The Legislative Calendar contains rules and guidelines that shape the day-to-day business of the Assembly. Some of the rules found in the calendar are from the California Constitution—like January 1st as the day that new laws usually take effect. Others come from laws passed by the Assembly and the State Senate.

The calendar provides the timeline for how a bill becomes a law. It dictates when proposed new laws (bills) may be introduced in each house of the legislature, deadlines for debate on bills in committees and when they must be approved in each house, and the deadline for bills to be signed or vetoed by the Governor.

Additionally, the calendar illustrates when the legislature is in session, and when it is recess.