California State Legislature

California State Legislature
2025–26 session
Type
Type
HousesSenate (upper)
Assembly (lower)
Term limits
12 years
History
New session started
December 2, 2024
Leadership
Eleni Kounalakis (D)
since January 7, 2019
Mike McGuire (D)
since February 5, 2024
Robert A. Rivas (D)
since June 30, 2023
Structure
Seats120
40 Senators
80 Assemblymembers
Senate political groups
  Democratic (30)
  Republican (10)
Assembly political groups
  Democratic (60)
  Republican (20)
Elections
Last Senate election
November 5, 2024
(20 seats)
Last Assembly election
November 5, 2024
Next Senate election
November 3, 2026
(20 seats)
Next Assembly election
November 3, 2026
Meeting place
California State Capitol
Sacramento
Website
leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
Constitution
Constitution of California
Rules
Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly

38°34′36″N 121°29′36″W / 38.576572°N 121.493411°W / 38.576572; -121.493411

The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). Both houses of the Legislature convene at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.

The California State Legislature is one of ten full-time state legislatures in the United States. The houses are distinguished by the colors of the carpet and trim of each house: the Senate uses red and the Assembly uses green, inspired by the United Kingdom's House of Lords and House of Commons respectively.

The Democratic Party currently holds veto-proof supermajorities in both houses of the California State Legislature. The Assembly consists of 60 Democrats and 20 Republicans, while the Senate is composed of 30 Democrats and 10 Republicans. Except for a brief period from 1995 to 1996, the Assembly has been in Democratic hands since the 1970 election. The Senate has been under Democratic control since 1975.