California State Legislature, 2023–24 session

The 2023–2024 session is the current session of the California State Legislature. The session first convened on December 7, 2022.[1]

2023–2024 session of the
California State Legislature
2021–2022
The Great Seal of the State of California
Overview
Legislative bodyCalifornia State Legislature
JurisdictionCalifornia
TermDecember 5, 2022 –
Senate
Members40
President of the SenateEleni Kounalakis (D)
Jan. 7, 2019 – present
President pro tempore
Minority LeaderBrian Jones (R16th)
Dec. 5, 2022 – present
Party controlDemocratic
Assembly
Members80
Speaker
Minority LeaderJames Gallagher (R3rd)
Feb. 8, 2022 – present
Party controlDemocratic

Major events

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Leadership changes

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Party changes

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Legislation

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Notable topics discussed by legislators included local journalism support (California Journalism Preservation Act)[3] and regulation of AI (Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act).[4]

The following bills were signed or vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2023 or 2024.[5]

Signed

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  • SB4 - streamlines affordable housing on lands owned by faith-based organizations and institutions of higher education
  • AB418 - California Food Safety Act, prohibits red dye 3, propylparaben, brominated vegetable oil and potassium bromate from all foods meant for human consumption
  • SB261 - requires large companies to biennially report their financial risks from climate change
  • SB253 - U.S. corporations earning more than $1 billion and doing business in California must annually report their global emissions of carbon dioxide and other planet-warming greenhouse gases
  • SB385 - allow trained physician assistants to conduct surgical abortions without direct supervision by a physician
  • SB487 - prohibit health insurers and the state from penalizing medical providers who have been sanctioned in other states for performing procedures that are otherwise legal in California, including abortion and gender-affirming care
  • AB1228 - raises the minimum wage for workers to $20 an hour next April, and creates a Fast Food Council composed of industry, worker, and government representatives to set minimum wage, safety, and employment and training standards for workers in large fast food chains and their franchises
  • AB969 - would limit the use of hand counting of ballots in most elections
  • SB616 - increases the number of paid sick days employers must provide to workers from three to five
  • AB1373 - would authorize the state Department of Water Resources the authority to procure clean power when needed under the state Public Utilities Commission, particularly from offshore wind, geothermal and long duration storage
  • AB1 - would allow state legislative staff to unionize beginning in 2026
  • SB497 - would require state courts and the state Labor Commission to assume employers are illegally retaliating if they take certain disciplinary actions against a worker who in the prior 90 days has made a wage claim or a complaint about unequal pay.
  • AB12 - limits the amount that landlords can require in security deposits to one month’s rent, rather than the previous two months’ rent
  • AB1418 - would prohibit counties and cities from requiring landlords to evict people when a household member is a convicted felon
  • SB389 - authorize the State Water Board to investigate and seek verification of all water rights claims regarding California's water bodies, no matter how old
  • SB43 - expands the legal definition of “gravely disabled” to make it easier to place someone into involuntary treatment

Vetoed

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  • AB957 - would require judges to consider a parent’s affirmation of their child’s gender identity in custody disputes
  • SB403 - would add caste as a form of prohibited ancestry discrimination
  • SB799 - workers who have been on strike for at least two weeks could receive funds
  • AB469 - would create a state-funded, governor-appointed ombudsperson’s office to review state agencies’ denials of public records requests
  • SB58 - would decriminalize certain psychedelic drugs, including psilocybin and psilocin, mescaline (except peyote) and DMT

State Senate

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32 8
Democratic Republican

Officers

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Position Name Party District
Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis Democratic
President pro tempore Mike McGuire Democratic 2nd–Healdsburg
Majority leader Lena Gonzalez Democratic 33rd-Long Beach
Assistant majority leader Angelique Ashby Democratic 8th-Sacramento
Aisha Wahab Democratic 10th-Hayward
Democratic Caucus Chair Monique Limón Democratic 19th–Santa Barbara
Majority whip Dave Cortese Democratic 15th–Los Gatos
Assistant majority whips Maria Elena Durazo Democratic 24th–Los Angeles
Steve Padilla Democratic 18th–Chula Vista
Minority leader Brian Jones Republican 40th–Santee
Secretary Erika Contreras
Sergeant-at-Arms Katrina Rodriguez
Chaplain Sister Michelle Gorman, RSM

The Secretary, the Sergeant-at-Arms, and the chaplain are not members of the Legislature.

Members

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District Name Party Residence Term-limited? Notes
1 Brian Dahle Republican Bieber Yes
2 Mike McGuire Democratic Healdsburg Majority leader until February 5, 2024; president pro tempore since February 5, 2024
3 Bill Dodd Democratic Napa Yes
4 Marie Alvarado-Gil Republican Jackson First elected as a Democrat before switching parties on August 8, 2024
5 Susan Eggman Democratic Stockton Yes
6 Roger Niello Republican Fair Oaks
7 Steve Glazer Democratic Orinda Yes
8 Angelique Ashby Democratic Sacramento
8 Nancy Skinner Democratic Berkeley Yes
10 Aisha Wahab Democratic Hayward
11 Scott Wiener Democratic San Francisco
12 Shannon Grove Republican Bakersfield
13 Josh Becker Democratic Menlo Park
14 Anna Caballero Democratic Merced
15 Dave Cortese Democratic San Jose
16 Melissa Hurtado Democratic Bakersfield
17 John Laird Democratic Santa Cruz
18 Steve Padilla Democratic Chula Vista
19 Monique Limón Democratic Santa Barbara
20 Caroline Menjivar Democratic Los Angeles
21 Scott Wilk Republican Santa Clarita Yes
22 Susan Rubio Democratic Baldwin Park
23 Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh Republican Yucaipa
24 Ben Allen Democratic Santa Monica
25 Anthony Portantino Democratic Burbank Yes
26 María Elena Durazo Democratic Los Angeles
27 Henry Stern Democratic Malibu
28 Lola Smallwood-Cuevas Democratic Los Angeles
29 Josh Newman Democratic Fullerton
30 Bob Archuleta Democratic Pico Rivera
31 Richard Roth Democratic Riverside Yes
32 Kelly Seyarto Republican Murrieta
33 Lena Gonzalez Democratic Long Beach Majority leader since February 5, 2024
34 Tom Umberg Democratic Santa Ana
35 Steven Bradford Democratic Gardena Yes
36 Janet Nguyen Republican Huntington Beach
37 Dave Min Democratic Irvine
38 Catherine Blakespear Democratic Encinitas
39 Toni Atkins Democratic San Diego Yes President pro tempore until February 5, 2024
40 Brian Jones Republican Santee Minority leader

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Koseff, Alexei; Kamal, Sameea (5 January 2023). "The California Legislature is back: Five key questions". CalMatters. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  2. ^ Beam, Adam (June 28, 2023). "California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon is stepping down. He's not happy about how it happened". Associated Press. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  3. ^ "Deal reached in feud between California news outlets and Google: $250 million to support journalism but no new law", latimes.com, 2024-08-21
  4. ^ "Hollywood A-listers are joining the fight over a California AI bill", Washington Post, 2024-09-25
  5. ^ CalMatters (2023-09-11). "Which bills did Gavin Newsom sign into new California laws?". CalMatters. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
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