By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media
All twelve members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) have been assigned leadership roles in the State Senate and the State Assembly, according to separate statements issued by Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister).
On Jan. 3, McGuire announced that Sen. Akilah Weber-Pierson (D-San Diego), Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles), and Sen. Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro) are joining several other colleagues as committee heads and an officer of the 2025-2026 Senate Democratic Leadership Team.
“The State Senate is ready to move California forward. Incredibly proud to serve alongside these dynamic Senators, who reflect the best of the Golden State. Let’s go to work,” McGuire posted on Jan. 3 on the social media platform X.
On Dec. 27, Rivas announced his Assembly leadership team and the Chairs of all Assembly committees, including CLBC members: CLBC vice chair Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights), Chair, Natural Resources Committee; Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City), Chair, Transportation Committee; Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), Chair, Budget Human Services Committee; Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom (D-Tracy), Chair, Emergency Management Committee; Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland), Chair, Health Committee; Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D- Inglewood), Chair, Public Employment and Retirement Committee; Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson), Chair, Revenue and Taxation Committee; and Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins (D-San Diego), Assistant Majority Leader for Policy.
“Californians expect us to deliver practical solutions that improve everyday life, like building more housing for families and lowering energy costs,” Rivas said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the Assembly’s new leaders to chart a path forward that renews opportunity and innovation in our state.”
In the Senate, Richardson was named to the Democratic leadership as Assistant Majority Whip. Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose), is the Majority Whip. As Assistant Majority Whip, Richardson helps the Majority Whip to manage monitor legislation and secure votes for bills.
Richardson will also serve as chairperson for the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Corrections, Public Safety, Judiciary, Labor, and Transportation. Weber-Pierson will serve as chair of Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services.
According to the State Legislative Process, Budget subcommittees hold hearings on items in the Governor’s budget during the spring, then again after the
May Revision. The subcommittees and their staffs examine each line item pertaining to their assigned area of the budget.
The Labor, Public Employment and Retirement (formerly the Labor and Industrial Relations Committee) standing committee for the California State Senate will be chaired by Smallwood-Cuevas. She also served in that leadership position during the 2023-2024 legislative session.
Bills are heard in Standing Committees which meet on a regular basis throughout the year.
For the first time in its 58-year-history, most of CLBC members are women. Nine out of its 12 current members are Black women.
Weber-Pierson, Smallwood-Cuevas, and Richardson were sworn in on Dec. 2, the first official day of the 2025-26 Regular Session, in the chambers of the State Senate by the Hon. Patricia Guerrero, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court.
On Dec. 2, McGuire gaveled in the First Extraordinary Session called by Gov. Gavin Newsom to protect California values and fundamental rights from the incoming federal administration under Donald Trump.
Wilson, the former Chair of the CLBC, thanked Rivas for reappointing her Chair of the Transportation Committee.
“Grateful for your continued confidence and excited to deliver on building a sustainable, innovative, and equitable transportation future for California,” she posted on the social media platform Bluesky.
