Chris Micheli – Page 269 – California Globe

A sea of empty desks inside the California State Assembly

Should California Bills Use ‘Includes’ or ‘Means?’

March 10, 2022 9:19 amMarch 10, 2022 9:22 am

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?

March 9, 2022 9:53 amMarch 9, 2022 9:58 am

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

March 8, 2022 6:49 amMarch 8, 2022 6:56 am

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

March 7, 2022 9:37 amMarch 7, 2022 6:54 am

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

March 7, 2022 2:39 amMarch 6, 2022 9:35 pm

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...

Modernizing California Statutes

March 6, 2022 8:20 amMarch 6, 2022 8:27 am

As new legislation is considered in the California Legislature, it is incumbent on the attorneys in the Office of Legislative Counsel to update and modernize state statutes. There are examples of this ongoing effort throughout California bills and is an...

Are Legislative Findings in California’s Political Reform Act Bills Sufficient?

March 5, 2022 8:00 amMarch 5, 2022 8:09 am

In reviewing recently-introduced legislation that proposes amendments to California’s Political Reform Act (PRA), the same legislative finding and declaration is made in each bill. It is a simplistic statement that raises the question whether this language meets the requirement of...