2023 California Legislative Session

Turning Intent Statements into a Mandate

October 9, 2023 6:33 amOctober 9, 2023 6:33 am

There are numerous instances in California statutes where we can find statements of intent by the Legislature. In my opinion, these intent statements are of limited use. As a result, I would prefer that intent statements be limited in their...

Bills in the Final Three Days of California Legislative Session

September 12, 2023 10:17 amSeptember 12, 2023 1:41 pm

The following lists the bill loads of the two houses of the California Legislature during the final three days of its 2023 Legislative Session: Assembly – Today at 11am Unfinished Business – 77 Assembly 3rd Reading – 6...

Legislative Direction to the PUC

September 11, 2023 2:55 amSeptember 11, 2023 2:56 am

As I was reviewing recent amendments to bills in the last week of the 2023 California Legislative Session, I came across a measure providing clear guidance to the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) from the Legislature. The bill’s provision of...

Office of Legislative Counsel Sometimes Needs to Clean-up the Codes

July 31, 2023 6:22 amJuly 31, 2023 6:37 am

In recently-enacted legislation during the 2023 California Legislative Session, readers will see examples of how attorneys in the Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC) clean-up statutes due to outdated language, and even misspelled words contained in existing California Codes. The following...

Is There More Detailed Spot Bill Language in Digests?

February 24, 2023 7:19 amFebruary 24, 2023 7:23 am

In reviewing the hundreds of new bill introductions for the 2023 California Legislative Session, I came across several “spot bills” (i.e., those lacking substantive law changes) that serve as placeholders. In almost all spot bills, the Legislative Counsel’s Digest states...