The State Legislature currently meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento.

Terms and term limits

Members of the Assembly are elected from 80 districts and serve two-year terms. All 80 Assembly seats are subject to election every two years. Members of the Senate are elected from 40 districts and serve four-year terms. Every two years, one half of the Senate (20 seats) is subject to election, with odd-numbered districts up for election during presidential elections, and even-numbered districts up for election during midterm elections.[1]

Term limits were initially established in 1990 following the passage of Proposition 140.[13] In June 2012, voters approved Proposition 28,[16] which limits legislators to a maximum of 12 years, without regard to whether they serve those years in the State Assembly or the State Senate. Legislators first elected on or before June 5, 2012, are restricted by the previous term limits, approved in 1990, which limited legislators to three terms in the State Assembly and two terms in the State Senate.

Record keeping

The proceedings of the California State Legislature are briefly summarized in regularly published journals, which show votes and who proposed or

cable TV. Due to the expense and the obvious political downside, California did not keep verbatim records of actual speeches made by members of the Assembly and Senate until the video feed began. As a result, reconstructing legislative intent outside of an act's preamble
is extremely difficult in California for legislation passed before the 1990s.

Since 1993, the Legislature has hosted a web or

Sacramento
and manually review the files of relevant legislators, legislative committees, and the Governor's Office from the relevant time period, in the hope of finding a statement of intent and evidence that the statement actually reflected the views of several of the legislators who voted for the bill (as opposed to just one).

Legislative committees

The most sought-after legislative committee appointments are to governance and finance, business and professions, and health. These are sometimes called "juice" committees, because membership in these committees often aids the campaign fundraising efforts of the committee members because powerful lobbying groups want to donate to members of these committees.[20]

Pocket veto

The legislature can "pocket veto" laws by avoiding consideration and thus avoiding a vote. The Appropriations "Suspense File", which was created in the mid-1980s,[21] is a popular way to avoid a vote.[22]

When a committee refuses to vote a bill out of committee, a discharge petition can typically be passed by the broader membership. In California, as of 2019 this was governed by Senate Rule 28 which requires 21 members and Assembly Rule 96(a) which requires 41 members;[23] the procedure was notably used in 1998.[24]

In 2019, a rule change in the Assembly allowed committee chairs to avoid considering bills, which effectively kills the proposal.[25] A proposed amendment to the constitution (ACA-23[26]) was proposed for the 2017–2018 session to require a vote.[27]

Across the country, pocket veto powers are not uncommon in legislatures; in Colorado, the power was notably repealed in a citizen initiative constitutional amendment in 1988 driven by various reform groups.[28]

Overview of legislative procedure

A

state law
. An Assembly Bill (AB) is one introduced in the Assembly; a Senate Bill (SB), in the Senate.

Bills are designated by number, in the order of introduction in each house. For example, AB 16 refers to the 16th bill introduced in the Assembly. The numbering starts afresh each session. There may be one or more "extraordinary" sessions. The bill numbering starts again for each of these. For example, the third bill introduced in the Assembly for the second extraordinary session is ABX2 3. The name of the author, the legislator who introduced the bill, becomes part of the title of the bill.

The

legislative procedure, is divided into distinct stages:[29]

Compensation

From December 6, 2021, members of the California State Legislature receive an annual salary of $119,702. The Assembly Speaker, Senate President pro tempore, and minority floor leaders receive salaries of $137,655. Majority floor leaders and second ranking minority leaders receive salaries of $128,680. As of 2022, these salaries are the highest paid to any state legislators. Senators receive per diem of $211 and Assembly members receive per diem of $214.[33][34]

Reform proposals

Expansion proposals

The Neighborhood Legislature Reform Act

In July 23rd, 2015, then former Republican presidential primary candidate John Cox submitted a ballot measure named "The Neighborhood Legislature Reform Act" which proposed that the Legislature's districts be subdivided into "neighborhood districts" of approximately 5000 people within each Assembly district and 10000 people within each Senate district. The representatives of these "neighborhood districts" within each district would then elect 40 Senate members and 80 Assembly members by majority vote.[35] It has been argued that while this proposal would make it easier for citizens to get the attention of any individual community representative, it would also in turn make it harder for these representatives to get the attention of their state legislators.[36] The measure failed to acquire enough signatures to qualify as a proposition for the 2016 November elections ballot.[37]

Sessions

See also

Districts, elections and members

Footnotes

  1. Proposition 25
    , which lets a simple majority pass an "all cuts budget" to meet the balanced budget requirement, and provide budgetary authority to issue payments and avoid revenue anticipation warrants, but continued the requirement of a two-thirds vote to increase revenues and reduce budget cuts.

References

  1. ^ a b "California Constitution Article IV § 2". California Office of Legislative Counsel. Archived from the original on February 24, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  2. ^ ""Full- and Part-time Legislatures"". Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "Assembly & Senate | California State Capitol Museum". Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  4. ^ Gstalter, Morgan (November 12, 2018). "Dems gain veto-proof supermajority in California legislature". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  5. ^ "Cal. Const. Art. IV § 1 (1849)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 25, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  6. ^ "Cal. Const. Art. IV § 2 (1849)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 25, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  7. ^ "Cal. Const. Art. IV §§ 3, 5 (1849)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 25, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  8. ^ "Cal. Const. Art. IV §§ 6, 29 (1849)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 25, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  9. ^ "Cal. Const. Art. IV § 29 (1849)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 25, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  10. ^ "Cal. Const. Art. IV §§ 25, 26, 31, 34, 35, 38 (1849)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 25, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  11. ^ "Cal. Const. Art. IV § 5" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on April 26, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  12. ^ "California Constitution Article IV § 3". California Office of Legislative Counsel. Archived from the original on February 24, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  13. ^ a b Representation Archived May 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Nextca.
  14. ^ Richard B. Rice et al., The Elusive Eden (1988) 191–95
  15. ^ "California's first State House, San Jose, 1849". Pacific Rim Library. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011.
  16. ^ "Proposition 28". Voter Information Guide | California Secretary of State. April 14, 2012. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  17. ^ "Legislative Publications". California Office of Legislative Counsel. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  18. ^ Stratford, Juri (2012). Index to Reports Published in the Appendices to the Journals of the California Legislature 1905-1970 Archived April 6, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Davis: University of California.
  19. ^ "California Legislative Information". California Office of Legislative Counsel. Archived from the original on February 23, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  20. ^ "Worst Legislator in California, By David Futch Thursday, Jun 2 2011". Archived from the original on January 14, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  21. ISBN 9780877724209
    .
  22. ^ Rosenhall, Laurel (September 6, 2017). "The Suspense Files: California bills vanish almost without a trace". CALmatters. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  23. ^ "Legislative Procedure" (PDF). California State Assembly Office of the Chief Clerk. January 1, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 31, 2018.
  24. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived
    from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  25. ^ Rosenhall, Laurel (May 2019). "How powerful lawmakers are killing California bills—without a peep". CALmatters. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  26. ^ "Bill Text - ACA-23 Legislative committees: prohibition on holding bills in committee". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  27. ^ Myers, John (May 2018). "California's Legislature should require a formal vote to kill bills, Republican lawmaker says". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  28. JSTOR 10.1017/s0022381610000174
    .
  29. ^ "Overview of Legislative Process". California Office of Legislative Counsel. Archived from the original on February 23, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  30. ^ "California Voters Pass Simple-Majority Budget Rule", November 3, 2010
  31. ^ "A California constitutional convention" Archived January 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, by Erwin Chemerinsky, Los Angeles Times, May 28, 2009
  32. ISSN 0890-5738. Archived
    from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  33. ^ "Salaries". ca.gov. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  34. ^ "2022 Legislator Compensation". ncsl.org. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  35. ^ "Re: Request for Title and Summary for Proposed Initiative" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  36. ^ "How Many Lawmakers Does a Legislature Need?". Governing. December 20, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  37. ^ "California Legislature Expansion Initiative (2016)". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  • For in-depth look at California's legislative process, see also: California's Legislature (2007), by Chief Clerk E. Dotson Wilson and Brian Ebbert (ed). Sacramento: California State Assembly.

External links

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