The speaker of the California State Assembly is the presiding officer of the California State Assembly in the chief leadership position, and controls the flow of legislation and committee assignments. The speaker is nominated by the majority party's caucus and elected by the full Assembly. Meanwhile, other floor leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses according to each party's strength in the chamber. The current speaker is Democrat Robert Rivas of the 29th district.

Hugh McElroy LaRue (1830–1906), a member of the LaRue family of Kentucky, US was a California pioneer.