California Constitution – Page 20

Some California Constitutional Provisions Can Be Waived

January 6, 2022 3:33 pmJanuary 6, 2022 2:41 pm

When the Legislature initially followed the Governor’s shelter at home order and passed two budget-related bills on March 16, 2020, it required waiver of two constitutional requirements. The first was the required three readings of a bill prior to its...

Constitutional Rules for the California State Budget

January 6, 2022 7:30 amJanuary 6, 2022 6:54 am

The annual state budget bill, as well as the “budget bill junior” and budget “trailer bills” are governed by provisions of the California Constitution. The budget bill junior and budget trailer bills are formally called “other bills providing for appropriations...

Does the Governor Have 12 or 30 Days to Act on Bills?

January 5, 2022 3:09 pmJanuary 5, 2022 2:14 pm

A commonly-misunderstood item in the California legislative process is determining whether the Governor has 12 days to take action on a bill, or 30 days. The general rule is that the Governor has 12 days to act, once a bill...

Why Is the Governor in Article IV of the California Constitution?

January 5, 2022 7:06 amJanuary 5, 2022 7:16 am

When reading the California Constitution, we find that Article IV relates to the legislative branch of state government. Section 1 of Article IV grants lawmaking authority to the Legislature. On the other hand, Article V relates to the executive branch...

Why Is the Fish and Game Commission in the Constitution?

January 3, 2022 3:37 pmJanuary 3, 2022 3:42 pm

Did you know that the California Fish and Game Commission, an executive branch entity, is created by the state Constitution? Why is the Commission in Article IV, which deals with the legislative branch of state government, rather than Article V,...

Executive Branch Officials and the ‘Revolving Door’ Limitation

January 3, 2022 12:27 pmJanuary 3, 2022 12:33 pm

Similar to the “revolving door” limitation on state legislators found in Article IV, Section 5(e) of the California Constitution, executive branch officials of state government are also subject to this limitation when these officials leave government service. It is often...

A sea of empty desks inside the California State Assembly

Gifts and Honoraria and California Legislators

December 30, 2021 3:05 pmJanuary 3, 2022 4:21 am

The California Constitution, in Article IV, Section 5, prohibits any honorarium being paid and limits gifts being made to state legislators. Government Code Title 9 (Political Reform), Chapter 9.5 (Ethics) deals with both topics as well. The following is a...