Speaker of the California State Assembly

Last updated
Speaker of the California State Assembly
Seal of the Assembly of the State of California.svg
Seal of the California State Assembly
Robert Rivas official speaker portrait (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Robert Rivas
since June 30, 2023
Style Mister/Madam Speaker (informal)
The Honorable (formal)
Appointer California State Assembly
Term length Two years, Assembly term limits apply
Inaugural holder Thomas J. White
Formation1849

The speaker of the California State Assembly is the presiding officer and highest-ranking member of the California State Assembly, controlling the flow of legislation and committee assignments. The speaker is nominated by the majority party's caucus and elected by the full Assembly typically at the beginning of each two year session. Meanwhile, other floor leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses according to each party's strength in the chamber. The current speaker is Democrat Robert Rivas of the 29th district.

Contents

The speaker formerly had far more power, and was able to issue committee assignments to both parties' members, control State Assembly funds, and had broad administrative authority, but many of these powers were transferred to committee chairs after the speakership of Curt Pringle. [1]

The speaker of the Assembly is also third in the order of succession to the governor of California, after the lieutenant governor and the president pro tempore of the California State Senate. [2] [3] [4]

List of speakers

The following is a list of speakers of the California State Assembly. It does not number those individuals who served abbreviated terms or those who served during an extraordinary session called by the governor of California for a narrowly defined agenda.

SpeakerPortraitDistrictPartyTerm of service
1. Thomas J. White SacramentoUnaffiliated 1 December 1849–February 1850
2. John Bigler John Bigler painting.jpg Sacramento Democratic February 1850–May 1851
3. Richard P. Hammond 7 Democratic January 1852–May 1852
4. Isaac B. Wall Isaac B. Wall, 1850s.jpg 6 Democratic January 1853–May 1853
5. Charles S. Fairfax Charles S. Fiarfax, 1850-60s.jpg 15 Democratic January 1854–May 1854
6. William W. Stow William W. Stow.png 3 Whig January 1855–May 1855
7. James T. Farley James T. Farley.jpg 19 American January 1856–April 1856
8. Elwood T. Beatty 19 Democratic January 1857–April 1857
9. Ninian E. Whiteside 15 Democratic January 1858–April 1858
10. William C. Stratton 17 Democratic January 1859–April 1859
11. Phillip Moore 16 Democratic January 1860–April 1860
12. Ransom Burnell 19 Douglas Democratic January 1861–May 1861
13. George Barstow 8 Republican January 1862–May 1862
14. Tim N. Machin 12 National Union January 1863–April 1863
15. William H. Sears 21 National Union December 1863–April 1864
16. John Yule John Yule (California politician).jpg 20 National Union December 1865–April 1866
17. Caius T. Ryland Caius Tacitus Ryland.png 7 Democratic December 1867–March 1868
18. George H. Rogers 8 Democratic December 1869–April 1870
19. Thomas Bowles Shannon ThomasBowlesShannon.jpg 8 Republican December 1871–April 1872
20. Morris M. Estee Morris M. Estee.jpg 8 Independent 2 December 1873–March 1874
21. Gideon J. Carpenter Gideon J. Carpenter.jpg 23 Democratic December 1875–April 1876
22. Campbell Polson Berry Campbell Polson Berry - Brady-Handy.jpg 25 Democratic December 1877–April 1878
23. Jabez F. Cowdery Jabez F. Cowdery.jpg 13 Republican January 1880–April 1880
24. William H. Parks William H. Parks, 1887.jpg 25 Republican January 1881–May 1881
25. Hugh McElroy LaRue Hugh McElroy LaRue (1830-1906) (cropped).jpg 18 Democratic January 1883–May 1884
– William H. Parks William H. Parks, 1887.jpg 25 Republican January 1885–September 1886
26. William H. Jordan William H. Jordan (California politician).jpg 55 Republican January 1887–March 1887
27. Robert Howe Robert Howe (California politician) Crop.jpg 25 Democratic January 1889–March 1889
28. Frank Leslie Coombs Frank Leslie Coombs.jpg 22 Republican January 1891–March 1891
29. Frank H. Gould Frank H. Gould, 1904.jpg 57 Democratic January 1893–March 1893
30. John C. Lynch John C. Lynch, 1897.jpg 8 Republican January 1895–March 1895
– Frank Leslie Coombs Frank Leslie Coombs.jpg 18 Republican January 1897–March 1897
31. Howard E. Wright Howard E. Wright, 1898.jpg 51 Republican January 1899
32. Alden Anderson Alden Anderson.jpg 19 Republican January 1899–February 1900
33. Cornelius W. Pendleton Cornelius W. Pendleton, 1912.jpg 74 Republican January 1901–March 1901
34. Arthur G. Fisk Arthur Fisk Pic wiki.JPG 37 Republican January 1903–March 1903
35. Frank C. Prescott Frank C. Prescott, 1900s.jpg 76 Republican January 1905–June 1906
36. Robert L. Beardslee Sr. Robert Beardslee (1).png 23 Republican January 1907–November 1909
37. Phillip A. Stanton Phillip A. Stanton, 1912.jpg 71 Republican January 1909–October 1910
38. Arthur Hathaway Hewitt Arthur Hathaway Hewitt.jpg 8 Republican January 1911–December 1911
39. C. C. Young C.C. Young LCCN2014710641.tif 41 Republican, Progressive 3 January 1913–April 1917
40. Henry W. Wright Henry W. Wright, 1932.jpg 69 Republican January 1919–April 1921
41. Frank F. Merriam FrankMerriam.jpg 70 Republican January 1923–October 1926
42. Edgar C. Levey Levey002soft.JPG 28 Republican January 1927–May 1931
43. Walter J. Little Walter J. Little, 1929.jpg 60 Republican January 1933–July 1933
44. Forsythe Charles Clowdsley Forsythe Charles Clowdsley, 1929.jpg 11 Democratic September 1934 (extraordinary session)
45. Edward Craig Edward Craig, 1935.jpg 75 Republican January 1935–May 1936
46. William Moseley Jones Jones002soft.JPG 51 Democratic January 1937–March 1938
47. Paul Peek Paul Peek, 1942.jpg 71 Democratic January 1939–June 1939
48. Gordon Hickman Garland Garland002soft.JPG 38 Democratic January 1940–January 1942
49. Charles W. Lyon Charles W. Lyon (1938).jpg 59 Republican January 1943–July 1946
50. Sam L. Collins Sam L. Collins (California Congressman).jpg 75 Republican January 1947–August 1952
51. James W. Silliman James W. Silliman, 1954.jpg 34 Republican January 1953–April 1954
52. Luther H. Lincoln Luther H. Lincoln, 1954.jpg 15 Republican January 1955–April 1958
53. Ralph M. Brown Ralph M. Brown, 1953.jpg 30 Democratic January 1959–September 1961
54. Jesse M. Unruh Jesse Unruh 1960s family christmas card (back) (cropped).jpg 65 Democratic September 1961–January 1969
55. Robert T. Monagan Robert T. Monagan, 1971.jpg 12 Republican January 1969–September 1970
56. Bob Moretti Bob Moretti, 1971.jpg 42 Democratic January 1971–June 1974
57. Leo T. McCarthy Leo T. McCarthy, 1975.jpg 19/18 4 Democratic June 1974–November 1980
58. Willie Brown WILLIE Brown, October 1999.jpg 17/13 5 Democratic December 2, 1980 – June 5, 1995
59. Doris Allen 67 Republican 6 June 5, 1995 – September 14, 1995
60. Brian Setencich 30 Republican 6 September 14, 1995 – January 4, 1996
61. Curt Pringle Curt Pringle in 2002.jpg 68 Republican January 4, 1996 – November 30, 1996
62. Cruz M. Bustamante Cruz-Bustamante (cropped).jpg 31 Democratic December 2, 1996 – February 26, 1998
63. Antonio Villaraigosa Speaker Villaraigosa (cropped).jpg 45 Democratic February 26, 1998 – April 13, 2000
64. Robert M. Hertzberg Robert Hertzberg (1).jpg 40 Democratic April 13, 2000 – February 6, 2002
65. Herb J. Wesson, Jr. Herb Wesson 2012 (cropped).jpg 47 Democratic February 6, 2002 – February 9, 2004
66. Fabian Núñez FabianNunez.jpg 46 Democratic February 9, 2004 – May 13, 2008
67. Karen Bass Karen Bass.jpg 47 Democratic May 13, 2008 – March 1, 2010
68. John Pérez John Perez 2011.jpg 46/53 7 Democratic March 1, 2010 – May 12, 2014
69. Toni Atkins Atkins Headshot.jpg 78 Democratic May 12, 2014 – March 7, 2016
70. Anthony Rendon Anthony Rendon official photo (cropped).jpg 63 Democratic March 7, 2016–June 30, 2023
71. Robert Rivas Robert Rivas official speaker portrait (cropped).jpg 29 Democratic June 30, 2023-present

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Leader in Allen Recall Pleads Guilty to Vote Fraud". LA Times. 1996-03-12. Archived from the original on April 10, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Constitution of California: Article V, Section 10". California Legislature . Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Government Code, Article 5.5, Section 12058 — Succession to the Office of Governor". California Legislature . Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Government Code, Article 5.5, Section 12061 — Succession to the Office of Governor in the Event of War or Enemy-Caused Disaster". California Legislature . Retrieved August 22, 2019.
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