The California Assembly has adopted a new rule reducing the number of bills each legislator can introduce from 50 to 35, as part of the house rules implemented at the start of this legislative session.
Senate President pro tem Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) expressed openness to discussing a similar cap for senators. Legislators can request a waiver if they wish to exceed the bill limit. In the most recent session, 19 out of 40 senators exceeded the limit, while 24 out of 80 Assembly members did the same, according to the Digital Democracy database.
During the 2023-2024 session, lawmakers introduced a total of 4,821 bills, with 2,252 of them sent to Governor Gavin Newsom.
This change marks the latest adjustment to bill limits, following past changes in 2002 when former Speaker Bob Hertzberg lowered the limit from 40 to 30, and in 2017, when Speaker Anthony Rendon raised it from 30 to 50.