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The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members of the California Assembly. These 80 members represent an approximately equal number of constituents. The population of each district is at least 420,000 people. This is the largest population per representative ratio of any lower house of the State Legislature. The only Assembly with a higher ratio is the Federal United States House of Representatives.
Following a 1990 ballot initiative, members of the California Assembly have
been restricted through term limits, which confine them to three two-year terms.
The California State Assembly convenes at the California State Capitol in
Sacramento. The Speaker of the Assembly presides over the California Assembly
in the chief leadership position, which controls the flow of legislation and
committee assignments. The election of the Speaker of the California Assembly
follows an election by a majority party caucus, which must be followed by
confirmation of the full California Assembly in the form of a floor vote. Other
positions in the California State Assembly, such as the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader, are elected to those positions by their respective party
caucuses relative to each party's strength in the California State Assembly.
The chamber in which the California Assembly meets features green tones, which
are meant to replicate the British House of Commons. The dais is against a wall
that is shaped like an "E," the central projection of which houses
the rostrum.
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