Some statistics from the 2023-24 legislative session

Longtime Capitol lobbyist and regular Capitol Weekly contributor Chris Micheli is a “self-professed legislative geek.” To that end, he has collected and is now sharing with us the following statistics from the recently-concluded 2023-24 California Legislative Session:

There were 4,821 bills introduced during the 2023-24 Legislative Session. Of those bills:

• 1,530 were Senate Bills.
• 3,291 were Assembly Bills.
• There were 976 spot bills between the two houses over the 2-year Session.
• There were 744 intent bills between the two houses over the 2-year Session.
• There were 4,497 bills that were keyed majority vote.
• There were 407 bills that would take immediate effect.
• There were 368 bills that required a 2/3 vote for passage.
• There were 176 bills that contained an urgency clause (which means they take effect immediately upon enactment and require a 2/3 vote for passage).
• There were 114 bills that were deemed a tax levy by Legislative Counsel (which means the bill would change the base or rate of tax; it does notmean it is a tax increase).
• There were 287 bills that contained an appropriation (an expenditure from the General Fund or a special fund).
• There were 3,935 bills that were keyed fiscal by Legislative Counsel.
• There were 202 bills that were special statutes (rather than a general statute, which is what most bills are).
• There were 1,420 bills that imposed a state-mandated local program (which the state may or may not have to reimburse local agencies for their expenditures to comply).
• There were 151 bills that were contingent upon an appropriation before they could take effect.
• There were 45 bills that contained a severability clause (so that the remaining provisions of a law would remain in effect if one section were declared unconstitutional).
• The average number of bills introduced per Assembly Member was 39.
• The highest number of bills introduced by an Assembly Member was 167, which was due to budget-related bills.
• The lowest number of bills introduced by an Assembly Member was 7.
• Seven Assembly Members introduced the maximum number of bills (50).
• The average number of standing committee assignments for an Assembly Member was 4.55.
• The highest number of individual standing committee assignments for an Assembly Member was 7.
• Five Assembly Members had 7 standing committee assignments.
• Three Assembly Members had 0 standing committee assignments.
• The average number of bills introduced per Senator was 35.
• The highest number of bills introduced by a Senator was 47.
• The lowest number of bills introduced by a Senator was 9.
• Twelve Senators introduced the maximum number of bills (4), while four Senators introduced more than 40 bills.
• The average number of standing committee assignments for a Senator was 3.
• The highest number of individual standing committee assignments for a Senator was 10.
• Three Senators had 8 standing committee assignments, while seven Senators had 7 standing committee assignments.
• There were two special sessions called by Governor Newsom.

In comparison to the just-concluded Session, the following are the statistics from the 2021-22 California Legislative Session:

There were 4,476 bills introduced during the 2021-22 Legislative Session. Of those bills:

• 1,500 were Senate Bills.
• 2,976 were Assembly Bills.
• There were 839 spot bills introduced during the 2-year Session. The 2021 Session had 381 spot bills and the 2022 Session had 458 spot bills.
• There were 577 intent bills introduced during the 2-year Session. The 2021 Session had 396 intent bills and the 2022 Session had 181 intent bills.
• There were 210 bills that contained an urgency clause (which means they take effect immediately upon enactment and require a 2/3 vote for passage).
• There were 150 bills that were deemed a tax levy by Legislative Counsel (which means the bill would change the base or rate of tax; it does notmean it is a tax increase).
• There were 372 bills that contained an appropriation (an expenditure from the General Fund or a special fund).
• There were 146 bills that were special statutes (rather than a general statute, which is what most bills are).
• There were 1,027 bills that imposed a state-mandated local program (which the state may or may not have to reimburse local agencies for their expenditures to comply).
• There were 112 bills that were contingent upon an appropriation before they could take effect.
• There were 211 bills that contained a severability clause (so that the remaining provisions of a law would remain in effect if one section were declared unconstitutional).
• There were 5 Assembly Members who introduced the maximum number of bills (50) during the 2021-22 Session, while 4 Assembly Members introduced 49 bills.
• There was 1 Assembly Member who introduced the fewest number of bills during the 2-year session, which was 0 bills.
• There were 14 Senators who introduced the maximum number of bills (40) during the 2021-22 Session.
• There were 2 Senators who introduced the fewest number of bills during the 2-year session, which was 14 bills.
• Of the Assembly standing committees, they handled collectively a total of 2,733 ABs and 1,074 SBs during the 2021-22 Session.
• Of the Senate standing committees, they handled collectively a total of 1,039 SBs and 1,626 ABs during the 2021-22 Session.

Chris Micheli is a founding partner of the Sacramento governmental relations and advocacy firm of Snodgrass & Micheli, LLC and a longtime contributor to Capitol Weekly.