Chris Micheli – Page 271 – California Globe

Severability or Savings Clauses in California Bills

October 18, 2020 8:12 amOctober 18, 2020 4:44 pm

On occasion, a reader may come across a severability or savings clause contained in a California bill. Basically, a severability clause is a statement by the Legislature that, if a part of a law that is enacted is subsequently held...

Drafting a Bill to Regulate a Profession

October 17, 2020 7:52 amOctober 17, 2020 1:28 pm

On occasion, the bill drafter will need to create a new regulatory scheme as legislators intend to regulate a profession or occupation that has not previously been subject to regulation. As a general rule, the intent of regulating a profession...

Drafting a Bill’s Title

October 16, 2020 2:25 amOctober 16, 2020 6:08 am

Pursuant to Article IV, Section 9 of the California Constitution, there is a requirement for each bill to have a title. The constitutional provision states: “A statute shall embrace but one subject, which shall be expressed in its title. If...

California’s Reenactment Rule

October 15, 2020 2:36 amOctober 16, 2020 6:08 am

California’s Constitution, in Article IV, Section 9, provides “A section of a statute may not be amended unless the section is re-enacted as amended.” What does that mean? According to the courts, the purpose of the constitutional reenactment rule, which...

Additional Bill Drafting Guidelines

October 14, 2020 6:33 amOctober 14, 2020 12:43 pm

The following are some additional guidelines for successfully drafting legislation in California: Rules of Punctuation Punctuation is an important part of drafting legislation and the punctuation rules should be used consistently and properly. The bill drafter should know these rules...

Why Might a Bill Be Declared Unconstitutional?

October 13, 2020 6:24 amOctober 14, 2020 12:42 pm

On occasion, a California statute in challenged in state or federal court as possibly violating the California or United States Constitutions. What might be the basis for these constitutional challenges of state-enacted statutes? One basis is “vagueness,” which essentially means...

California Enacts a Slew of New Employment Laws

October 12, 2020 12:54 pmOctober 12, 2020 3:12 pm

As we have seen over the past decade, California’s Legislature enacted a large number of new labor and employment laws as it concluded its 2020 Legislative Session. The first section of this article looks at some of the key bills...