The Micheli Files: committee bill volume in the 2023 session

The California Legislature has a combined 55 standing committees, with 33 in the Assembly and 22 in the Senate. There were 2,661 bills introduced during the 2023 Legislative Session. Those standing committees, and their hardworking consultants (along with their minority party counterparts), reviewed and analyzed thousands of bills during the past two years.

The following charts provide the data for the original bill referrals to policy committees during the 2023 Session (meaning the first committee that received a bill from the Rules Committee):

2023 Assembly Committees and Original Bill Referrals

(Note that these figures do not include second committee referrals; and, Appropriations and Rules Committees are not included; historically, about 80% of all bills go through the Appropriations Committee)

Of the Assembly standing committees, they handled collectively a total of 1,634 ABs and 657 SBs during the 2023 Session, for a total of 2,291 bills.

2023 Senate Committees and Original Bill Referrals

(Note that these figures do not include second committee referrals; and, Appropriations and Rules Committees are not included; historically, about 80% of all bills go through the Appropriations Committee)

Of the Senate standing committees, they handled collectively a total of 645 SBs and 1,049 ABs during the 2023 Session for a total of 1,694 bills.