California Legislature – Page 59

Protecting Other Legal Rights in a Statute

October 9, 2023 4:16 pmOctober 9, 2023 4:16 pm

Just because a new statute adds an additional right or cause of action does not necessarily mean that other, existing statutory or legal rights do not also apply. What do I mean? For example, a bill may create a new...

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...

Legislative Findings and Intent Statements Should Be Separate

October 8, 2023 5:57 pmOctober 8, 2023 5:57 pm

I have written previously about the similarities and differences between findings and declarations set forth in a bill and legislative intent statements. While both of these types of statements are made by the California Legislature, my opinion is that they...

Contingency Language May Not Save Your Bill

October 8, 2023 2:16 pmOctober 8, 2023 2:16 pm

In recent years, particularly the past two, bills in the California Legislature contain language that makes them become operative upon a budget appropriation or an appropriation contained in a separate bill. This has been done primarily to get past the...

Historical Look at Special Sessions in the California Legislature

October 6, 2023 4:54 pmOctober 7, 2023 10:43 am

In California, the Governor can call the Legislature into a Special Session (formally called an Extraordinary Session). Looking over the past thirty years, the following are the Special Sessions by year and topic. 2023-24 Legislative Session 2023 – First Extraordinary...

Historical Look at Bills That Became Law Without the Governor’s Signature

October 6, 2023 4:35 pmOctober 7, 2023 10:43 am

In California, the Governor has three options when a bill reaches the Governor’s Desk: sign the bill (and it becomes a statute), veto the bill (and the bill does not become law, unless the Legislature overrides the veto), or allow...

A Different Type of Double-jointing Language?

October 5, 2023 10:56 amOctober 5, 2023 10:56 am

As readers may recall, double jointing requires technical amendments prepared by the Office of Legislative Counsel that will prevent an amended bill from “chaptering out” the provisions of another bill when both bills amend the same Code section. According to...