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2023 California legislative session

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2023 California legislative session
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General information
Session start:    December 5, 2022

Session end:    September 14, 2023

Leadership
Senate President
Eleni Kounalakis (D)

House Speaker
Anthony Rendon (D)
Majority Leader
Senate: Mike McGuire (D)
Assembly: Eloise Gomez Reyes (D)
Minority Leader
Senate: Brian Jones (R)
Assembly: James Gallagher (R)

Elections
Next Election:    November 5, 2024

Last Election:    November 8, 2022

Previous legislative sessions
2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2023 legislative sessions

The California State Legislature convened its 2023 legislative session on December 5, 2022. The legislature was scheduled to adjourn on September 14, 2023.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2022 elections. Democrats won a 32-8 majority in the Senate and a 62-18 majority in the Assembly. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. At the start of the 2023 session, California was one of nine state legislatures where Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2023 legislative session:
  • Democrats held majorities in the California State Assembly and California State Senate.
  • California was one of 17 Democratic state government trifectas.
  • California's governor was Democrat Gavin Newsom.

    • Leadership in 2023

    California State Senate

    California State Assembly

    Partisan control in 2023

    See also: State government trifectas

    California was one of 17 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2023 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 nine 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 2023 legislative session.

    California State Senate

    Party As of January 2023
         Democratic Party 32
         Republican Party 8
    Total 40

    California State Assembly

    Party As of January 2023
         Democratic Party 62
         Republican Party 18
    Total 80

    Regular session

    The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2023 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 2023. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    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 2023 legislative session, there were 63 standing committees in California's state government, including eight joint legislative committees, 22 state Senate committees, and 33 state Assembly committees.

    Joint legislative committees

    • Arts Committee
    • Climate Change Policies Committee
    • Emergency Management Committee
    • Fairs, Allocation, and Classification Committee
    • Fisheries and Aquaculture Committee
    • Legislative Audit Committee
    • Legislative Budget Committee
    • Rules Committee

    Senate committees

    • Banking and Financial Institutions Committee
    • Budget and Fiscal Review Committee
    • Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee
    • Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee
    • Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee
    • Environmental Quality Committee
    • Governance and Finance Committee
    • Housing Committee
    • Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee
    • Natural Resources and Water Committee
    • Senate Agriculture Committee
    • Senate Appropriations Committee
    • Senate Education Committee
    • Senate Governmental Organization Committee
    • Senate Health Committee
    • Senate Human Services Committee
    • Senate Insurance Committee
    • Senate Judiciary Committee
    • Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee
    • Senate Public Safety Committee
    • Senate Rules Committee
    • Senate Transportation Committee

    Assembly committees

    • Accountability and Administrative Review Committee
    • Aging and Long-Term Care Committee
    • Agriculture Committee
    • Appropriations Committee
    • Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media Committee
    • Banking and Finance Committee
    • Budget Committee
    • Business and Professions Committee
    • Communications and Conveyance Committee
    • Education Committee
    • Elections Committee
    • Emergency Management Committee
    • Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee
    • Governmental Organization Committee
    • Health Committee
    • Higher Education Committee
    • Housing and Community Development Committee
    • Human Services Committee
    • Insurance Committee
    • Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy Committee
    • Judiciary Committee
    • Labor and Employment Committee
    • Local Government Committee
    • Military and Veterans Affairs Committee
    • Natural Resources Committee
    • Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee
    • Public Employment and Retirement Committee
    • Public Safety Committee
    • Revenue and Taxation Committee
    • Rules Committee
    • Transportation Committee
    • Utilities and Energy Committee
    • Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee

    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 2022, 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 2022. 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: 1992-2022*

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '22
    Democrats 23 21 24 25 26 26 25 25 26 25 26 25 27 29 30 32
    Republicans 14 17 15 15 14 14 15 15 14 14 12 14 13 11 9 8
    *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 2022. The only times when their control was threatened was when the chamber split evenly in 1968 and 1972, both years when native Californian Richard Nixon (R) was elected president.

    From 1992 to 2022, 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 in the next elections. 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 Assembly control

    From 1992 to 2022, 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 2022. 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: 1992-2022

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '22
    Democrats 48 39 44 48 50 48 48 48 51 52 56 52 55 60 60 62
    Republicans 32 40* 36 32 30 32 32 32 29 28 24 28 25 20 19 18
    Independents 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
    *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 2022 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.

    Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker

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    See also

    Elections California State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

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