Office Hours:

Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(916) 319-2856
 

Functions and Duties:

The position of Chief Clerk was created by California's first State Assembly, which convened in San Jose on December 17, 1849. The first Chief Clerk was E.H. Tharp, who performed mostly clerical duties such as placing bills on the Members' desks and keeping minutes of each day's Floor session. Since the 1800's, the Chief Clerk's responsibilities have grown tremendously. At one time, the Chief Clerk even acted as the Chief Administrative Officer (C.A.O.) of the Assembly, a duty which is now performed by the C.A.O. of the Assembly Rules Committee. The Chief Clerk is currently one of three nonmember, nonpartisan officers elected by the Assembly at the beginning of each two-year session.

Many of the Chief Clerk's duties are prescribed by statutes, the Rules of the Legislature, or both:

• Keeping all the bills, papers, and records of the proceedings and actions of the Assembly;
• Publishing the official documents of the House, including the Assembly Daily Journal (the minutes of each Floor session), the Assembly Daily File (the agenda), and the Assembly Daily/Weekly History (a list of all actions taken on every bill);
• The Chief Clerk is the Parliamentarian of the Assembly, advising the presiding officer on parliamentary procedure;
• Performing the actual amending of legislation;
• Providing Members an analysis, prepared by committee staff, of every bill and amendment on the Floor; engrossing legislative measures (see link below); enrolling passed measures, (see link below) and transmitting them to the Governor or Secretary of State.