Presidential Election Brings Major Shifts Ahead for the U.S. and California

With the call of a special session, the legislative body will be expected to hit the ground running on December 2. Many of which will be sworn into office that same day. The 2024 election cycle will once again bring a large freshman class of legislators into the state capital in Sacramento. There are still a few races in the State Senate and Assembly which have not been decided and have very small margins separating the candidates. A few of these races may tip in favor of the republican party, although not enough to counter the current democrat held 2/3 super-majority. The State Senate may gain 2 republican seats, currently 9, gaining seats in SD-5 (Stockton) and SD-37 (Irvine). The Assembly may gain 4 republican seats, totaling in 22 seats for 2025-26, if AD-27 (Fresno), AD-36 (Coachella), AD-58 (Riverside), AD-40 (Santa Clarita) swing from blue to red. Gaining a few seats will help republicans have more sway with votes requiring a 2/3 majority, but the party is certainly a long way from a simple majority of 51%.

In total, the Capital may see 35-40 new legislators! As readers may know, there are 120 legislators total (40 Senators and 80 Assemblymembers) meaning roughly a third will be new to the building and the process. It will take some time to see what new legislator’s priorities might be, and how committee assignments will shift and change.

Propositions also dominated this year’s ballot. Six out of the ten propositions passed including:

·       Prop 2 Bonds for Public schools

·       Prop 3 Constitutional right to marriage

·       Prop 4 Bonds for Water, Wildfire, and Climate

·       Prop 34 Restricts spending of prescription revenues

·       Prop 35 Permanent funding for Medi-Cal

·       Prop 36 which will increase sentencing for drug and theft crimes

The four that did not pass included raising the minimum wage, housing funding, and eliminating provisions to force inmate labor. This past year the state has cut many programs due to the lack of funding. Providing money for these bonds, and the DOJ federal efforts, could have impacts on further regulatory and legislative spending in the coming years.

California is still counting votes and awaits to see the outcome of a few U.S. Congressional seats in addition to local races. CLFP staff will continue to monitor the progress of federal and state election results. Despite the outcome, we can assume many changes are coming our way. katie@clfp.com.