New session started December 5, 2016 | ||
 | ||
Type Lower house of the California State Legislature Term limits Elected before 2012:
3 terms (6 years)
Elected 2012 and after:
6 terms (12 years) Speaker Anthony Rendon (D)
Since March 7, 2016 Speaker pro Tempore Kevin Mullin (D)
Since December 1, 2014 Majority Leader Ian Calderon (D)
Since March 10, 2016 | ||
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. It consists of 80 members, with each member representing at least 465,000 people. Due to the state's large population and relatively small legislature, the State 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. As a result of Proposition 140 in 1990 and Proposition 28 in 2012, members elected to the legislature prior to 2012 are restricted by term limits to three two-year terms (six years), while those elected in or after 2012 are allowed to serve 12 years in the legislature in any combination of four-year state senate or two-year state assembly terms.
Contents
- Leadership
- Meeting chamber
- Candidate qualifications
- Employees
- Officers
- Committees
- Standing
- Joint
- Recent sessions
- References
Members of the assembly are generally referred to using the titles assemblyman (for men), assemblywoman (for women), or assemblymember (for all genders).
The State Assembly convenes at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
In the current session, the Democrats control 55 seats, forming a supermajority of the chamber. Republicans control 25 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 elected by the majority party caucus, followed by confirmation of 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 Anthony Rendon (63rd–Paramount). The majority leader is Democrat Ian Calderon (57th–Whittier), while the minority leader is Republican Chad Mayes (42nd–Yucca Valley).
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 may not have served three terms in the State Assembly since November 6, 1990. 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.
Employees
The Chief Clerk, the Sergeant-at-Arms, and the Chaplain are not members of the Legislature. The Sergeant-at-Arms protects the members of the California State Assembly. This position has existed since December 15, 1849, when Samuel N. Houston became the Assembly's first Sergeant-at-Arms.
Officers
The Chief Clerk, the acting Chief Sergeant-at-Arms, and the Chaplains are not members of the Legislature.
Committees
Current committees include: