Frequently Asked Questions about the Order of Bill Authors and Co-Authors

In the California Legislature, there is an order to listing a bill’s authors and co-authors and there are different types of co-authors.

What do the Joint Rules provide? Joint Rule 10.7, titled “Heading of Bills,” provides the following: “10.7. A bill or resolution may be authored only by a Member or committee of the house of origin, unless written approval is received from the President pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly and provided to the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the Assembly, as appropriate. Members or committees that are not of the house of origin may be “principal coauthors” or “coauthors.” A bill may not indicate in its heading or elsewhere that it was introduced at the request of a state agency or officer or any other person. A bill may not contain the words “By request” or words of similar import.”

On the front page of a bill, what is the order of authors on the first line? The order is the following: First line – Lead Author and Joint Author(s) – listed by preference of author(s), followed by a listing in alphabetical order

What is the order of co-authors on the second line? The order is the following: Second line – Principal Co-author(s) – listed in alphabetical order from the same house as the lead author

What is the order of co-authors on the third line? The order is the following: Third line – Principal Co-author(s) – listed in alphabetical order from the other house

What is the order of co-authors on the fourth line? The order is the following: Fourth line – Co-author(s) – listed in alphabetical order from the same house as the lead author

What is the order of co-authors on the fifth line? The order is the following: Fifth line – Co-author(s) – listed in alphabetical order from the other house

What is an example of the order of authors and co-authors on the front page of a bill? The following example is taken from a bill in the 2022 Session:

Introduced by Assembly Members Petrie-Norris and Holden
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Robert Rivas)
(Principal coauthor: Senator Min)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Eduardo Garcia, Grayson, and Ting)
(Coauthor: Senator Archuleta)