California Senate Swears in New Leader
On Monday, February 5th Senator Mike McGuire was sworn in as the new President pro Tempore of the California State Senate. Senator McGuire succeeds Senator Toni Atkins who is terming out of office later this year. The change in leadership was decided by the majority caucus and announced last year and the transition has been underway for several months. In his new role as pro Tem, Senator McGuire will be responsible for all leadership decisions including which Senators are appointed to policy, fiscal and budget committees.  Whether major changes to existing leadership appointments will be made this year remains uncertain, and Senator McGuire has indicated that he will be making those decisions in the coming weeks.