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Headshot of James Gallagher

James Gallagher

Republican, State Assembly
District 3, Chico
Time in office:
  • Assembly: 2014-present

News coverage of James Gallagher

Bio

James Gallagher, 44, was the Assembly’s Republican leader and one of California’s most vocal critics of the state’s Democratic powerhouse. Born in the district and married to his high school sweetheart with whom he has five kids, he’s lived much of his life near his family’s farm. He earned a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and a law degree at UC Davis. His law firm, Rice Lawyers, Inc., serves primarily agricultural clients. Prior to state office, he served for six years on the Sutter County Board of Supervisors. Gallagher was a leading voice criticizing public health mandates during the pandemic.

Leader Badges

Republican Leader Rank Badge

Ideology

Left

Moderate

Right

Bill Activity

0

Of 18 bills:
1 Passed
3 Failed
14 Pending

For this session year, this legislator initiated 18 bills: 1 passed, 3 failed, and 14 are currently pending.

Alignment Meter

See all-time percentage of this legislator’s alignment with any organization based on total votes.

xx%votes: xx

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

$133.0K

Communications & Electronics

$53.0K

Construction

$53.8K

Energy & Natural Resources

$152.8K

Finance, Insurance & Real Estate

$216.2K

General Business

$189.0K

Government Agencies/Education/Other

$99.4K

Health

$187.5K

Ideology/Single Issue

$23.5K

Labor

$165.5K

Lawyers & Lobbyists

$10.4K

Party

$500.0

Transportation

$65.0K

Uncoded

$715.9K

Unitemized Contributions

$333.2K

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.

Total
$2.4M

407.0% higher than the average legislators

Independent Expenditures

Money from Independent Expenditure Committees (IEC) for advertising or grassroots activity targeting a candidates run for office is unlimited, but it cannot be spent in coordination with the candidate or the candidate's campaign.

Total
$260.0

100.0% lower than the average legislators

Grand Total for Elections

$2.4M

325.0% higher than the average legislators

This is a total of the money targeting this legislator's campaign(s) including direct donations to the candidate, money spent by 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
California Problem Solvers Caucus Foundation$520Oct 20, 2021Miscellaneous at ...
Communities for California Cardrooms$112Aug 18, 2021Transportation & dinner

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
#42/120

This legislator is ranked 42nd highest for the amount of personal gifts received.

Policy

Bills Authored by James Gallagher

AB 68
School safety: armed school resource officers.

Committee: Assembly Standing Committee on Education

Failed
School safety: armed school resource officers.Committee: Assembly Standing Committee on Education
AB 975
Lake and streambed alteration agreements: exemptions: culverts and bridges.

Committee: Assembly Standing Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife

Failed
Lake and streambed alteration agreements: exemptions: culverts and bridges.Committee: Assembly Standing Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife
View All Bills

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.

Hearings

Featured Comments

Below are links to the video and transcript of recent, substantive comments by this legislator in committee hearings or floor sessions.

Preview image for AB 6852MIN
Jan 7, 2026

AB 68

School safety: armed school resource officers.

Preview image for AB 97545SEC
Sep 13, 2025

AB 975

Lake and streambed alteration agreements: exemptions: culverts and bridges.

Preview image for ACR 1127MIN
Aug 28, 2025

ACR 112

Deaf Awareness Month.

Preview image for AB 2548MIN
Jul 7, 2025

AB 254

California-Ireland Trade Commission.

Preview image for ACR 162MIN
Jun 30, 2025

ACR 16

The POW/MIA Bridge.

Preview image for AB 2541MIN
Jun 3, 2025

AB 254

California-Ireland Trade Commission.

Preview image for AB 9751MIN
May 23, 2025

AB 975

Lake and streambed alteration agreements: exemptions: culverts and bridges.

Preview image for AB 14382MIN
May 5, 2025

AB 1438

School finance: administrative employee-to-teacher ratio: Paradise Unified School District.

Preview image for AB 9757MIN
Apr 29, 2025

AB 975

Lake and streambed alteration agreements: exemptions: culverts and bridges.

Preview image for AB 11969MIN
Apr 29, 2025

AB 1196

Health facilities: cardiac surgery.

Preview image for AB 28110MIN
Apr 9, 2025

AB 281

Comprehensive sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education: outside...

Preview image for AB 14387MIN
Mar 26, 2025

AB 1438

School finance: administrative employee-to-teacher ratio: Paradise Unified School District.

View All Hearings

District

View of map with yellow overlay for Assembly District 3 boundaries.
District 3 is a Safe Republican District
Republican Party candidate has a very high likelihood of winning in an election

Previous Election (2024):

Aaron Draper
33.7%
Jamie "James" Gallagher
66.3%
WON

Party Registration

Census Data

Median age0102030

Median age