California Legislative Session

How Often Does the Legislature Express Its Opinion?

October 20, 2024 5:10 pmOctober 20, 2024 5:10 pm

There are three types of measures used in the California Legislature: bills, constitutional amendments, and resolutions. There are also three types of resolutions: house, concurrent, and joint. While some resolutions are used to elect officers and adopt rules, the vast...

A Look Back at Bill Introductions in the California Legislature

September 19, 2024 2:30 amSeptember 19, 2024 2:31 am

Over the past decade, the California Legislature, and its 120 legislators, introduce between 1,900 and 2,500 bills per year, each year of the 2-year legislative sessions. While fewer than 50 additional bills get introduced after the deadline (e.g., due to...

Frequently Asked Questions about the Middle Part of the Legislative Session

June 20, 2024 2:30 amJune 20, 2024 2:31 am

What generally happens in the middle part of the California Legislative Session? Immediately after the house of origin deadline, the budget deliberations are in full swing and bills must quickly be considered in the second house. The first half of...

Frequently Asked Questions about the First Part of the Legislative Session

June 19, 2024 2:30 amJune 19, 2024 2:31 am

What generally happens in the first part of the California Legislative Session? During the first part of the first year of a two-year Session, legislators await their committee assignments, consider proposals for authoring bills and, for the new Members, they...

Don’t Call Them ‘Chaptering Out’ Amendments

December 6, 2021 10:11 amDecember 8, 2021 3:43 pm

At the end of a California Legislative Session, Capitol observers will hear about the need to have “chaptering out amendments” adopted. However, that is not the correct term to use. “Chaptering out” is the problem that needs to be addressed...

How Do the Final Two Weeks of the 2021 Legislative Session Look?

August 27, 2021 2:32 pmAugust 27, 2021 4:36 pm

As the California Legislative Session wraps up in two weeks to conclude in 2021 Session, we wanted to look at the pending legislation and the timing of final bill actions. The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on Friday, September 20....