Assemblywoman-elect Christy Smith is scheduled Monday to be among the 80 total Assembly members sworn into the 2019-2020 California State Legislature.
Despite the election having occurred less than a month ago, the members of the upcoming State Assembly body are required by the California Constitution to be sworn in on the first Monday in December following their election.
Congregating for the first time as a body, the Assembly session begins with an introduction, followed by a roll call.
“It’s kind of funny because they do it by county, and when they call on Los Angeles, most of the room stands up,” said Smith.
Following roll call, 60 Democrats and 19 Republicans — the election for District 77 in San Diego has not yet been called — will be sworn into office.
“We’ll take the oath of office as one group on the Assembly floor, and we’ve been allowed to invite our families on the floor as well,” said Smith.
And while technically considered a formal session, Assembly members have been told that the remaining time on the floor will largely be spent on selecting the leadership, including the position of speaker.
“The speaker will most likely be Anthony Rendon,” said Smith. Rendon has held the position of speaker of the California State Assembly since 2016.
In terms of committee selection, a process determined over the following days, Smith said that the top three choices that she applied for are the Assembly Education Committee, Assembly Public Safety Committee and the Assembly Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy Committee.
“There’s no guarantee that I will get those but I’ve put in for them,” Smith said Friday.
But in the meantime, Smith said that her office still plans on “hitting the ground running”
“My primary focus over the next few weeks will be addressing any unmet legislative needs, setting up meetings and checking in” with the various business and community leaders of the 38th Assembly District, Smith said.
