Chapter 5: The California Legislature

Type of Legislature

Bicameral, modeled on US Congress

Assembly

80 members, 6, 2 year terms. 12 years max

State Senate

40 members, 3, 4-year terms. max 12 years

Apportionment

Both houses apportioned by population, unlike US Senate

Districts

Single member districts, geographically based districts

Session

Full time, professional legislature

Legislature: Representation

Members represent district constituents wants and needs. must balance trustee (own judgement) and delegate (follow constituents)

Legislature: Policy Making

Introduce and pass bills, primary law making bodies

Legislature: Oversight

Monitor executive branch agencies and budget implementation

Speaker of the Assembly: Robert Rivas

elected by assembly members (majority party typically), controls committee assignment, scheduling, resource allocation, most powerful member

President Pro Tempore (Senate) Monique Limón

Leader of the Senate, shares power with Senate rules committee

Majority Floor Leader: Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (Assembly) Angelique Ashby (Senate)

Manages day to day legislature agenda

Committee Chairs

Control hearings and amendments in their areas

Veto Override

require 2/3 in both chambers

Urgency Statues

require 2/3 vote in both houses, take effect immediately

Item Veto

Governor can reduce or eliminate any line item in budget/appropriations/spending related

Media Visibility

Sacramento recieves far less coverage than Washington DC

Court Appointments

Legislature has no confirmation role (governor appoints, commission on judicial appointments confirms)

Filibuster

No filibuster in CA legislature

Seniority

Weakened by term limits, committee chair not automatically based on Seniority

Intiatives

legislature cannot easily undo voter approved initiatives

Partisanship in legislature

Deep divisions between Democrats and Republicans, coastal liberals vs inland conservatives

Gridlock and minority rule

2/3 supermajority required for taxes means minority party (Republicans) can block revenue increases

Prop 13 (1978)

capped property taxes at 1% of property value, limited annual increases to maximum of 2%

Prop 98 (1988)

CA amendment mandating minimum annual funding level for k-12 schools, colleges and pre k

Issue network

group of lobbyists, leg. staff, agency bureaucrats and members who work together on policy. informal and often drive policy more than floor debates