How does the California legislative session work? Lawmakers convene Monday
Lawmakers return to the California state Capitol on Monday.
The Legislature faces an $18 billion budget shortfall, growing federal pushback on AI regulation and assembly members and senators look to tackle affordability in the state through child care, food access and housing.
But those are all the big headlines. How does the legislative process work? How does an idea become a new law? And how do you follow along?
Here’s our guide:
First, what is the Legislature?
The California Legislature is made up of two chambers: The Assembly and the Senate. The Assembly has 80 members and the Senate has 40.
For measures that need to pass by a simple majority, that means the Assembly needs 41 votes to pass and the Senate needs 21. Most bills pass with simple majorities.
Democrats hold three-quarters of the seats in both chambers, more than the two-thirds required for a supermajority. In the Assembly, Democrats occupy 60 seats. In the Senate, Democrats hold 30 seats.
Each chamber is led by one position, occupied by the majority party. In the Assembly, that position is the California Assembly speaker; in the Senate, that position is the Senate president pro tempore.
The Legislature operates in two-year cycles — 2026 is the second year of the current cycle.
Who writes new laws?
All legislation starts with an idea — which can come from lawmakers, state agencies, the governor, special groups or constituents. The lawmaker will take that idea and/or language to the Legislative Counsel’s Office, according to the Assembly’s website.
From there, the Legislative Counsel’s Office will draft the bill’s language. The lawmaker will get the drafted language for review, and if a constituent or group was involved, they may also review the language.
So, how does the bill become a law?
First reading
Once the measure’s language is ready, the bill goes to first reading. On first reading, the bill is assigned a number and descriptive title by the chamber’s Rules Committee.
The bill is also assigned to one or more committees. There are 32 standing committees in the Assembly and 23 standing committees in the Senate. Each chamber also has joint committees, subcommittees, and “select” committees, which are temporary subject-based committees (for instance, the Assembly created four affordability select committees in 2025).
Bills are not heard in committees for 30 days after they are introduced.
In 2026, the deadline for new bills to be introduced is Feb. 20.
Committees
Bills are assigned to committees based on the topic of the legislation — and may be assigned to multiple policy committees, according to the Georgetown University Law Library. And measures that require more than $50,000 in funding from the state budget must also be heard in the fiscal committees of each chamber, according to California legislative rules.
Some, not all, measures receive committee hearings where agencies, advocacy groups and constituents can testify in support or opposition. According to the California Senate’s website, the public can check committee schedules in the Daily File for each chamber — the Assembly and the Senate.
Each bill must appear in the Daily File four days prior to its committee hearing. The Senate recommends calling the author or your legislator to make sure, if you’re traveling from out of town to testify on legislation, that the bill will be heard on that date.
During hearings, committee members will vote on the bill.
If a bill passes out of the committee, it is sent to the full chamber for a second reading.
Second reading
Second reading allows any member of the larger chamber to offer amendments to legislation that has been passed by committees. The measure can be recommitted to committees or moved on to third reading.
Third reading
Third reading is the chamber’s final approval on the amended measure. According to the Senate, most bills require a majority vote , while urgency measures and appropriation bills require a two-thirds vote (27 in the Senate, 54 in the Assembly).
In 2026, the last day for bills to pass on third reading in their original chamber is May 29.
The opposite chamber
Once legislation is passed on third reading, it is sent to the opposite chamber. So measures that start in the Senate are sent to the Assembly and vice versa.
The opposite chamber follows the exact same process: first reading, committees, second reading and, finally, third reading. The deadlines are listed in the Daily File of both chambers.
Concurrence votes and conference committees
If the opposite chamber amends the measure sent to it, then the original chamber has to vote on those changes. It can either agree with the changes in a concurrence vote and send the final bill to the governor’s desk, or send it to a conference committee.
A conference committee is made up of three lawmakers each from both the Assembly and the Senate to reconcile the differences between each chamber’s version of the measure. Once they agree on a single version, the bill returns to the floor of each chamber.
The Assembly said conference committees “are scheduled quickly and can be easily missed.”
Sent to the governor’s desk
Once each chamber has approved the bill, it is sent to the governor’s desk.
The governor can either veto, sign or allow a bill to become law without their signature. If the governor vetoes a bill, the Legislature can override it with a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers.
The governor has 30 days to act in 2026. In the first year of the Legislature’s two-year cycles, the governor is limited to 12 days.
Once the governor signs the measure, it is sent to the secretary of state to become “chaptered” or assigned a chapter number in California code, according to Georgetown University Law.
How do I follow along the process?
Yes! The California Legislative Information website allows you to subscribe to bills once they’re on the site. Advocacy groups also frequently compile bill trackers for specific issues, like the California Hospital Association and the Sierra Club California.
And for shameless self-promotion, you can always sign up for The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert newsletter.
This story was originally published January 5, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
