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2021 California legislative session

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2021 California legislative session
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General information
Session start:    December 7, 2020

Session end:    September 10, 2021

Leadership
Senate President
Eleni Kounalakis (D)

House Speaker
Anthony Rendon (D)
Majority Leader
Senate: Robert Hertzberg (D)
House: Eloise Gómez Reyes (D)
Minority Leader
Senate: Shannon Grove (R)
House: Marie Waldron (R)

Elections
Next Election:    November 8, 2022

Last Election:    November 3, 2020

Previous legislative sessions
2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2021 legislative sessions


In 2021, the California State Legislature was scheduled to convene on December 7, 2020, and adjourn on September 10, 2021.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Democrats won a 31-9 majority in the Senate and a 60-19 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. At the start of the 2021 session, California was one of six state legislatures where Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

Redistricting is the process by which states draw new Congressional and state legislative districts following the U.S. Census. Officials sent data from the 2020 U.S. Census to states in early 2021 to begin the process of redistricting. As of the 2020 census, California was one of four states where an independent commission was responsible for redistricting.

At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session:
  • Democrats held a majority in the California state House and state Senate.
  • California was one of 15 Democratic state government trifectas.
  • California's governor was Democrat Gavin Newsom.

    • Leadership in 2021

    California State Senate

    California House of Representatives

    Partisan control in 2021

    See also: State government trifectas

    California was one of 15 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2021 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    California was also one of six state legislatures where Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the California State Legislature in the 2021 legislative session.

    California State Senate

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 31
         Republican Party 9
    Total 40

    California House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 60
         Republican Party 19
         Independent 1
    Total 80

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Redistricting

    See also: Redistricting in California after the 2020 census

    California's 52 United States representatives and 120 state legislators are all elected from political divisions called districts. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.

    Congressional districts
    Map drafting in California ahead of the 2026 elections is ongoing.

    After Texas Republicans launched their mid-decade congressional redistricting effort, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) posted on X on July 15, 2025, "two can play that game."[1] On August 21, 2025, the California Legislature passed a redistricting plan setting a special election for a constitutional amendment to redraw the state's congressional district boundaries through 2030.[2] Heading into the redistricting effort, Democrats represented 43 of California's 52 Congressional districts, and Republicans represented nine.

    Click here for more information about the congressional maps enacted in California after the 2020 census.

    Legislative districts
    State legislative redistricting in California after the 2020 census has concluded.

    The California Citizens Redistricting Commission voted 14-0 in favor of a new state Assembly and Senate district maps on December 20, 2021, and delivered those maps to the secretary of state on December 27, 2021.[3][4] These maps took effect for California's 2022 state legislative elections.

    Click here for more information about the state legislative maps enacted in California after the 2020 census.

    To learn more about the redistricting process in California after the 2020 census, click here.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in California state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session, there were 60 standing committees in California's state government, including 7 joint legislative committees, 23 state Senate committees, and 30 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees

    Senate committees

    House committees

    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the California Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article II and Article XVIII of the California Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in California

    The California Constitution can be amended in these ways:

    • Two-thirds of the membership of each chamber of the California State Legislature must propose an amendment, which then goes on a statewide ballot to be ratified or rejected by the state's voters.
    • The state legislature is allowed to propose revisions (not just amendments) to the constitution.
    • If measures conflict, and they both get more than 50 percent of the vote, the one with the highest number of votes prevails.
    • Ratified amendments take effect on the fifth day after the secretary of state files the statement of the vote for the election.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of California.

    California Party Control: 1992-2025
    Twenty years with Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor R R R R R R R D D D D D R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    Assembly D D D S R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

    Historical Senate control

    From 1992 to 2020, the California State Senate was controlled by the Democratic Party. The heavy Democratic tilt in those years was not unusual considering the chamber's history of Democratic majorities almost every year between 1958 and 2020. The table below shows the partisan history of the California Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    California State Senate election results: 1992-2020*

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 23 21 24 25 26 26 25 25 26 25 26 25 27 29 30
    Republicans 14 17 15 15 14 14 15 15 14 14 12 14 13 11 9
    *The total number of seats does not always equal 40 due to vacancies in the chamber.

    Republicans controlled the state Senate with majorities from 1896 to 1956. Democrats were finally able to split the chamber 20-20 in the 1956 elections, and they won a majority in 1958. After 1958, they had almost unbroken control of the chamber through 2020. The only times when their control was threatened was when the chamber split evenly in 1968 and 1972, both years where native Californian Richard Nixon (R) was elected president.

    From 1992 to 2020, Democrats maintained a consistent majority. Their low point was in 1994, when they were brought down to 21 seats. After that, Democrats tended to keep their majority at 25 seats or more. In 2016, Democrats captured 27 seats for the first time since 1976, and they increased their majority to 29-11 in 2018 and 30-9 following the 2020 election (with one vacancy). Winning 27 seats gave them a two-thirds supermajority, which is the margin needed to raise taxes, certify constitutional amendments for the ballot, and override gubernatorial vetoes.

    Historical House control

    From 1992 to 2020, the California Assembly stayed reliably blue, with Democrats ceding the majority just once as a consequence of the 1994 election. The heavy Democratic tilt in those years was in line with the chamber's history going back to the 1960s, where Democrats first established their majority that mostly stayed intact afterward. The table below shows the partisan history of the California Assembly following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    California State Assembly election results: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 48 39 44 48 50 48 48 48 51 52 56 52 55 60 60
    Republicans 32 40* 36 32 30 32 32 32 29 28 24 28 25 20 19
    Independents 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
    *Although Republicans won a 40-39 majority, defections from their caucus led to alternating control of the chamber between Republicans and a Democratic-led coalition.

    Republicans controlled the Assembly from 1942 to 1956. But in 1958 there began an almost unbroken period of Democratic control through 2020. Before 1994, the only election where Republicans won a majority was 1968, the same year that Republican Richard Nixon became the first native Californian to be elected president. Republicans next won a 40-39 numerical majority in 1994, an election where Republicans also took control of the U.S. House after decades of Democratic control. However, Republicans did not maintain control of the chamber after the 1994 elections. Defections from their majority gave a Democratic-led coalition control of the chamber until January 1996.

    Democrats retook a 44-36 majority in the 1996 elections. Between then and 2020, they increased their majority into the 40s and 50s, reaching 60 seats in 2018 and maintaining them following the 2020 election. In 2010, Democrats won a 52-38 majority despite national Republican gains. In 2012, they won 56 seats, which was two more than needed for a two-thirds majority. This is the margin needed to raise taxes, certify constitutional amendments for the ballot, and override gubernatorial vetoes. Democrats briefly lost their two-thirds majority in 2014 when they won 52 seats. They won it back in 2016 by gaining a 55-25 edge over Republicans.

    See also

    Elections California State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ X, "Gavin Newsom on July 15, 2025," accessed July 29, 2025
    2. ↑ New York Times, "California Democrats Pass Redistricting Plan to Counter Texas Republicans," August 21, 2025
    3. ↑ Politico, "California’s new congressional map boosts Democrats," Dec. 21, 2021
    4. ↑ Lake County News, "California Citizens Redistricting Commission delivers maps to California Secretary of State," Dec. 28, 2021
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