Does California Use Headings in Statutes?

Yes, many California statutes have headings, which are valuable to those researching the law or trying to find a relevant statutory provision. Normally, code sections are not captioned in the drafting stage, such as when a bill is going through the legislative process. Instead, adding headings is something done in the codification stage of the process.

After organizing the operative provisions of a bill, a drafter may want to compose captions or “headings” (as they will be called here to avoid confusion with captions of whole bills) to guide readers through the various parts of the bill. A heading is a brief, distinctively typed or printed “sign” designed to disclose the subject of the text that follows and to enable a reader to quickly find the various details contained in the bill.

By custom, headings are given to parts of a bill denominated as articles, parts, or sections, but not for smaller units. A heading is typed in all capital letters in an enrolled bill and follows the number of the article, part, or section (e.g., “SECTION 3. DUTY TO PAY TAX.”). And, these headings can be added, amended, or repealed. Examples of headings include:

CHAPTER  4. Agricultural Conservation Easements and Fee Title

Some bills may affect more than one heading. And, the changes to one or more headings are set forth in the Title of the bill.