Drafting a New Program in California Law

California legislators regularly propose creation of a new program in state government and the Office of Legislative Counsel is required to draft such bills. A bill that creates a new program in this state has several component parts, usually including the following:

Title

This section provides the title of the new state program, or the act. An example of bill language would begin with:

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as

Legislative Findings

This section provides any legislative findings and declarations for the new state program, or the act. An example of bill language would begin with:

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

Program Establishment

This section provides the establishment of the new state program. An example of bill language would begin with:

The ___ Program is hereby established in ___ for the purpose of ___,

Definitions

This section provides the definitions that will be used in this section of law. An example of bill language would begin with:

For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

Program Administration

This section provides how the new state program will be administered. An example of bill language would begin with:

The department shall ___ in the state pursuant to this section.

Reporting

This section provides any reporting requirements, such as to the Legislature, for the new state program. An example of bill language would begin with:

The report shall examine the feasibility of, and provide recommendations regarding, all of the following:

Fund Expenditures

This section provides how funds will be expended by the new state program. An example of bill language would begin with:

The sum of $__ is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the ___  for purposes of this program.

Sunset

This section provides any sunset date for the new state program. An example of bill language would begin with:

This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, __, and as of that date is repealed.

The above provisions of establishing a new state program are not exhaustive. There can be more or fewer provisions of such a bill, but these are the primary provisions to be included in such a bill.