Chris Micheli – Page 292 – California Globe

Drafting California Bond Legislation

December 9, 2021 3:54 pmDecember 9, 2021 4:09 pm

Bills in the California Legislature can enact a bond, but those must go before the electorate before the state’s Treasurer can issue those bonds and go to the financial markets. There is a common misconception that all bond measures are...

What Are Two-Year Bills?

December 9, 2021 7:14 amDecember 9, 2021 7:17 am

The California Legislature convenes in two-year sessions and bills are introduced in both of those two years. Under the state Constitution, bills introduced in the first year of Session (the odd-numbered year) can be carried over to the second year...

Intent Bills Are Not Spot Bills and Vice Versa

December 8, 2021 2:42 pmDecember 8, 2021 3:41 pm

Quite often bills introduced in the California Legislature without substantive language in them are called “spot bills.” However, that is not always the case even though both spot and intent bills act as placeholders with substantive amendments to be added...

Using Letters to the Daily Journals for Determining Legislative Intent

December 7, 2021 6:12 pmDecember 7, 2021 6:16 pm

One method to help ascertain the legislative intent behind a specified measure is a letter that is published in the Assembly Daily Journal or the Senate Daily Journal by the bill’s author. These letters, for which there are many each...

Don’t Call Them ‘Chaptering Out’ Amendments

December 6, 2021 10:11 amDecember 8, 2021 3:43 pm

At the end of a California Legislative Session, Capitol observers will hear about the need to have “chaptering out amendments” adopted. However, that is not the correct term to use. “Chaptering out” is the problem that needs to be addressed...

What Are ‘Notwithstanding Clauses’ in California Legislation?

December 3, 2021 4:29 pmDecember 8, 2021 3:43 pm

A common occurrence in California legislation is a bill that contains in the text of the measure the phrase, “notwithstanding any other provision of law…” or something similar. What does this phrase mean? And why would this phrase be used...

What Are Continuous Appropriations in California Bills?

December 3, 2021 1:12 pmDecember 8, 2021 3:44 pm

On occasion, readers can find bills in the California Legislature that make “continuous appropriations.” What are these types of appropriations? Recall that California law does not define the term “appropriation,” even though we find that term in the State Constitution...