Author: Chris Micheli
Chris Micheli is an attorney and lobbyist with Snodgrass & Micheli, LLC, as well as an Adjunct Professor at McGeorge School of Law.
An Interesting Bill Involving California Legislative Intent and the ADA
Recently-introduced committee bill, Assembly Bill 2962 (authored by the Committee on Judiciary), presents an interesting case of the role of legislative intent, in particular regarding federal case law. AB 2962 would to add Section 55.4 to the Civil Code, amend...
Should California Bills Use ‘Includes’ or ‘Means?’
When attorneys in the Office of Legislative Counsel are drafting bills for California legislators, they often delete the word “includes” and substitute it with the word “means.” Why is that being done by these legislative lawyers? The following example comes...
What Does the Term ‘Construe’ Mean in California Statutes?
While continuing to read through proposed new laws for the 2022 California Legislative Session, I occasionally come by a bill that uses the term “construed” and it mostly is used in a negative form. The word “construe” basically means to...
California’s Retroactive v. Prospective Legislation
In most instances, legislation applies prospectively, meaning after the law has been enacted and takes effect. Nonetheless, there are times when the Legislature desires statutes to be applied retroactively, and sometimes they also specify a prospective application date. The following...
Required Reports to the California Legislature
On occasion, bills in California require a report to be provided to the Legislature or legislative committees. In those cases, there are required laws about how and where those reports are submitted. The laws are contained in the California Government...
Required Review of Regulations Under AB 1996
Assembly Member Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova) introduced Assembly Bill 1996 to require state agency to review existing regulations. AB 1996 would add and repeal Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 11366) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of...