California State Legislature
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Both chambers of the California legislature have been dominated by the Democratic Party since 1970 except from 1995 to 1996, when the Republican Party briefly held a majority in the lower chamber.
California's voters imposed term limits on their state senators and state assemblymen in 1990; senators can't serve for more than two terms (for a total of eight years) and assemblymen can't serve for more than three terms (for a total of six years).
The 2010 session of the California legislature began on January 12, 2010.[1]
The California legislature has been full-time since 1966.[2]
Legislative salaries
The California Citizens Compensation Commission (CCCC) voted in May 2009 to reduce the salaries of California's state legislators by 18%, from $116,208 to $95,291. In June, the compensation commission voted on legislative pay again, this time to reduce the fringe benefits received by state legislators by 18%. The fringe benefit reduction applies to per-diem payments, car allowances, and medical insurance, and becomes effective on December 1, 2009.[3]
It was originally thought to be the case that the compensation commission is unable to reduce salaries of elected officials in the middle of their terms. However, in November 2009, Jerry Brown in his capacity as California's Attorney General ruled that under Proposition 112 from 1990, the CCCC can "adjust the annual salaries of state officers" each year.[4]
Benefits from lobbyists
As of 2009, perks available to California state legislators include:
- BP America, a gas and petroleum company, sponsors an automated hotline just for California state legislators and their staff that allows them to call the company for free tickets to concerts, shows and sports events. The message on the automated service says that legislators may "ask a member of their own staff to call on their behalf.[5]
- AT&T sponsors a dedicated, private e-mail service that allows state legislators and their staffs use to request tickets to shows such as Britney Spears concerts and Lakers playoffs.[5]
- Michael Duvall, who resigned from the California State Assembly in September when a videotape was made public in which he discussed his sexual adventures with lobbyists, also reported on his mandatory lobbying disclosures that in 2008, he had received gifts of meals, drinks, concert tickets and "a Bluetooth headset".[5]
Low popularity
In December 2009, public opinion polling cited by the Sacramento Bee found that legislature's voter approval rating was at 13%, said to be an all-time low.[6]
Role in state budget
- Main article: California state budget
In November 2009, the California Legislative Analyst's Office released a document, "The 2010-11 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook". The report says "...the state must address a General Fund budget problem of $20.7 billion between now and the time the Legislature enacts a 2010–11 state budget plan...Addressing this large shortfall will require painful choices—on top of the difficult choices the Legislature made earlier this year." The report also says "The vast majority" of the current year problem can be attributed to the state's inability to implement several major solutions in the July 2009 budget plan."[7][8]
John Myers, the Sacramento Bureau Chief for KQED's "The California Report", said the hard-hitting LAO report "makes it clear that the current problem really lies at the feet of 120 legislators and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger."[8]
A 2/3rds vote is required in the state legislature to raise taxes. An End the Two-Thirds Requirement proposition is circulating in preparation for the November 2, 2010 ballot. Sponsors include those in the state who believe that the state's budget gap should be made up with higher taxes.[9]
Legislative sessions
Length of
- See also: States with a full-time legislature
California is one of 11 states defined as having a full-time legislature, and it has the distinction of having the longest scheduled session of any state legislature in the country.[10]
Proposal to split
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg proposed in December 2009 that the business that comes before the state legislature be divided, so that the two-year legislative sessions include a year confined to budgeting and oversight and a year confined to the consideration of new legislation. If the California legislature agrees to this change, it would join 15 other states where the state budget is considered in only one year of a state's two-year legislative session.[10]
Steinberg's proposal would return the California legislature to a system of alternate years of budgeting and legislation that it used from the end of World War II until 1966. In 1966, voters passed Proposition 1A, which created a full-time legislature and annual budgeting.
Steinberg's proposal is similar to a proposed constitutional amendment, SCA 2, sponsored by Mark Wyland.
Number of bills
The 2009 session of the state legislature approved about 1,000 bills, sending them on to the Governor of California for his signature.[11]
Current balance-of-power
State assembly
| Affiliation | Members | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 51 | |
| Republican Party | 29 | |
| Total | 80 | |
State senate
| Affiliation | Members | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 25 | |
| Republican Party | 15 | |
| Total | 40 | |
Terms and term limits
California voters imposed term limits on the California Legislature in 1990, when they voted in favor of Proposition 140 by a margin of 52-48%. Proposition 140 limits state Assembly members to three two-year terms and state senators to two four-year terms, and imposes a lifelong ban against seeking the same office once the limits have been reached.
Bates v. Jones
In the case of Bates v. Jones, Bates--a termed-out Assemblyman--sued in federal court to have the provisions of Prop. 140 declared unconstitutional. A federal court agreed with his claim, before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled against him, keeping the limits in place.
Proposition 45 in 2002
- Main article: California Proposition 45 (2002)
California State Senate president pro tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) vigorously sponsored an effort in 2002 to rollback the provisions of 1990's Prop. 140 by putting Proposition 45 on the March 2002 ballot. Voters rejected Prop. 45 by a margin of 42-58%. Had Proposition 45 passed, it would have allowed state legislators to serve for four years beyond the limits allowed by Prop. 140.
Proposition 93 in 2008
- Main article: California Proposition 93 (2008)
Proposition 93, an initiated constitutional amendment supported by Don Perata was defeated 53.6% to 46.4% during the February 5, 2008 statewide primary election. Had it passed, members of the California State Legislature would have been allowed to remain in their current office up to 12 years.
Senate
- Main article: California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate. The officers of the Senate, elected at the start of each legislative session, are; President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, Secretary of the Senate Gregory Schmidt, and Senate Sergeant at Arms Tony Beard.
Prior to 1968, state senate districts were restricted such that one county could only hold at most one seat. This led to the situation of Los Angeles County, with 6 million residents as of 1968, receiving 600 times less representation than residents of Alpine County and Calaveras County, some of California's least populous counties. The Reynolds v. Sims decision by the United States Supreme Court compelled all states to draw up districts that were apportioned by population rather than geography. As such, boundaries were changed such that equal representation was provided.
Senators serve four year terms. The terms of the Senators are staggered so that half the membership is elected every two years. The Senators representing the odd-numbered districts are elected in years evenly divisible by four. The Senators from the even-numbered districts are elected in the intervening even-numbered years.
Since the passage of Prop 140 in 1990, California senators have been limited to two terms in office.
Each Senator represents approximately 846,791 Californians, which is more than the approximately 639,088 residents in each of California's Congressional Districts.
State Assembly
- Main article: California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members to the Assembly, representing a relatively equal amount of constituencies, with each district having a population of at least 420,000 citizens. Due to the state's large population and relatively small legislature, the Assembly has the largest population per representative ratio of any lower house legislature in the United States; only the federal U.S. House of Representatives has a larger ratio.
Initiative rights
Although the California Constitution establishes the right of California citizens to directly legislate via initiated constitutional amendments and initiated state statutes, the state legislature develops the ground rules for most of the details of the laws governing the initiative process in California. Through these rules, it can make the initiative process easier or harder, and less expensive or more expensive.
The state legislature can also propose constitutional changes to the initiative process. Several such changes were proposed in the 2009-2010 session of the state legislature. The sponsors of these changes hope to gain the approval of enough of their fellow legislators to qualify their proposed changes for the 2010 ballot.
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRCA | ACA 13 | Initiative rights | Give state legislature right to change initiated constitutional amendments after signatures are collected | Edward Hernandez |
| Initiative rights | Limit to five the number of initiatives on any single statewide ballot. | Edward Hernandez | ||
| LRCA | ACA 20 | Initiative rights | California Legislative Analyst's Office would write ballot titles instead of the attorney general | Roger Niello |
| LRCA | ACA 21 | Initiative rights | To be approved, a ballot initiative would require a 2/3rds vote rather than the current simple majority | Charles Calderon |
| LRCA | SCA 16 | Initiative rights | Fewer signatures needed for initiatives if first reviewed by legislature | Mark DeSaulnier |
Ballot referrals
The California State Legislature has the authority to refer statewide ballot propositions to the ballot; these can be:
- Constitutional amendments to the California Constitution.
- Legislatively-referred state statutes, including bond issues.
In November 2009, Robert Stern of the Center for Governmental Studies told the Senate and Assembly Select Committees on Improving State Government at a hearing in Oakland that of the 68 ballot measures approved between 1988 and 2009 that had a price tag attached to them, 51 (or 75%) were legislatively-referred constitutional amendments or legislatively-referred state statutes. The legislatively-referred measures cost $9.8 billion versus $2.05 billion for citizen-initiated measures, according to the CGS.[12]
| Year | Referred amendments | Referred statutes | Total referrals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 2008 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 2006 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 2004 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| 2003 | 1 | - | 1 |
| 2002 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| 2000 | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| 1998 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| 1996 | 1 | 9 | 10 |
| 1994 | 9 | 4 | 13 |
| 1993 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 1992 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| 1990 | 8 | 19 | 27 |
| 1988 | 9 | 14 | 23 |
| 1986 | 10 | 8 | 18 |
Joint legislative committees
- Arts Committee, California Legislature
- Audit Committee, California Legislature
- Joint Legislative Budget Committee, California Legislature
- Emergency Management Committee, California Legislature
- Fairs, Allocation, and Classification Committee, California Legislature
- Fisheries and Aquaculture Committee, California Legislature
- Rules Committee, California Legislature
External links
- California State Legislature website.
- Project Vote Smart profile of California Senate
- Project Vote Smart's profile of the California State Assembly
References
- ↑ Stateline's list of dates of 2010 legislative sessions
- ↑ Santa Cruz Sentinel, "Laird leads fight against part-time Legislature", September 26, 2009
- ↑ Ventura County Star, "Commission votes to cut state legislators' benefits", June 30, 2009
- ↑ Legal Newsline, "Business leader praises Brown opinion on gov't salaries", November 21, 2009
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Los Angeles Times, "Duvall incident spotlights politicians' perks in capital", September 11, 2009
- ↑ Sacramento Bee, "California redistricting commission wants a few good citizens", December 16, 2009
- ↑ Legislative Analyst's Office, "The 2010-11 Budget: California's Fiscal Outlook", November 18, 2009
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 KQED Capital Notes, "$21 billion deficit now, worse later", November 18, 2009
- ↑ Time, "California's Budget Crisis: Is There a Way Out?", July 2, 2009
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 San Francisco Chronicle, "Lawmaker wants to split legislative sessions", December 25, 2009
- ↑ Long Beach Press Telegram, "A modest set of reforms", January 31, 2010
- ↑ Contra Costa Times, "Legislators, not citizens, put pricey measures on the ballot", November 18, 2009
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