Guards at the California Assembly say they are now enforcing dress-code policies requiring women to wear a coat or sweater while in the chamber.

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Ronald Pane, Assembly sergeant-at-arms, said the policy stems from a longstanding rule for visitors, credentialed media and legislative aides to wear "appropriate business attire" while in the state legislative chamber in Sacramento, The Sacramento Bee reported Friday.

Majority Leader Charles Calderon, D-Whittier, recently authored a memo with Assembly Speaker John Perez and other Democratic and Republican leaders calling for the "business attire" rule to be rigidly enforced. The memo stated proper business attire for men constitutes a coat and tie, but no specific rules for women were spelled out.

Pane and Calderon said sergeants-at-arms are telling women proper business attire should include a coat or sweater, but he said some exceptions are made for other forms of business wear.

"I think it could be a blouse," Calderon said. "But it ought to be something that's more dress (up) than not. It's a judgment call, but we want the overall image of the floor to reflect the members -- and we want it to reflect professionalism."