Chris Micheli – Page 296 – California Globe

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...

Does Legislative Intent Language Trump Statutory Language?

October 12, 2020 6:18 amOctober 12, 2020 11:09 am

As we examine instances where a bill in the California Legislature contains both statutory changes (by amending, adding or repealing code sections) and legislative intent statements (usually in the form of findings and declarations), we expect these two types of...

Are Legislative Findings and Declarations Necessary in Legislation?

October 11, 2020 8:15 amOctober 12, 2020 11:12 am

On occasion, when we review California bills, we come across legislative findings and declarations in these measures. Why are they used and are they necessary? There are basically two schools of thought among bill drafters. But first, what are they?...

Some Differences in Drafting Types of Legislative Measures

October 10, 2020 8:16 amOctober 12, 2020 11:13 am

In California, there are three types of legislative measures: bills, resolutions and constitutional amendments. Each is drafted slightly differently and each has required language. The following provides examples of the required language for each type of measure. Bills Bills create...

The Enrolled Bill Rule in California

October 9, 2020 6:23 amOctober 12, 2020 11:14 am

In general, the judicial branch is loath to review the record keeping practices of the Legislature to determine the validity of statutes. This limitation on judicial inquiry is known as the “Enrolled Bill Rule” and this legal doctrine holds that, if...