LONGEST TERMS IN OFFICE
In the first incarnation of term limits, which started in 1990, constitutional officers and State Senate members can hold an office for two four-year terms. In the State Assembly, the limit was three two-year terms. Under the new term limits, starting in 2012, members of the Legislature are now limited to a total of 12 years in office (no matter which house they are in when they serve those years).
Seats in the US House of Representatives and US Senate are not bound by term limits, and members may serve for as long as the voters in their districts reelect them. The current longest-serving member of the legislature is State Senator Jim Nielsen, who served twelve years in the Senate prior to term limits, four years in the Assembly under old term limits, and has served in the Senate since early 2013.
Also of note is Governor Jerry Brown, whose total service as Governor (12 years) has now broken the previous record set by Earl Warren in the 1950s.
As of January 3, 2015, the longest terms that California elected officials have held a single office is:
| Name | Office | Dates | Years |
| George Reilly | Board of Equalization |
1939-1982 | 43 |
| Pete Stark | US Representative | 1973-2013 | 40 |
| Henry Waxman | US Representative | 1975-2015 | 40 |
| George Miller | US Representative | 1975-2015 |
40 |
| Richard E. Collins | Board of Equalization | 1907-1946 | 38 |
| Vincent Thomas | State Assembly | 1940-1978 | 38 |
| Randolph Collier | State Senate | 1939-1976 | 37 |
| U. S. Webb | Attorney General | 1903-1939 | 36 |
| George E. Brown Jr. | US Representative | 1963-1971 1973-1999 |
34 |
| Jerry Lewis | US Representative | 1979-2013 | 34 |
| Herbert W. Slater | State Senate | 1914-1947 | 33 |
| Charles Johnson | Treasurer | 1923-1956 | 33 |
| Chet Holifield | US Representative | 1942-1974 | 32 |
| John L. E. Collier | State Assembly | 1947-1978 | 32 |
| Don Edwards | US Representative | 1963-1993 | 32 |
| Ralph Dills | State Senate | 1966-1998 | 32 |
| David Dreier | US Representative | 1981-2013 | 32 |
| Clarence F. Lea | US Representative | 1917-1949 | 31.8 |
| Willie Brown | State Assembly | 1964-1995 | 31 |
| Edward Roybal | US Representative | 1963-1993 | 30 |
| Al Alquist | State Senate | 1966-1996 | 30 |
| John Vasconcellos | State Assembly | 1966-1996 | 30 |
| Nicholas Petris | State Senate | 1966-1996 | 30 |
| Howard Berman | US Representative | 1983-2013 | 30 |
| Milton Marks | State Senate | 1967-1996 | 29.5 |
| Frank C. Jordan | Secretary of State | 1911-1940 | 29 |
| Bill Thomas | US Representative | 1978-2007 | 29 |
| Hiram Johnson | US Senate | 1917-1945 | 28.3 |
| Ralph E. Swing | State Senate | 1923-1950 | 28 |
| Gus Hawkins | State Assembly | 1934-1962 | 28 |
| Harry R. Sheppard | US Representative | 1937-1965 | 28 |
| Cecil R. King | US Representative | 1941-1969 | 28 |
| Hugh M. Burns | State Senate | 1943-1970 | 28 |
| Frank Lanterman | State Assembly | 1950-1978 | 28 |
| John E. Moss | US Representative | 1951-1979 | 28 |
| Bob Wilson | US Representative | 1953-1981 | 28 |
| Walter W. Stiern | State Senate | 1958-1986 | 28 |
| Richard Nevins | Board of Equalization | 1959-1987 | 28 |
| Gus Hawkins | US Representative | 1963-1991 | 28 |
| Duncan Hunter | US Representative | 1981-2009 | 28 |
| Nancy Pelosi | US Representative | 1987-Present | 28 |
| Frank M. Jordan | Secretary of State | 1943-1970 | 27 |
| Richard Nevins | SBOE | 1959-1986 | 27 |
| Ron Dellums | US Representative | 1971-1997 | 27 |
| Robert Matsui | US Representative | 1971-2005 | 27 |
| Tom Lantos | US Representative | 1981-2008 | 27 |
| Lester A. McMillan | State Assembly | 1943-1968 | 26 |
| Charles J. Conrad | State Assembly | 1946-1972 | 26 |
| Elton Gallegly | US Representative | 1987-2013 | 26 |
| Wally Herger | US Representative | 1987-2013 | 26 |
| Dana Rohrabacher | US Representative | 1989-Present | 26 |
| James J. McBride | State Senate | 1937-1961 | 25 |
| Ruben S. Ayala | State Senate | 1974-1998 | 25 |
| Julius Kahn | US Representative | 1899-1903 1905-1924 |
24 |
| B. F. Rush | State Senate | 1905-1928 | 24 |
| Ernest C. Crowley | State Assembly | 1929-1952 | 24 |
| Harry L. Parkman | State Senate | 1933-1956 | 24 |
| Thomas A. Maloney | State Assembly | 1933-1956 | 24 |
| Vernon Kilpatrick | State Assembly | 1939-1962 | 24 |
| Hugh P. Donnelly | State Senate | 1943-1966 | 24 |
| Carley V. Porter | State Assembly | 1951-1974 | 24 |
| Donald L. Grunsky | State Senate | 1953-1976 | 24 |
| Pauline L. Davis | State Assembly | 1953-1976 | 24 |
| B. F. Sisk | US Representative | 1955-1979 | 24 |
| Tom Bane | State Assembly | 1958-1964 1974-1992 |
24 |
| Alan Cranston | US Senate | 1969-1993 | 24 |
| Glenn M. Anderson | US Representative | 1969-1993 | 24 |
| Carlos J. Moorhead | US Representative | 1973-1997 | 24 |
| Maxine Waters | US Representative | 1991-Present | 24 |
| John C. Corbett | Board of Equalization | 1915-1938 | 23 |
| S. L. Heisinger | State Assembly | 1921-1929 1935-1949 |
25 |
| Lloyd Lowrey | State Assembly | 1940-1962 | 22 |
| Frank P. Belotti | State Assembly | 1951-1972 | 22 |
| Charles Gubser | US Representative | 1953-1974 | 22 |
| Craig Hosmer | US Representative | 1953-1974 | 22 |
| Carlos Bee | State Assembly | 1955-1976 | 22 |
| John J. McFall | US Representative | 1957-1979 | 22 |
| Albert S. Rodda | State Senate | 1959-1982 | 22 |
| Harold T. Johnson | US Representative | 1959-1981 | 22 |
| Edward M. Gaffney | State Assembly | 1941-1964 | 22 |
| H. L. Richardson | State Senate | 1967-1988 | 22 |
| Peter R. Chacon | State Assembly | 1971-1992 | 22 |
| Harold J. Powers | State Senate | 1933-1953 | 21 |
| Lou Papan | State Assembly | 1973-1986 1997-2002 |
20 |
| Newton Russell | State Senate | 1974-1996 | 22 |
| Norman Mineta | US Representative | 1975-1997 | 22 |
| Dianne Feinstein | US Senate | 1992-Present | 22 |
| Barbara Boxer | US Senate | 1993-Present | 22 (3) |
| Lucille Roybal-Allard | US Representative | 1993-Present | 22 |
| Anna Eshoo | US Representative | 1993-Present | 22 |
| Ed Royce |
US Representative | 1993-Present | 22 |
| Xavier Becerra | US Representative | 1993-Present | 22 |
| Howard "Buck" McKeon |
US Representative | 1993-2015 |
22 |
| George A. Clarke |
State Assembly | 1913-1914 1923-1924 1939-1956 |
22 |
| Ken Calvert |
US Representative | 1993-Present | 22 |
| Sam Farr |
US Representative | 1993-Present | 21 (1) |
| Charles Brown | State Senate | 1939-1962 | 24 |
| Clayton Dills | State Assembly | 1943-1966 | 24 |
| Arthur H. Breed, Sr. | State Senate | 1913-1934 | 22 |
| Herbert C. Jones | State Senate | 1913-1934 | 22 |
| Edward E. Elliott | State Assembly | 1947-1968 | 22 |
| John F. McCarthy | State Senate | 1950-1971 | 22 |
| Benjamin F. Langford | State Senate | 1879-1900 | 21 |
| George C. Perkins | US Senate | 1893-1915 | 21 |
| David Roberti | State Senate | 1971-1992 | 21 |
| William H. Lancaster | State Assembly | 1972-1992 | 20.5 |
| J. M. Inman | State Senate | 1916-1936 | 20 |
| William Richard Sharkey | State Senate | 1911-1936 | 20 |
| Eleanor Miller | State Assembly | 1921-1942 | 20 |
| Thomas McCormack | State Senate | 1929-1948 | 20 |
| Bradford S. Crittenden | State Senate | 1931-1950 | 20 |
| Charles H. Deuel | State Senate | 1931-1950 | 20 |
| Arthur H. Breed Jr. | State Senate | 1939-1958 | 20 |
| W. P. Rich | State Senate | 1931-1950 | 20 |
| Richard H. McCollister | State Assembly | 1941-1960 | 20 |
| Charles W. Meyers | State Assembly | 1949-1968 | 20 |
| Luther E. Gibson | State Senate | 1949-1968 | 20 |
| George Miller Jr. | State Senate | 1949-1969 | 20 |
| Alan Short | State Senate | 1955-1974 | 20 |
| Charles M. Teague | US Representative | 1955-1975 | 20 |
| John W. Holmdahl | State Senate | 1959-1966 1971-1982 |
20 |
| John T. Knox | State Assembly | 1961-1980 | 20 |
| James C. Corman | US Representative | 1961-1981 | 20 |
| Leroy Greene | State Assembly | 1963-1982 | 20 |
| Robert B. Presley | State Senate | 1975-1994 | 20 |
| Bob Beverly | State Senate | 1977-1996 | 20 |
| Anthony C. Beilenson | US Representative | 1977-1997 | 20 |
| Tom Bates | State Assembly | 1977-1996 | 20 |
| Diane Edith Watson | State Senate | 1978-1998 | 20 |
| William A. Craven | State Senate | 1979-1998 | 20 |
| Lynn C. Woolsey | US Representative | 1993-2013 | 20 |
| Bob Filner | US Representative | 1993-2013 | 20 |
| Zoe Lofgren |
US Representative | 1995-Present | 20 |
| Stephen Teale | State Senate | 1953-1972 | 19.5 |
| Ken Maddy | State Senate | 1979-1998 | 19.5 |
| Chris N. Jespersen | State Senate | 1933-1951 | 19 |
| Thomas J. Doyle | State Assembly | 1939-1957 | 19 |
| Ralph M. Brown | State Assembly | 1943-1961 | 19 |
| Alan Robbins | State Senate | 1973-1991 | 19 |
| Don A. Allen Sr. | State Assembly | 1939-1947 1957-1966 |
18.5 |
| John Burton | State Assembly | 1965-1974 1988-1996 |
18 |
| Jim Nielsen |
State Senate | 1979-1990 2013-Present |
14 (2) |
(1) Farr reached 20 years of service in Congress on June 17, 2013.
(2) Nielsen will reach 20 years of service in the State Senate on December 3, 2020 (in 2107 days).
(3) Has announced that they will not seek reelection in 2016.