Chico Times

SACRAMENTO – Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (Yuba City) has demanded answers from the Assembly Rules Committee following several parliamentary violations that disrupted debate and caused disorder at the end of the 2024 legislative session.

In the final hours of the session, Democrats amended the Assembly’s rules to limit debate on bills to just 30 seconds per person and refused to recognize multiple Republican lawmakers attempting to speak. Additionally, Democrats repeatedly ignored motions to permanently adjourn the special session convened for Gov. Newsom’s gas storage mandate proposal.

“A vital part of a thriving democracy is fair and equitable debate. The people of California didn’t get that this year,” said Gallagher. “Californians deserve an investigation into the unlawful and undemocratic actions taken by the supermajority that silenced Republican voices and stamped out important discussions. We’re elected to provide a voice for our constituents – if Democrats continue to run the Assembly as chaotically and unfairly as they did, that can’t happen. Our constituents deserve answers.”

Poor time management and political disputes also contributed to a frantic rush to consider dozens of bills in the final minutes of the legislative session. Despite spending hours on ceremonies and speeches, adjourning early the night before, and not convening until 2:30 pm on the final day, legislators crammed through bills with little debate while multiple other proposals failed to meet the midnight deadline for passage.

A copy of Gallagher’s letter to the Assembly Rules Committee calling for an investigation is available HERE.