CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE
The California Legislature is the state’s bicameral legislative branch of government, responsible for creating laws for the state. It is composed of an upper house, the California State Senate, and a lower house, the California State Assembly, and it convenes at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
Structure and Membership
State Assembly: Has 80 members, each elected to a two-year term. All 80 seats are up for election every two years. Read more about the California State Assembly.
State Senate:Ā Has 40 members, each elected to a four-year term. Terms are staggered so that half of the seats (20) are subject to election every two years. Read more about the California State Senate.
Key Features
Term Limits: Legislators are limited to a maximum of 12 years of service in the Legislature, which can be served in any combination of Assembly or Senate terms (e.g., all 12 years in the Assembly, or a combination of both). This rule applies to members elected on or after June 5, 2012.
Representation: With a large and dense population, each Assembly member represents over 490,000 people, and each Senator represents nearly one million peopleāamong the highest ratios in the nation.
Leadership: The Speaker of the Assembly is the highest-ranking official in the Assembly, controlling the flow of legislation and committee assignments. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and can cast a vote only to break a tie. The President pro Tempore is the leader elected by the majority party caucus to preside over the Senate in the Lieutenant Governor’s absence.
Legislative Process
The primary function of the legislature is law-making, which involves proposing, analyzing, and debating bills. The process for a bill to become a law involves several stages:
Drafting: A legislator authors a bill idea, which is drafted into legal form by the Office of the Legislative Counsel.
Introduction: The bill is formally introduced on the floor of the house and referred to a relevant policy committee.
Committee Hearings: Committees review the bill, hear testimony, and vote on whether to pass it to the next stage. If the bill has financial implications, it also goes to a fiscal committee.
Floor Vote: If a bill passes out of committee, it is read a second and third time on the floor of the house, followed by a roll call vote. A majority vote is needed to pass most bills, but a two-thirds vote is required for urgency measures or tax increases.
Second House: If passed, the bill moves to the other house, where it repeats the committee and floor processes.
Resolution of Differences: If amended in the second house, the bill returns to the house of origin for concurrence. Disagreements are resolved by a joint conference committee.
Governor’s Action: Once both houses approve the final version, it is sent to the Governor, who can sign it into law, allow it to become law without a signature, or veto it. A two-thirds vote of both houses is required to override a gubernatorial veto.
Get more information about bills in the California Legislature.
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