What does Joint Rule 10.5 of the California Legislature’s Joint Rules provide? JR 10.5 specifies guidance to the Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC) when determining whether a bill should be “keyed” as a fiscal bill. The “keying” of a bill...
Is there more than one type of adjournment in the California Legislature? Yes, there is a distinction between adjournment and adjournment sine die. What is the definition of adjournment? According to the Legislative Counsel’s Glossary of Terms, adjournment means the...
Does California law provide for state holidays? Yes, Government Code Title 1, Division 7, Chapter 7 deals with holidays. Chapter 7, which contains Section 6700 to 6730, was added to state law in 1951. What holidays are provided for in...
What is the definition of “clerk”? Gov’t Code Sec. 9500 defines the term “clerk” to mean the engrossing and enrolling clerk or the employee who performs the duties of engrossing and enrolling clerk when no employee is designated by name....
What is a spot bill used in the California Legislature? As described by the Office of Legislative Counsel, a “spot bill” is one that does not make any substantive change to existing law, “and would not otherwise affect the ongoing...
What is an effective date of a statute? A common definition of “effective date” is when the new law is “on the books.” What is an operative date of a statute? A common definition of “operative date” is when the...
What is the difference between an author and a sponsor? In Congress, the term “sponsor” means the federal legislator whose name is on the bill. On the other hand, in the California Legislature, the legislator whose name is on the...