2020 California legislative session

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Some states made changes to 2020 state legislative sessions and legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
For a full list of changes, visit: Changes to state legislative session dates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020.
California: The California State Legislature suspended its session, effective March 16, 2020, through May 4, 2020. The legislature adjourned on August 31, 2020.
California State Legislature

Seal of California.svg.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   Members elected to their first term of legislative service in November 2012 and beyond may serve a total of 12 years in either house (or a combination) Members elected under the old term limits (including legislators with time left under the old limit) may serve 2 terms (8 years) in Senate, 3 terms (6 years) in Assembly
Session start:   January 6, 2020
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:  
Eleni Kounalakis (D)
House Speaker:  Anthony Rendon (D)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Robert Hertzberg (D)
Assembly: Ian Charles Calderon (D)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Shannon Grove (R)
Assembly: Marie Waldron (R)
Structure
Members:  40 (Senate), 80 (Assembly)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (Assembly)
Authority:   Art IV, California Constitution
Salary:   $104,115/year + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Redistricting:  California Citizens Redistricting Commission has control

In 2020, the California State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 6 and adjourn on August 31.

Several state legislatures suspended their sessions or otherwise limited legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The California State Legislature suspended its session, effective March 16, 2020, through May 4, 2020. The suspension had originally been scheduled to last through April 13, 2020. The legislature adjourned on August 31, 2020.[1][2]

Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session, just as they did in 2019. Following the 2018 election, Democrats had a 29-11 supermajority in the Senate and a 60-20 supermajority in the state Assembly. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session:
  • Democrats held a veto-proof supermajority in the California state Senate and state Assembly.
  • California was one of 15 Democratic state government trifectas.
  • California’s governor was Democrat Gavin Newsom.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state Assembly elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state Assembly elections.

    Partisan control in 2020

    See also: State government trifectas

    California was one of 15 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2020 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 Assembly. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    California was also one of 22 state legislatures where one party 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 2020 legislative session.

    California State Senate

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 29
         Republican Party 10
         Vacancies 1
    Total 40

    From 1992 to 2020, 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 dominant 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 2018. 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: 1992-2018*

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 23 21 24 25 26 26 25 25 26 25 26 25 27 29
    Republicans 14 17 15 15 14 14 15 15 14 14 12 14 13 11
    *The total number of seats does not always equal 40 due to vacancies in the chamber.

    Republicans controlled the state Senate with solid 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 2016. The only times when their control was threatened was when the chamber split evenly in 1968 and 1972, both years where native Californian Richard Nixon (R) was elected president.

    From 1992 to 2020, 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 to 29-11 in 2018. 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.

    California State Assembly

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 61
         Republican Party 18
         Independent 1
    Total 80

    From 1992 to 2020, the California Assembly stayed reliably blue, with Democrats ceding the majority just once with the 1994 election. The heavy Democratic during this time was in line with the chamber's history going back to the 1960s, when Democrats first established their dominant majority that mostly stayed intact afterwards. The table below shows the partisan history of the California Assembly following every general election from 1992 to 2018 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: 1992-2018

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

    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 back control of the U.S. House after decades of Democratic-dominance. However, Republicans did not maintain effective 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. In 2010, they 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.

    Leadership in 2020

    California State Senate

    California State Assembly

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2020 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 2020. 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 2020 legislative session, there were 60 standing committees in California's state government, including seven joint legislative committees, 23 state Senate committees, and 30 state Assembly committees.

    Joint legislative committees



    Senate committees


    Assembly committees


    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 in 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 the day after the election.



    2021 measures:

    See also: 2021 ballot measures

    Certified:

    The following measures were certified for the ballot.

    No measures to list

    2020 measures:

    Below is a list of measures that were referred to the 2020 ballot by the legislature.

    See also: California 2020 ballot measures

    Certified:

    The following measures were certified for the 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

    See also

    Elections California State Government State Legislatures State Politics
    Ballotpedia Elections Badge-VOTE-no shadow-Square.jpg
    California State Flag-Close Up.jpg
    State Houses-Tile image.png
    State Courts-Tile image.png

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ The Los Angeles Times, "California lawmakers approve $1 billion in funding and legislative hiatus due to coronavirus," March 16, 2020
    2. ↑ Politico, "California Legislature plans May 4 return as coronavirus disrupts public life," April 3, 2020
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