Bills Taking Immediate Effect in California

Article IV of the California Constitution deals with the Legislature and the legislative process in this state. The Legislature enacts statutes by passing bills. Bills that are enacted in California, per the state Constitution, generally take effect on January 1 of the year following enactment (called the statute’s effective date). For example, a bill signed into law earlier this year (September 2026), as a default, will take effect on January 1, 2027.

However, the state Constitution provides a possible second effective date for regular session bills. That date is for statutes that take effect immediately. Section 8(c)(3) of Article IV provides:

Statutes calling elections, statutes providing for tax levies or appropriations for the usual current expenses of the State, and urgency statutes shall go into effect immediately upon their enactment.

Note that, for special or extraordinary session bills, they take effect on the 91st day after adjournment of the special session at which the bill was passed.

So, how many bills each year are one of these four types of regular session bills that take immediate effect? The following chart provides this data: