The most common way for Californians to shape state funding decisions and policy priorities is through the state budget process and the legislative (or policy bill) process.
The deadlines for the state budget process are established in California’s Constitution or in state law and rarely change.
In contrast, most of the deadlines for the legislative process are jointly set by the leadership of the state Senate and Assembly. These deadlines are adjusted annually to reflect the amount of time the Legislature has to complete its business. Specifically:
- In non-election (odd-numbered) years, the deadline for the Legislature to pass bills is typically set in September — on a date determined jointly by the Assembly and Senate.
- In election (even-numbered) years, the Legislature generally must pass bills by August 31 — a deadline established in the state Constitution. There are a few exceptions to this deadline. For example, after August 31 the Legislature may pass bills calling for elections, bills that would increase or reduce state taxes, and bills that would take effect immediately (“urgency statutes”).
The state budget process and legislative (policy bill) process differ in multiple ways. For example, the legislative process has many more deadlines compared to the state budget process, reflecting the long and linear path that policy bills take through both houses. The legislative process also has more steps and “hoops” to jump through in order to advance legislation to the governor’s desk.
However, there is a key similarity between these two processes. Much of the Legislature’s work on policy bills as well as on the state budget is organized through committees:
- In the legislative process, Assembly and Senate policy committees consider the policy implications of a bill, while appropriations committees estimate the cost of policy bills. At each stage of the process, committees can either pass and send policy bills to the floor of each house or hold the bills in committee (where they die).
- In the state budget process, Assembly and Senate budget committees and their subcommittees review the governor’s budget proposals, develop each house’s version of the state budget, and pass the budget-related bills that reflect each year’s state budget agreement with the governor.
Committee hearings are open to the public and typically include opportunities for public comment. Members of the public can attend committee hearings in person or watch them online through the Assembly and Senate websites.
The dates in the table below reflect deadlines established in state law and the state Constitution as well as the joint rules set by the Assembly and Senate for 2026.
