Chris Micheli – Page 362 – California Globe

Bills on Consent – What Qualifies?

March 18, 2020 2:50 amMarch 17, 2020 9:18 pm

Bills considered in the California Legislature without controversy are placed on the “consent calendar,” which means that the bill does not have to be presented by its author or debated by legislators. All bills on the consent calendar are dispensed...

California Legislature: Concurrence in Bill Amendments

March 16, 2020 6:15 amMarch 15, 2020 8:52 pm

As the California Legislature is a bicameral body, after a bill has been passed by its house of origin, it is transmitted to the other house for further consideration. If the second house makes amendments to the bill, then the...

Sending or Withdrawing Bills from the Floor

March 13, 2020 2:16 amMarch 12, 2020 8:10 pm

In the California Legislature, generally committees deal with legislation before passing measures to the Floor of either the Assembly or Senate. However, there are rare instances where legislators choose to return a bill to committee when it is pending on...

The Three Readings of a Bill and Other Floor Procedures in the California Legislature

March 11, 2020 6:01 amMarch 11, 2020 6:02 am

The California Constitution requires a bill to be “read” three times before it can be debated and voted upon by either house. A “reading” of a bill in the Assembly or Senate is defined as being the presentation of the...

The ‘Suspense File’ Process Used in Considering Fiscal Legislation

March 9, 2020 2:20 amMarch 8, 2020 5:43 pm

The two Appropriations Committees in the California Legislature have a unique procedure they each use called the “Suspense File.” Basically, any bill which has been keyed “fiscal” by the Legislative Counsel is referred to the fiscal committee in each house,...

Teaching Lawmaking in California

March 6, 2020 5:37 amMarch 6, 2020 5:52 am

By Chris Micheli and Diane Boyer-Vine As part of its efforts to enhance its Capital Lawyering Program, the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law offers a number of courses to train aspiring lawyers who plan to work in...

Lobbying Bill Referrals

March 4, 2020 6:23 amMarch 4, 2020 6:29 am

An area that is rarely talked about in California’s Capitol community concerns the infrequent lobbying of bill referrals. In other words, how does someone get a bill referred to a favorable committee? Or an unfavorable committee? Or maybe multiple committees?...