A Look at 2023 Bill Introductions and Members, Plus Committee Assignments

A Look at 2023 Bill Introductions and Members, Plus Committee Assignments By Chris Micheli

            In the California Legislature, both the State Senate and State Assembly have a limit on the number of bills that can be introduced during each 2-year Session. I reviewed all of the bill introductions during the 2023 Session to determine the average number of bills introduced during this first year of the 2023-24 Legislative Session, along with the lowest and highest numbers of introduced bills. I have also cited the applicable house rules and their respective definitions of what constitutes a “bill.”

            In addition, I reviewed all of the 2023 Session committee assignments for State Senators and State Assembly Members to determine the average number of committees that each legislator sits on, as well as the lowest and highest numbers of committee assignments.

Senate Rule 22.5

Bill Introduction Limitation

(a)  A Member of the Senate may introduce or subsequently author not more than 40 bills in the regular session.

(b)  This rule may be suspended with respect to a particular bill by approval of the Committee on Rules.

(c)  This rule does not apply to a constitutional amendment, any type of resolution, or a bill introduced by a committee.

The average number of bill introductions in the 2023 Session among the 40 Senators was 19. The low was 6 by Senator Atkins, while the high was 32 by Senator Portantino. These figures are based on what the Senate deems to be “chargeable under SR 22.5.”

Assembly Rule 49

Limitation on the Introduction of Bills

(a)  A Member may introduce not more than 50 bills in the regular session. As used in this rule, “bill” includes a constitutional amendment, but does not include a concurrent or joint resolution.

(b) This rule may be suspended with respect to a particular bill by approval of the Committee on Rules.

The average number of bill introductions in the 2023 Session among the 80 Assembly Members was 22. The low was 0 by Assembly Member Rendon, while the high was 153 by Assembly Member Ting, but this includes over 120 budget trailer bills. Otherwise, the high was 32 by Assembly Member Flora. These figures are based on Assembly Bill introductions.

            I also thought it was interesting to review the 22 Senate standing committees and the 33 Assembly standing committees and their composition and the number of committee assignments that each State Senator and each Assembly Member had during the 2023 Session. That information is the following:

Senators and Number of Committee Assignments

The average number of committee assignments during the 2023 Session among the 40 Senators was 5. The low was 1 by Senator Atkins, while the high was 8 by Senators Nguyen and Seyarto. In addition, Senators Grove, Ochoa Bogh, and Wahab each had 7 committee assignments.

 Assembly Members and Number of Committee Assignments

The average number of committee assignments during the 2023 Session among the 80 Assembly Members was 5. The low was 0 by Assembly Members Gallagher and Rendon, while the high was 7 by Assembly Member Mathis.

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