California Legislature Will Convene January 7 for Two-Year Legislative Session

The California Legislature convened on December 3 for a ceremonial kickoff to the 2019 legislative session, following which it adjourned and will reconvene on January 7, 2019.

Democrats now make up three-quarters of the Assembly’s membership, the party’s largest caucus in the chamber since 1883. In the Senate, there are now 29 Democrats, the largest majority in more than half a century.

There were few milestones in the new Legislature. With members now eligible to serve longer in a single house, a change brought about by a 2012 ballot measure, the Legislature is welcoming its smallest freshman class since after the 1988 election cycle. Additionally, there are now 23 women in the Assembly, which is more than one-quarter of the Chamber’s membership, and all but two of them are Democrats. The Legislature, where brothers have served at the same time, now has its first sisters - Baldwin Park Democrats Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio and Senator Susan Rubio.

Leaders of both houses urged their colleagues to move away from campaigning and toward governing, with a number of pressing issues to tackle in the two-year legislative session ahead.

More than 200 bills were introduced on December 3, including proposals on affordable housing, gun control, forest fire prevention, universal preschool, new mental health services in the state and time extensions to file workplace harassment claims. Another new proposal aims to bolster a ruling last spring by the California Supreme Court that limited the power of companies to classify workers as independent contractors, ensuring a heated battle with the business industry.

CLFP will engage the new Legislature and newly elected Governor Gavin Newsom in the 2019-2020 legislative session. There will certainly be no shortage of issues.

 By CLFP Government Affairs Director Trudi Hughes