Requiring a Repeal of a Statute

I came across a bill during the 2025 California Legislative Session that contains the following provision:

Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 1, 2031.

Why does a bill contain this provision? We have to review this section of the Government Code, which is found in Title 2, Division 2, Part 2, Chapter 1, Article 2, which deals with duties of the Legislative Counsel. There are two subdivisions in Section 10231.5. The first requires an automatic four-year repeal date for any bill that requires a state agency to submit a report to the Legislature. The second give Legislative Counsel specific drafting instructions for a bill that includes a reporting requirement.

Section 10231.5(a) specifies:

(a)  A bill that, as introduced or amended in either house of the Legislature, would require a state agency to submit a report on any subject to either house of the Legislature generally, a committee or office of either house of the Legislature, or the Legislative Counsel Bureau shall include a provision that repeals the reporting requirement, or makes the requirement inoperative, no later than a date four years following the date upon which the bill, as enacted, becomes operative or four years after the due date of any report required every four or more years. If the bill requires that the report be submitted to either house of the Legislature generally, it shall also include a provision that requires the report to be submitted pursuant to Section 9795.

Section 10231.5(b) specifies:

(b) The Legislative Counsel, in drafting a bill for introduction or an amendment to a bill that would impose a reporting requirement described in subdivision (a), shall include a provision that repeals the reporting requirement, or makes the reporting requirement inoperative, four years after the date on which the requirement becomes operative, unless the person requesting the bill or amendment directs the Legislative Counsel to do otherwise. If the bill requires that the report be submitted to either house of the Legislature generally, the Legislative Counsel shall also include a provision that requires the report to be submitted pursuant to Section 9795.

As a result, the sentence listed above in the bill from this Session contains a repeal clause because the Government Code section set forth above requires it. However, whether the introductory phrase is required is another topic. It helps to have the connection between the repeal clause and the statutory requirement for it, but it is not necessary. In other words, the bill language above could simply state the repeal date.