The California Constitution requires a bill to be “read” three times before it can be debated and voted upon by either house. A “reading” of a bill in the Assembly or Senate is defined as being the presentation of the...
An area that is rarely talked about in California’s Capitol community concerns the infrequent lobbying of bill referrals. In other words, how does someone get a bill referred to a favorable committee? Or an unfavorable committee? Or maybe multiple committees?...
As part of the California legislative process, there are several types of measures that can be considered by legislators. Let’s take a closer look: Types of Measures There are three types of measures considered by the California Legislature: Bills All...
In the California Legislature, there are several methods that can be used to defeat or postpone a bill for further consideration. These methods are in addition to simply voting no on a measure so that it fails passage. However, for...
In California’s Government Code, there are several code sections that set forth the enactment of statutes and adoption of resolutions. These statutes were enacted in 1943 and are found in Title 2, Division 2, Part 1, Chapter 5. The provisions...
It is often a time-consuming and sometimes daunting task to find just the right author for a bill to introduce in the California Legislature. How do some lobbyists pick the right bill author? While there is no cookie-cutter approach to...
What is a “bill”? Although the term “bill” is mentioned more than two dozen times in the California Constitution, the word is actually not defined in this document. It is also not defined in the California Government Code. A traditional...