Internship Program

Each year, the Office of the Assembly Chief Clerk hires five interns from the University of California, Davis (UCD) and the California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). The program provides students with a unique opportunity to work at the State Capitol and learn the legislative process in a non-partisan office. Interns are placed in the office as full-time staff for a period of four to seven months. Students perform duties as legislative clerks, including: amending and proofreading bills; processing legislation, analyses, and paperwork; and, serving as liaison between the Assembly, Senate, Secretary of State, and Governor's Office. Interns are granted Assembly Floor privileges.

Interns receive formal training: they participate in legislative process seminars, plus CAPITOL Institute classes on legislative office procedures. Interns may also take Capitol computer software training courses. Legislative research skills are routinely shared by veteran legislative clerks, and mentoring is encouraged. On most Fridays, interns are treated to our unique Guest Speaker Program, where important figures in California politics speak exclusively to the Chief Clerk's interns, providing them with valuable insight into workings of state government. Guest speakers have included legislators, key policy staff from the Governor's Office and legislative committees, newspaper columnists, and lobbyists. Special tours of state facilities, plus completion of projects on parliamentary procedure also assist the interns in gaining a broad perspective of the legislative process.

Interns are paid and may earn UCD units/CSUS units. Juniors, seniors, and recent graduates of all majors may apply. Interviews are held each October. Interns begin employment in February or April and serve until September.

A history of the Chief Clerks' Legislative Internship Program was published in the Legislative Administrator magazine (Spring 2010 edition).

Click here to view the article.


2012 Internship Information:

Application Packet (Informational Brochure)

Application

Web site design by Legislative Data Center
Capitol Dome Photo Credit: Robert Holmes/California Division of Tourism