2026 California legislative session

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2026 California legislative session
General information
Scheduled session start:    Jan. 5, 2026 Scheduled session end:    Aug. 31, 2026
Leadership
Senate President Eleni Kounalakis (D) House Speaker Robert Rivas (D) Majority Leader Senate: Angelique Ashby (D) Assembly: Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D) Minority Leader Senate: Brian Jones (R) Assembly: Heath Flora (R)
Elections
Next Election:    November 3, 2026 Last Election:    November 5, 2024
Previous legislative sessions
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2026 legislative sessions
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In 2026, the California State Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 5, 2026, and adjourn on August 31, 2026.

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 2026 session, California was one of eight state legislatures where Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session:

Democrats held a majority in the California state Assembly and state Senate.

California was one of 16 Democratic state government trifectas.

California's governor was Democrat Gavin Newsom.

Leadership in 2026

California State Senate

• Senate president: Eleni Kounalakis (D)
• Majority leader: Angelique Ashby (D)
• Minority leader: Brian Jones (R)

California State Assembly

• Speaker of the House: Robert Rivas (D)
• Majority leader: Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D)
• Minority leader: Heath Flora (R)

Partisan control in 2026

See also: State government trifectas

California was one of 16 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2026 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 eight 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 2026 legislative session.

California State Senate

Partisan composition, California State Senate

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	30
Republican	10
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	40

California State Assembly

Partisan composition, California State Assembly

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	60
Republican	20
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	80

Regular session

The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2026 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 2026. 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 2026 legislative session, there were 63 standing committees in California's state government, including eight joint legislative committees, 23 state Senate committees, and 32 state House 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
• Housing Committee
• Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee
• Local Government Committee
• Natural Resources and Water Committee
• Revenue and Taxation 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

• Aging and Long-Term Care Committee
• Agriculture Committee
• Appropriations Committee
• Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism Committee
• Banking and Finance Committee
• Budget Committee
• Business and Professions Committee
• Communications and Conveyance Committee
• Economic Development, Growth, and Household Impact 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
• 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: 1992-2026
Twenty-one 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	26
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	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	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	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

*The total number of seats does not always equal 40 due to vacancies in the chamber.

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 House 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

*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.

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

See also: The State Legislative Decade - California

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
California State Senate elections, 2026 California State Assembly elections, 2026	California State Legislature California State Assembly California State Senate Governor of California California Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2026 State legislative special elections, 2026 State legislative elections, 2024 State legislative elections, 2022	State government trifectas State government triplexes Veto overrides in state legislatures State executives State courts Ballot measures

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• California State Legislature homepage

Footnotes

State legislatures

Legislatures

Alabama (H, S) · Alaska (H, S) · Arizona (H, S) · Arkansas (H, S) · California (A, S) · Colorado (H, S) · Connecticut (H, S) · Delaware (H, S) · Florida (H, S) · Georgia (H, S) · Hawaii (H, S) · Idaho (H, S) · Illinois (H, S) · Indiana (H, S) · Iowa (H, S) · Kansas (H, S) · Kentucky (H, S) · Louisiana (H, S) · Maine (H, S) · Maryland (H, S) · Massachusetts (H, S) · Michigan (H, S) · Minnesota (H, S) · Mississippi (H, S) · Missouri (H, S) · Montana (H, S) · Nebraska · Nevada (A, S) · New Hampshire (H, S) · New Jersey (GA, S) · New Mexico (H, S) · New York (A, S) · North Carolina (H, S) · North Dakota (H, S) · Ohio (H, S) · Oklahoma (H, S) · Oregon (H, S) · Pennsylvania (H, S) · Rhode Island (H, S) · South Carolina (H, S) · South Dakota (H, S) · Tennessee (H, S) · Texas (H, S) · Utah (H, S) · Vermont (H, S) · Virginia (H, S) · Washington (H, S) · West Virginia (H, S) · Wisconsin (A, S) · Wyoming (H, S)

2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

2025

State legislative elections (2025) • State legislative special elections (2025) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2025 Session Dates

Historical elections

2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000

Features of state legislatures

How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections

State senates

Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected

State houses

Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected

Leadership positions

President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House

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