From Ballotpedia

California State Assembly
General Information
Type:	Lower house
Term limits:	3 terms (6 years)
2011 session start:	December 6, 2010
Website:	Official House Page
Leadership
House Speaker:	John Perez, (D)
Majority Leader:	Charles Calderon, (D)
Minority leader:	Dennis Hollingsworth, (R)
Structure
Members:	80
	Democratic Party (52) Republican Party (28)
Length of term:	2 years
Authority:	Art IV, California Constitution
Salary:	$95,291/year + per diem
Elections
Last Election:	November 2, 2010 (80 seats)
Next election:	November 6, 2012 (80 seats)
Redistricting:	California Citizens Redistricting Commission

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. Each member represents an average of 465,674 residents, as of the 2010 Census.^[1] After the 2000 Census, each member represented approximately 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. California is the only state with state legislative districts more populous than its U.S. House districts.

Since the passage of Prop 140 in 1990, members of the Assembly are limited by term limits to a maximum of three two-year terms (six years).

In 2010, the House began its regular session on January 12th, and this session is scheduled to adjourn on August 31st. Additionally, the legislature adjourned one special session on January 11th of this year, has one ongoing special session that convened in October of 2009, and has another ongoing special session that convened on January 8th, 2010.^[2]

Sessions

Article IV of the California Constitution establishes when the California State Legislature, of which the Assembly is a part, is to be in session. Section 3 of Article IV states that the Legislature is to convene in regular session on the first Monday of December in each even-numbered year to organize. The Legislature must adjourn by November 30th of the following even-numbered year.

Section 3 also gives the Governor of California the power to call special sessions of the Legislature.

2011

See also: Dates of 2011 state legislative sessions

In 2011, the Assembly will be in session from January 3- September 9, 2011. The California Legislature has been convened in an extraordinary session to act upon legislation that addresses the fiscal emergency proclaimed by Governor Jerry Brown on January 20, 2011. ^[3]

2010

See also: Dates of 2010 state legislative sessions

In 2010, the Assembly began its regular session on January 12th, and this session is scheduled to adjourn on August 31st. Additionally, the Assembly adjourned one special session on January 11th of this year, had one ongoing special session that convened in October of 2009, and had another ongoing special session that convened on January 8th, 2010.

Elections

2012

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2012

Elections for the office of California State Assembly will be held in California on November 6, 2012. All 80 seats will be up for election.

The signature filing deadline for candidates is March 9, 2012.

California state assembly members are subject to term limits, and may not serve more than three two-year terms. In 2012, 21 state representatives will be termed-out of office.

2010

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2010

Elections for the office of California State Representative were held in California on November 2, 2010. State assembly seats in all districts were on the ballot in 2010.

The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was February 25, 2010, and the primary election day was June 8, 2010.

In the 2010 elections, the candidates running for the Assembly raised a total of $77,405,341 in campaign funds. Their top 10 contributors were: ^[4]

Donor	Amount
California Democratic Party	$6,711,171
California Republican Party	$1,759,884
Sacramento County Democratic Central Cmte	$612,026
California Association of Realtors	$585,754
California Teachers Association	$580,141
Los Angeles County Democratic Party	$556,653
AT&T	$519,778
California Dental Association	$499,849
Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians	$442,300
California State Council of Laborers	$424,500

Qualifications

To run for Member of the Assembly, the candidate must be a United States citizen and a registered voter in the district at the time nomination papers are issued and may not have served three terms in the State Assembly since November 6, 1990. According to Article IV of the California Constitution, the candidate must have one year of residency in the legislative district and California residency for three years.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

How Vacancies are filled in State Legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Assembly, the Governor must call for a special election. The election must be called by the Governor within fourteen days of the vacancy. No special election can be held if the vacancy happened in an election year and the nominating deadline passed^[5].

Representatives

Partisan composition

See also: Partisan composition of state houses

Party		As of September 2011
	Democratic Party	52
	Republican Party	28
Total		80

Leadership

The Speaker of the Assembly presides over the Assembly in the chief leadership position, controlling the flow of legislation and committee assignments. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus, followed by confirmation of the full Assembly on passage of a floor vote. Other Assembly leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses according to each party's strength in the chamber.^[6]

Current leadership

Position	Representative	Party
Speaker of the Assembly	John Perez	Democrat
State Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore	Fiona Ma	Democrat
State Assembly Majority Floor Leader	Charles Calderon	Democrat
State Assembly Assistant Majority Floor Leader	Michael Allen	Democrat
State Assembly Majority Whip	Toni Atkins	Democrat
State Assembly Assistant Majority Whip	Roger Hernandez	Democrat
State Assembly Minority Leader	Connie Conway	Republican

2010 Leadership

Position	Representative	Party
Speaker of the Assembly	John Perez	Democrat
State Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore	Lori Saldana	Democrat
State Assembly Majority Floor Leader	Alberto Torrico	Democrat
State Assembly Assistant Majority Floor Leader	Vacant	Democrat
State Assembly Majority Whip	Fiona Ma	Democrat
State Assembly Assistant Majority Whip	Martin Block	Democrat
State Assembly Minority Leader	Martin Garrick	Republican

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

As of 2011, members of the California legislature are paid $95,290.56 per year. They are also given per diem of $141.86 per day in session.^[7]

The $95,290.56 that California legislators are paid as of 2011 is a decrease from the $113,098/year that they were paid during legislative sessions in 2007. The per diem however has increased from 2007 levels of $162 per day.^[8]

When sworn in

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

California legislators assume office one month after election (December).

Current members

District	Representative	Party	Notes
1	Wesley Chesbro	Democrat
2	Jim Nielsen	Republican
3	Dan Logue	Republican
4	Beth Gaines	Republican	Elected 5/3/2011
5	Richard Pan	Democrat
6	Jared Huffman	Democrat
7	Michael Allen	Democrat
8	Mariko Yamada	Democrat
9	Roger Dickinson	Democrat
10	Alyson Huber	Democrat
11	Susan Bonilla	Democrat
12	Fiona Ma	Democrat
13	Tom Ammiano	Democrat
14	Nancy Skinner	Democrat
15	Joan Buchanan	Democrat
16	Sandré Swanson	Democrat
17	Cathleen Galgiani	Democrat
18	Mary Hayashi	Democrat
19	Jerry Hill	Democrat
20	Bob Wieckowski	Democrat
21	Rich Gordon	Democrat
22	Paul Fong	Democrat
23	Nora Campos	Democrat
24	James Beall Jr.	Democrat
25	Kristin Olsen	Republican
26	Bill Berryhill	Republican
27	Bill Monning	Democrat
28	Luis Alejo	Democrat
29	Linda Halderman	Republican
30	David G. Valadao	Republican
31	Henry T. Perea	Democrat
32	Shannon Grove	Republican
33	K.H. Achadjian	Republican
34	Connie Conway	Republican
35	Das Williams	Democrat
36	Steve Knight	Republican
37	Jeff Gorell	Republican
38	Cameron Smyth	Republican
39	Felipe Fuentes	Democrat
40	Bob Blumenfield	Democrat
41	Julia Brownley	Democrat
42	Mike Feuer	Democrat
43	Mike Gatto	Democrat
44	Anthony Portantino, Jr.	Democrat
45	Gilbert Cedillo	Democrat
46	John Perez	Democrat
47	Holly J. Mitchell	Democrat
48	Mike Davis	Democrat
49	Mike Eng	Democrat
50	Ricardo Lara	Democrat
51	Steve Bradford	Democrat
52	Isadore Hall	Democrat
53	Betsy Butler	Democrat
54	Bonnie Lowenthal	Democrat
55	Warren T. Furutani	Democrat
56	Tony Mendoza	Democrat
57	Roger Hernandez	Democrat
58	Charles Calderon	Democrat
59	Tim Donnelly	Republican
60	Curt Hagman	Republican
61	Norma Torres	Democrat
62	Wilmer Amina Carter	Democrat
63	Mike Morrell	Republican
64	Brian Nestande	Republican
65	Paul Cook	Republican
66	Kevin Jeffries	Republican
67	Jim Silva	Republican
68	Allan R. Mansoor	Republican
69	Jose Solorio	Democrat
70	Donald P. Wagner	Republican
71	Jeff Miller	Republican
72	Chris Norby	Republican
73	Diane Harkey	Republican
74	Martin Garrick	Republican
75	Nathan Fletcher	Republican
76	Toni Atkins	Democrat
77	Brian Jones	Republican
78	Martin Block	Democrat
79	Ben Hueso	Democrat
80	Manuel Perez	Democrat

2008-2010 Members

District	Representative	Party	Notes
1	Wesley Chesbro	Democrat
2	Jim Nielsen	Republican
3	Dan Logue	Republican
4	Ted Gaines	Republican
5	Roger Niello	Republican
6	Jared Huffman	Democrat
7	Noreen Evans	Democrat
8	Mariko Yamada	Democrat
9	Dave Jones	Democrat
10	Alyson Huber	Democrat
11	Tom Torlakson	Democrat
12	Fiona Ma	Democrat
13	Tom Ammiano	Democrat
14	Nancy Skinner	Democrat
15	Joan Buchanan	Democrat
16	Sandré Swanson	Democrat
17	Cathleen Galgiani	Democrat
18	Mary Hayashi	Democrat
19	Jerry Hill	Democrat
20	Alberto Torrico	Democrat
21	Ira Ruskin	Democrat
22	Paul Fong	Democrat
23	Joe Coto	Democrat
24	James Beall Jr.	Democrat
25	Tom Berryhill	Republican
26	Bill Berryhill	Republican
27	Bill Monning	Democrat
28	Anna Caballero	Democrat
29	Michael Villines	Republican
30	Danny Gilmore	Republican
31	Juan Arambula	Independent
32	Jean Fuller	Republican
33	Vacant
34	Connie Conway	Republican
35	Pedro Nava	Democrat
36	Steve Knight	Republican
37	Audra Strickland	Republican
38	Cameron Smyth	Republican
39	Felipe Fuentes	Democrat
40	Bob Blumenfield	Democrat
41	Julia Brownley	Democrat
42	Mike Feuer	Democrat
43	Mike Gatto	Democrat
44	Anthony Portantino, Jr.	Democrat
45	Kevin de Leon	Democrat
46	John Perez	Democrat
47	Karen Bass	Democrat
48	Mike Davis	Democrat
49	Mike Eng	Democrat
50	Hector De La Torre	Democrat
51	Steve Bradford	Democrat
52	Isadore Hall	Democrat
53	Ted Lieu	Democrat
54	Bonnie Lowenthal	Democrat
55	Warren T. Furutani	Democrat
56	Tony Mendoza	Democrat
57	Edward Hernandez	Democrat
58	Charles Calderon	Democrat
59	Anthony Adams	Republican
60	Curt Hagman	Republican
61	Norma Torres	Democrat
62	Wilmer Amina Carter	Democrat
63	Vacant
64	Brian Nestande	Republican
65	Paul Cook	Republican
66	Kevin Jeffries	Republican
67	Jim Silva	Republican
68	Van Tran	Republican
69	Jose Solorio	Democrat
70	Chuck DeVore	Republican
71	Jeff Miller	Republican
72	Chris Norby	Republican
73	Diane Harkey	Republican
74	Martin Garrick	Republican
75	Nathan Fletcher	Republican
76	Lori Saldana	Democrat
77	Joel Anderson	Republican
78	Martin Block	Democrat
79	Mary Salas	Democrat
80	Manuel Perez	Democrat

Standing committees

California Assembly has 30 standing committees:

Legislative budgets

Each member of the California State Assembly is given an annual budget of about $290,000 with which to hire staff and run their office. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass said on May 11, 2009 that she planned to cut this amount by about 10%, or $29,000 per year per each of the 80 members of the Assembly).^[9]

Open Records push:

On August 1, 2011, the California State Assembly stated that the public has no right to know the individual budgets of assembly members. This came about after Assemblyman Anthony Portantino raised an issue stating that his budget was cut after casting the only Democratic vote against the recently passed controversial budget. As a result, he and several media outlets requested that the budget information be made public so that the people could see if members were being punished or rewarded for voting a certain way. The Assembly Rules Committee claimed that such documents are exempt from the Legislative Open Records Act.^[10]

Office in Washington, DC

The California State Assembly maintains an office in Washington, DC. In the face of the state's budget woes, the Assembly plans to close that office on June 30, 2009.

External links

• Official website of the California State Assembly
• Official list of current members of the California State Assembly
• Project Vote Smart on the California State Assembly
• California Legislative District Maps (1911-Present)
• Map of Assembly Districts
• Assembly Republican Caucus
• Assembly Democrat Caucus

References

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Current members of the California State Assembly House Speaker: John Perez (D) • House Majority Leader: Charles Calderon (D) • House Minority Leader: Connie Conway (R)     Wesley Chesbro (D) Jim Nielsen (R) Dan Logue (R) Beth Gaines (R) Richard Pan (D) Jared Huffman (D) Michael Allen (D) Mariko Yamada (D) Roger Dickinson (D) Alyson Huber (D) Susan Bonilla (D) Fiona Ma (D) Tom Ammiano (D) Nancy Skinner (D) Joan Buchanan (D) Sandré Swanson (D) Cathleen Galgiani (D) Mary Hayashi (D) Gerald Hill (D) Bob Wieckowski (D) Rich Gordon (D) Paul Fong (D) Nora Campos (D) James Beall Jr. (D) Kristin Olsen (R) Bill Berryhill (R) Bill Monning (D) Luis Alejo (D) Linda Halderman (R) David G. Valadao (R) Henry T. Perea (D) Shannon Grove (R) K.H. Achadjian (R) Connie Conway (R) Das Williams (D) Stephen Knight (R) Jeff Gorell (R) Cameron Smyth (R) Felipe Fuentes (D) Bob Blumenfield (D) Julia Brownley (D) Mike Feuer (D) Mike Gatto (D) Anthony Portantino, Jr. (D) Gilbert Cedillo (D) John Perez (D) Holly J. Mitchell (D) Mike Davis (D) Mike Eng (D) Ricardo Lara (D) Steve Bradford (D) Isadore Hall, III (D) Betsy Butler (D) Bonnie Lowenthal (D) Warren Furutani (D) Tony Mendoza (D) Roger Hernandez (D) Charles Calderon (D) Tim Donnelly (R) Curt Hagman (R) Norma Torres (D) Wilmer Carter (D) Mike Morrell (R) Brian Nestande (R) Paul Cook (R) Kevin Jeffries (R) Jim Silva (R) Allan R. Mansoor (R) Jose Solorio (D) Donald P. Wagner (R) Jeff Miller (R) Chris Norby (R) Diane Harkey (R) Martin Garrick (R) Nathan Fletcher (R) Toni Atkins (D) Brian Jones (R) Martin Block (D) Ben Hueso (D) Manuel Perez (D) Democratic (52) • Republican (28) • California State Assembly • California State Senate • California State Assembly elections, 2010

v â€¢ d â€¢ e State legislatures Legislatures Alabama (H, S) Â· Alaska (H, S) Â· Arizona (H, S) Â· Arkansas (H, S) Â· California (A, S) Â· Colorado (H, S) Â· Connecticut (H, S) Â· Delaware (H, S) Â· Florida (H, S) Â· Georgia (H, S) Â· Hawaii (H, S) Â· Idaho (H, S) Â· Illinois (H, S) Â· Indiana (H, S) Â· Iowa (H, S) Â· Kansas (H, S) Â· Kentucky (H, S) Â· Louisiana (H, S) Â· Maine (H, S) Â· Maryland (H, S) Â· Massachusetts (H, S) Â· Michigan (H, S) Â· Minnesota (H, S) Â· Mississippi (H, S) Â· Missouri (H, S) Â· Montana (H, S) Â· Nebraska Â· Nevada (A, S) Â· New Hampshire (H, S) Â· New Jersey (GA, S) Â· New Mexico (H, S) Â· New York (A, S) Â· North Carolina (H, S) Â· North Dakota (H, S) Â· Ohio (H, S) Â· Oklahoma (H, S) Â· Oregon (H, S) Â· Pennsylvania (H, S) Â· Rhode Island (H, S) Â· South Carolina (H, S) Â· South Dakota (H, S) Â· Tennessee (H, S) Â· Texas (H, S) Â· Utah (H, S) Â· Vermont (H, S) Â· Virginia (H, S) Â· Washington (H, S) Â· West Virginia (H, S) Â· Wisconsin (A, S) Â· Wyoming (H, S) 2012 State legislative elections (2012) • Election Results (2012) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2012 Session Dates • Impact of term limits on 2012 elections • Official Lists of Candidates • List of candidates on 2012 ballot 2011 State legislative elections (2011) • Election Results (2011) • State Senate elections (2011) • State House elections (2011) • Special elections (2011) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2011 Session Dates • List of candidates on 2011 ballot • Candidates removed from 2011 ballot • Impact of term limits on 2011 elections • Incumbents defeated in 2011's state legislative elections • Official Lists of Candidates 2010 State legislative elections (2010) • Election Results (2010) • State Senate elections (2010) • State House elections (2010) • Special elections • Primary dates • Dates of sessions • Impact of term limits on 2010 elections • Political parties with candidates in the 2010 legislative elections • Official lists of state legislative candidates, 2010 • Competitiveness Index • Election Projections • 2010 Session Dates 2009 State legislatures in 2009 • State legislative special elections in 2009 Features of state legislatures Analysis of 2011-2012 standing committees • 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 • State Legislative Tracker State senates Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected to senate • State senate elections State houses Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected • State house elections 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

	v â€¢ d â€¢ e State of California Sacramento (capital)
Ballot measures	List of California ballot propositions | Local measures | School bond issues | Ballot measure laws | Initiative laws | History of I&R | Campaign Finance Requirements | Recall process |
Ballot measures by year	1912 • 1914 • 1916 • 1920 • 1922 • 1978 • 1980 • 1982 • 1984 • 1986 • 1988 • 1990 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1996 • 1998 • 2000 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2006 (local) • 2008 • 2008 (local) • 2009 • 2009 (local) • 2010 • 2010 (local)
Government	California State Constitution | State assembly | State senate | Legislative Analyst's Office |
State executive officers	Governor | Attorney General | Secretary of State | Controller | Treasurer | State Auditor | Superintendent of Public Instruction | Commissioner of Insurance | Secretary of Agriculture | Secretary for Natural Resources | Director of Industrial Relations | President of Public Utilities |
Elections	Recalls | Vote fraud | 2010 elections | Fair Political Practices Commission |
Judiciary	California Supreme Court | Courts of Appeal | Superior Courts | District Courts | Judicial selection in California | Judicial News |
Divisions	State | List of counties | List of Cities | List of School Districts, A - L | List of School Districts, M - Y | Evaluation of county websites | Evaluation of city websites | Evaluation of township websites | Evaluation of school district websites |