California State Assembly

California State Assembly
California State Legislature

Type
Type	Lower house
Term limits	3 terms (6 years)
New session started	December 6, 2010
Leadership
Speaker of the Assembly	John Pérez, (D) since March 1, 2010
Speaker pro Tempore	Fiona Ma, (D) since March 18, 2010
Majority Leader	Charles Calderon, (D) since March 18, 2010
Minority Leader	Connie Conway, (R) since December 6, 2010
Structure
Members	80
Political groups	Democratic Party (52) Republican Party (27)
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Article 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
Meeting place

State Assembly Chamber California State Capitol Sacramento, California
Website
California State Assembly

The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000. Due to the state's large population and relatively small legislature, the Assembly has the largest population per representative ratio of any state legislature lower house and second largest of any legislative lower house in the United States; only the federal U.S. House of Representatives has a larger ratio. Since a ballot initiative in 1990, members of the Assembly are restricted by term limits, confining them to three two-year terms (six years).^[1]

The Assembly convenes at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.

1 Leadership of the Assembly
2 Assembly Chamber
3 Assembly
- 3.1 Officers
- 3.2 Composition
4 Sessions
5 Seating chart
6 Candidate qualifications
7 Officers information
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

Leadership of the Assembly

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.

The current Speaker is Democrat John Pérez (46th–Los Angeles). The Majority Leader is Democrat Charles Calderon (58th–Montebello). The Minority Leader is Republican Connie Conway (34th–Tulare).

Assembly Chamber

The chamber's green tones are based on the British House of Commons. The dais rests along a wall shaped like an "E", with its central projection housing the rostrum. Along the cornice appears a portrait of Abraham Lincoln and a quotation from him in Latin: legislatorum est iustas leges condere ("It is the duty of legislators to pass just laws"). Almost every decorating element is identical to the Senate Chamber.

Assembly

Officers

Position	Name	Party	District
Speaker of the Assembly	John Pérez	Democratic	46th–Los Angeles
Speaker pro tempore	Fiona Ma	Democratic	12th–San Francisco
Assistant speaker pro tempore	Mike Gatto	Democratic	43rd–Los Angeles
Majority Floor Leader	Charles Calderon	Democratic	58th–Montebello
Assistant Majority Floor Leader	Michael Allen	Democratic	7th–Santa Rosa
Majority Caucus Chair	Jerry Hill	Democratic	19th–San Mateo
Majority Whip	Toni Atkins	Democratic	76th–San Diego
Minority Leader	Connie Conway	Republican	34th–Tulare
Minority Caucus Chair	Brian Nestande	Republican	64th–Palm Desert
Assistant Minority Floor Leader	Curt Hagman	Republican	60th–Chino Hills
Assistant Minority Leaders	Steve Knight	Republican	36th–Palmdale
Assistant Minority Leaders	Cameron Smyth	Republican	38th–Santa Clarita
Chief Minority Whips	Bill Berryhill	Republican	26th–Ceres
Chief Minority Whips	Daniel Logue	Republican	3rd–Linda
Chief Clerk	E. Dotson Wilson
Sergeant at Arms	Ronald Pane

Note: The Chief Clerk and the Sergeant at Arms are not members of the Legislature

Composition

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)			Total

	Democratic	Independent	Republican		Vacant
End of previous legislature	50	1	27	78	2

Begin	52	0	28	80	0
January 6, 2011^[2]			27	79	1
May 12, 2011^[3]			28	80	0
Latest voting share	65.0%	0.0%	35.0%

Sessions

See:

Seating chart

Conway

Calderon

J. Pérez

Candidate 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, Section 2(c) of the California Constitution, the candidate must have one year of residency in the legislative district and California residency for three years.

Officers information

The Office of the Sergeant at Arms is the division which protects the assemblymen of the California State Assembly. The chief sergeant at arms is the head of this division. This position has existed since December 15, 1849 when Samuel N. Houston became California's first Sergeant at Arms. Official website of the Sergeant at Arms

References

^ "California Constitution; Article 4 Legislative". State of California. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/.const/.article_4. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
^ Republican Ted Gaines (District 4) resigned after his election to the California State Senate
^ Republican Beth Gaines sworn in to succeed Ted Gaines (District 4)

External links

Legislatures of the United States

United States Congress	United States House of Representatives United States Senate

State 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)

Territorial legislatures	American Samoa (H, S) District of Columbia Guam Northern Mariana Islands (H, S, YC) Puerto Rico (H, S) U.S. Virgin Islands

Obsolete	Philippine Islands (1907–16: A, C; 1916–35: H, S) Philippine Commonwealth (1935–41) Philippine Commonwealth (1945–46) (H, S)

Members of the California State Assembly

Speaker of the Assembly: John Pérez (D) • Speaker Pro Tempore: Fiona Ma (D) • Majority Leader: Charles Calderon (D) • Minority Leader: Connie Conway (R)