

Bill Essayli
- Assembly: 2022-present
News coverage of Bill Essayli
Bio
Bill Essayli, 39, is a former federal prosecutor who became the first Muslim elected to the Assembly. Essayli graduated from Cal Poly Pomona before getting a law degree from Chapman University. He went on to work at the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. He was in private practice before winning his Assembly seat. One of his first bills was a short-lived effort that sought to require schools to notify parents if their children informed their school they had assumed a new gender.
Leader Badges
Ideology
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Moderate
Right
Bill Activity
0
Of 10 bills:For this session year, this legislator initiated 10 bills: None passed, 4 failed, and 6 are currently pending.
Alignment Meter
See all-time percentage of this legislator’s alignment with any organization based on total votes.
Financials
This feature tracks three sources of money intended to help a candidate win election: 1-Money given directly to a candidate’s committee, 2-Money given to an Independent Expenditure Committee, 3-Money given to a political party. (NOTE: Senators are elected every four years. Twenty of the 40 Senators are on the ballot in even-numbered years, so Senators may do little or no fundraising in the first two-year session of their Senate term).
Election
This display shows money given directly to the incumbent’s campaign committee (NOTE: The industry categories for donors come from Open Secrets, a nonpartisan research organization for campaign finance. Some contributions are “uncoded,” meaning they have not been assigned to an industry sector. As a result, the total for each sector is also an estimate).
Agriculture
Candidate Contributions
Communications & Electronics
Construction
Energy & Natural Resources
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate
General Business
Government Agencies/Education/Other
Health
Ideology/Single Issue
Labor
Transportation
Uncoded
Unitemized Contributions
Candidate Donations
Individuals, corporations, organizations and committees are limited to a maximum donation to candidates of $5,500 for the primary and for the general elections.
40.0% lower than the average legislators
Independent Expenditures
Money from Independent Expenditure Committees (IEC) for advertising or grassroots activity to help a candidate win office is unlimited, but it cannot be spent in coordination with the candidate or the candidate's campaign.
Grand Total for Elections
39.0% lower than the average legislators
This is a total of the money to help this legislator win office including direct donations to the candidate, money from Independent Expenditure Committees and money from political parties.
Influence
There are three categories of donations to legislators after they are elected that encourage a working relationship between the donor and the legislator. The three categories are: 1-Gifts, 2-Travel, 3-Behests.
Giver | Value | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Shady Paws | $250 | May 18, 2023 | Food & Drinks within charity donation cost |
California Correctional Peace Officers Association | $231.38 | Jan 31, 2023 | Dinner |
California Building Industry Association | $210.41 | Mar 1, 2023 | Reception |
Reyes Holdings | $136.54 | Sep 5, 2023 | Food & Glassware |
California New Car Dealers Association | $113.48 | Mar 29, 2023 | Reception |
NetChoice | $98.44 | Feb 8, 2023 | Dinner |
Western Propane Gas Association | $94.42 | Mar 28, 2023 | Food & Beverage |
Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians | $88.24 | Apr 28, 2023 | Hydro Flask & Lunch |
Speaker 2023 Inaugural Fund | $85.94 | Jun 30, 2023 | Engraved Box |
California Fresh Fruit Association | $67.61 | Mar 21, 2023 | Dinner |
Personal Gifts
Legislators are not allowed to accept gifts of more than $10 per month from registered lobbyists. Gifts from any other single source are limited to $590 in a calendar year.
Gift Received Rating
This legislator is ranked 77th highest for the amount of personal gifts received.
Policy
Bills Authored by Bill Essayli
Committees
Most of the policy work in the state Capitol is done in “Standing” committees. Legislators also work on budget subcommittees. There are also “Special” and “Select” committees with a more narrow topic focus. And there are “Joint” committees with members from the Senate and Assembly.
Interest Group Rankings
Generally Aligned
Hearings
Featured Comments
Below are links to the video and transcript of recent, substantive comments by this legislator in committee hearings or floor sessions.
District

Previous Election:
Party Registration
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State
Census Data
Median age