John V. Briggs, Republican was a member of the Assembly from 1967 to 1976 and a Senator from 1977 to 1981. He was Senate Republican Whip in 1979. Senator Briggs concentrated on insurance reform, a wider application of the death penalty, and regulations concerning contractors.

John V. Briggs, Republican was a member of the Assembly from 1967 to 1976. He represented the 35th District, which included the northern parts of Orange County and the western parts of San Bernardino County. After redistricting took effect in 1974, he represented the 69th District, which covered part of Orange County, including the city of Fullerton. He then served in the Senate from 1977 to 1981 for the 35th District, which included parts of Orange Country. He was born in South Dakota in 1930 and moved to California in 1935. He received an A.A. degree in Business Administration from Fullerton Junior College, and a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Long Beach State College. He served with United States Air Force during the Korean Conflict. He married Carmen Nicasio on December 28, 1951. They had three children, Kathleen, Dan, and Ronald. He worked as an insurance broker. He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Elks, Rotary, the Junior Chamber of Commerce, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. After being defeated in two elections, Assembly Member Briggs was elected in the State Assembly of California in 1966. He first considered a run for Senate in 1973, but put it off because of the on-going debate over redistricting. In 1976, he was elected to the California Senate representing the 35th Senate District. He served from 1977 until 1981. He was Senate Republican Whip in 1979. Senator Briggs concentrated on insurance reform, a wider application of the death penalty, regulations concerning contractors. He was a proponent of a number of propositions in the late 1970s: the unsuccessful Proposition 6 (1974) that would have restricted the employment of homosexuals as public school employees; the successful Proposition 7 (1978) that expanded the number of special circumstances for murder cases that required either the death penalty or a life sentence without parole, and the successful Proposition 13 (1978) which limited property tax increases. According to the Legislative Handbooks, he served on the following committees:

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