October 24, 1995
Securities and Exchange Commission
Judiciary Plaza
450 Fifth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re: Rule 24f-2 Notice for
MERRILL LYNCH CALIFORNIA MUNICIPAL
BOND FUND OF THE
MERRILL LYNCH CALIFORNIA MUNICIPAL
SERIES TRUST
File No. 2-96581
Dear Sirs:
In accordance with the provisions of Rule
24f-2 under the Investment Company Act
of 1940, Merrill Lynch California Municipal
Bond Fund of the Merrill Lynch California
Municipal Series Trust (the "Fund") hereby
files its Rule 24f-2 Notice (the "Notice").
1. The Notice is being filed for the fiscal year
of the Fund ended August 31, 1995
(the "Fiscal Year").
2. No shares of beneficial interest of the Fund
which had been registered under the
Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act")
other than pursuant to Rule 24f-2 remained
unsold at the beginning of the Fiscal Year.
3. 4,461,674 shares of beneficial interest were
registered under the Securities Act during
the Fiscal Year other than pursuant to
Rule 24f-2.
4. 5,139,159 shares of beneficial interest were
sold during the Fiscal Year.*
5. 677,485 shares of beneficial interest were
sold during the Fiscal Year in reliance upon
registration pursuant to Rule 24f-2.
Transmitted with the Notice is an opinion
of Brown & Wood, counsel for the Fund,
indicating that the securities the registration
of which this Notice makes definite in number
were legally issued, fully paid for and non-
assessable.
______________
*Of this amount, 356,036 Class A shares
were sold at an aggregate price of $3,979,523,
4,055,625 Class B shares were sold at an
aggregate price of $44,759,130, 343,686
Class C shares were sold at an aggregate
price of $3,830,307 and 383,812 Class
D shares were sold at an aggregate price of
$4,192,833. The aggregate sale price for all
shares of beneficial interest sold during the
Fiscal Year was $56,761,793.
<PAGE>
6. Since the aggregate sales price of securities
sold during the Fiscal Year in reliance upon
registration pursuant to Rule 24f-2 is less
than the aggregate redemption price of
securities redeemed during the Fiscal Year,
no filing fee is required in connection with
the filing of this Notice. The calculation is
as follows:
(i) Aggregate sale price for the
677,485 shares of beneficial
interest sold during the Fiscal
Year in reliance upon registration
pursuant to Rule 24f-2.
(Based on a maximum offering
price of $12.14) $8,224,668
reduced by
(ii) Actual aggregate redemption
price for the 17,598,058 shares
of beneficial interest redeemed
during the Fiscal Year.* $193,167,571
equals amount on which filing fee is based
$0
Please direct any questions relating to this
filing to Jerry Weiss, Merrill Lynch Asset
Management, P.O. Box 9011, Princeton,
NJ 08543, (609) 282-1727 or to Laurin
Blumenthal Kleiman at Brown & Wood,
One World Trade Center, New York,
New York 10048, (212) 839-5525.
Very truly yours,
MERRILL LYNCH CALIFORNIA MUNICIPAL
BOND FUND OF THE
MERRILL LYNCH CALIFORNIA MUNICIPAL
SERIES TRUST
By /s/ Jerry Weiss
- - - - - - - - - - -
Jerry Weiss
Secretary
_______________
*Of this amount, 1,889,907 Class A shares
were redeemed at an aggregate price of
$20,801,528, 15,559,912 Class B shares
were redeemed at an aggregate price of
$170,703,755, 72,055 Class C shares were
redeemed at an aggregate price of
$813,364 and 76,184 Class D shares were
redeemed at an aggregate price of $848,924.
BROWN & WOOD
One World Trade Center
New York, N.Y. 10048-0557
Telephone: 212-839-5300
Facsimile 212-839-5599
October 24, 1995
Merrill Lynch California Municipal Series Trust
P.O. Box 9011
Princeton, New Jersey 08543-9011
Dear Sir or Madam:
This opinion is furnished in connection
with the notice (the "Notice") to be filed by
Merrill Lynch California Municipal Series Trust,
a Massachusetts business trust (the "Trust"),
with the Securities and Exchange Commission
pursuant to Rule 24f-2 under the Investment
Company Act of 1940, as amended. The Notice
is being filed to make definite the registration
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
of 3,120,495 shares of beneficial interest, par
value $0.10 per share, of the Trust (the "Shares")
which were sold during the Trust's fiscal year
ended August 31, 1995. The Shares consist
of 2,443,010 shares of beneficial interest of Merrill
Lynch California Insured Municipal Bond Fund
(the "California Insured Fund") and 677,485 shares
of beneficial interest of Merrill Lynch California
Municipal Bond
<PAGE>
Fund (the "California Fund"). The
California Insured Fund and the California Fund are
the two existing series of the Trust.
As counsel for the Trust, we are familiar with
the proceedings taken by it in connection with
the authorization, issuance and sale of the
Shares. In addition, we have examined and
are familiar with the Declaration of Trust of the
Trust, the By-Laws of the Trust and such other
documents as we have deemed relevant to the
matters referred to in this opinion.
Based upon the foregoing, we are of the opinion
that the Shares were legally issued, fully paid
and non-assessable.
In rendering this opinion, we have relied as to
matters of Massachusetts law upon an opinion of
Bingham, Dana & Gould, dated October 19, 1995,
rendered to the Trust.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion
with the Securities and Exchange Commission
as an attachment to the Notice.
Very truly yours,
