Why Is a Constitutional Amendment Given a Resolution Chapter?

January 25, 2023 6:22 amJanuary 26, 2023 1:21 pm

When a bill has been enacted by the Legislature and signed into law by the Governor, the last step in the legislative process is the ministerial duty of the Secretary of State to assign a “chapter number” to that enacted...

How to Use the Table of Sections Affected

December 30, 2022 7:32 amDecember 30, 2022 7:33 am

According to the Office of Legislative Counsel, which produces the legislative publications, the Table of Sections Affected (often referred to as “TOSA”) is an index of each section of California’s Constitution, as well as the 29 California Codes, and even...

A sea of empty desks inside the California State Assembly

How to Use the California Legislative Index

December 28, 2022 6:31 amDecember 28, 2022 6:33 am

According to the Office of Legislative Counsel, which produces the legislative publications, the Legislative Index (often referred to as the “Index”) is a compilation of all legislative measures for the current Legislative Session in the form of a subject matter...

Could a ‘Penalty’ on Oil Companies Be Passed by a Majority Vote?

December 5, 2022 2:09 pmDecember 5, 2022 2:15 pm

There have been discussions the past two months regarding whether the California Legislature and Governor Newsom will impose an “excess profits” tax on oil companies in this state. When the Governor issued his proclamation to the Legislature to convene a...

What Is the Difference Between California Senate Rules 28.8 and 28.9?

December 5, 2022 2:25 amDecember 4, 2022 8:29 pm

Two separate California State Senate Rules grant power to the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee to dispense with hearing a fiscal-related bill and instead send that bill directly to the Floor of the State Senate. That power is set...

How to Draft an Intent Bill

October 20, 2022 11:40 amOctober 20, 2022 1:59 pm

In the California Legislature, an “intent bill” is basically used as a placeholder for a future measure to be amended into the intent bill. Quite often bills introduced in the California Legislature without substantive language in them are called “spot...

Active v. Passive Voice in Legislation

October 13, 2022 3:26 pmOctober 13, 2022 3:33 pm

In California, bill drafters are instructed to use the active voice, rather than the passive voice. This is a change in the historical manner of drafting that previously included lots of passive voice language in state statutes. As a result,...