California State Legislature

California State Legislature
California State Legislature
2023–24 session
	Great Seal of the State of California
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate; Assembly
Term limits	12 years
History
New session started	December 5, 2022
Leadership
President of the Senate/Lt. Gov.	Eleni Kounalakis (D) ; since January 7, 2019
President Pro Tem of the Senate	Mike McGuire (D) ; since February 5, 2024
Senate Republican Leader	Brian W. Jones (R) ; since December 2022
Speaker of the Assembly	Robert Rivas (D) ; since June 30, 2023
Assembly Minority Leader	James Gallagher (R) ; since February 8, 2022
Structure
Seats	120; 40 Senators; 80 Assemblymembers
Senate political groups	Democratic (32); Republican (8);
Assembly political groups	Democratic (62); Republican (18);
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

A few volumes of the journals of each house (Senate [upper chamber] is red; Assembly [lower chamber] is green).

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.^[1] Both houses of the Legislature convene at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The California state legislature is one of just ten full-time 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.

^ "California Constitution Article IV § 2". California Office of Legislative Counsel. Archived from the original on February 24, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
^ ""Full- and Part-time Legislatures"". Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
^ "Assembly & Senate | California State Capitol Museum". Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
^ 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.

[leg_members_and_term_limits_first_m_dec-1] "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.

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