Republican nominee for the California State Assembly in the 69th District (which includes parts of Orange County). He was elected two years later in the 35th District which included northern Orange County and neighboring parts of San Bernardino County. Re-elected three times in this district, Briggs went on to successfully compete in the 69th District in the 1974 election. In 1976, Briggs ran for, and was elected a member of the California State Senate, representing the 35th District, comprising most of Orange County. He unsuccessfully sought the 1978 Republican nomination for governor. Re-elected in 1978 and 1980, Briggs resigned from the Senate at the end of December 1981. While in office, Briggs concentrated much of his attention on insurance reform, a wider application of the death penalty, nuclear energy development, and construction regulation. He was member of the Western Interstate Nuclear Board from 1971 to 1972. In the Assembly, he chaired the Agriculture and the Atomic Development Committees; and while in the Senate chaired the Governmental Efficiency and Governmental Investigations and Reports Committees. In 1972 Briggs authored the state's first indoor clean air act (no smoking). He was solely responsible for the creation and funding of Chino Hills State Park and was instrumental in creating Caltrans District 11. For years Orange County was part of the Los Angeles Caltrans district creating a funding disparity. Briggs' action continues to bring Orange County billions in road funding. Briggs was the proponent in several legislative initiatives in California, including: Proposition 6 (1978): (Failed) Would have required the firing of any teacher who was found to be "advocating, imposing, encouraging or promoting" homosexual activity; Proposition 13: Restricted property tax to 1% of the full cash value of the property; Proposition 7: Expanded the application of the death penalty and life imprisonment without parole; California Indoor Safe Air Act: Banned smoking in public buildings. Proposition 6 Briggs sponsored the 1978 initiative known as Proposition 6 or the Briggs Initiative that would have prevented gays or those who supported gay rights from working in public schools. Of gay teachers, he said, "Most of them are in the closet, and frankly, that's where I think they should remain." Former California governor Ronald Reagan spoke out publicly against the Briggs Initiative, stating that "there are enough laws that protect children". In a November 1, 1978, editorial in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, Reagan wrote, "Whatever else it is, homosexuality