California statutes – Page 6

Declarations of Existing Law in California Statutes

January 22, 2022 11:07 amJanuary 22, 2022 8:13 am

In California statutes, readers may come across the following or a similarly-worded phrase: “This section is declaratory of existing law.” What does that mean? Basically, it is an effort by the Legislature to provide retroactive effect to a change in...

Liberally Construing California Statutes

January 21, 2022 10:30 amJanuary 21, 2022 8:59 am

A common feature of statutes is for the legislature to state its intent regarding how courts and the judicial branch should “liberally construe” the statutory provisions adopted by the legislative branch of government. By my count, there are over 250...

Guidance for Interpreting California Codes

July 19, 2020 7:20 amJuly 19, 2020 7:24 am

California’s statutes, California Codes of which there are more than half a million, are contained in 29 separate codes. In an effort to provide guidance to those needing to interpret these statutes, each Code begins with a “General Provisions” section....