2025 California legislative session
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| 2025 California legislative session |
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| General information |
| Scheduled session start: January 6, 2025 Scheduled session end: September 13, 2025 |
| Leadership |
| Senate President Eleni Kounalakis (D) House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 3, 2026 Last Election: November 5, 2024 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
| Other 2025 legislative sessions |
In 2025, the California State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 6 and adjourn on September 13.
The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2024 elections. Democrats won a 30-10 majority in the Senate and a 60-19 majority in the Assembly. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. At the start of the 2025 session, California was one of seven state legislatures where Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
Leadership in 2025
California State Senate
- Senate president: Eleni Kounalakis (D)
- Majority leader: Lena Gonzalez (D)
- Minority leader: Brian Jones (R)
California State Assembly
- Speaker of the Assembly: Robert Rivas (D)
- Majority leader: Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D)
- Minority leader: James Gallagher (R)
Partisan control in 2025
- See also: State government trifectas
California was one of 15 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2025 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 seven 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 2025 legislative session.
California State Senate
| Party | As of January 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 30 | |
| Republican Party | 10 | |
| Total | 40 | |
California State Assembly
| Party | As of January 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 60 | |
| Republican Party | 19 | |
| Vacant | 1 | |
| Total | 80 | |
Regular session
The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2025 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 has met these criteria yet in 2025. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Legislation trackers
- See also: Legislation Trackers
Ballotpedia’s legislation trackers are your go-to resource for staying on top of key legislative topics. We capture any bill introduced on the topic across all of the 50 state legislatures, and we track the movement of the bill every step of the way. We provide real-time updates and translate legislative legalese into easily understandable language. As of the 2025 session, Ballotpedia provided tracking on the following topics. Click on the links below to view related bills from the 2025 session:
Standing legislative committees
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 2025 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:
- Through the process of a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. This procedure is defined in Section 1 of Article XVIII of the California Constitution. According to that section:
- 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.
- Through the process of an initiated constitutional amendment, according to Section 3 of Article XVIII and Section 8 of Article II.
- Petitioners can collect signatures equaling eight percent of the most recent total number of votes cast for the office of governor to qualify a proposed amendment for the ballot.
- See Ballotpedia's page on laws governing the initiative process in California for full details on the process and requirements of an initiated constitutional amendment in California.
- Through the process of a constitutional convention. According to Section 2 of Article XVIII, if two-thirds of the members of each chamber of the state legislature agree, a question as to whether to call a convention or revise the constitution goes on the state's next general election ballot.
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
Democrats won control of the California State Senate in 1974. In 2024, they won a 30-10 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the California Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2024. 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: 1992-2024*
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22 | '24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 23 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 32 | 30 |
| Republicans | 14 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 10 |
Before 1992
Republicans controlled the state Senate with majorities from 1896 to 1956. Democrats split the chamber 20-20 in the 1956 elections, and they won a majority in 1958. From 1958 to 2022, Democrats controlled the chamber except for when it was split evenly in 1968 and 1972, both years when native Californian Richard Nixon (R) was elected president.
Historical Assembly control
Democrats won control of the California State Assembly in 1996. In 2024, they won a 60-20 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the California Assembly following every general election from 1992 to 2024. 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: 1992-2024
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22 | '24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 48 | 39 | 44 | 48 | 50 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 51 | 52 | 56 | 52 | 55 | 60 | 60 | 62 | 60 |
| Republicans | 32 | 40* | 36 | 32 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 29 | 28 | 24 | 28 | 25 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 20 |
| Independents | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Before 1992
Republicans controlled the assembly from 1942 to 1956. Between 1958 and 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.
Analysis
Adopted legislation, 2011-2024
In 2024, Ballotpedia released analysis of bills enacted in each state in the preceding decade. The charts and table below detail legislation passed each year by party sponsorship.
See also
| Elections | California State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
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External links
Footnotes
