Office of Legislative Counsel – Page 3

Some General Rules on Digest Keys

October 19, 2023 4:38 pmOctober 19, 2023 4:38 pm

Have you ever wondered how the Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC) determines how to mark the four Digest Keys found at the bottom of the Legislative Counsel’s Digest? If so, then read on as I have tried to provide some...

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...

Office of Legislative Counsel Sometimes Needs to Clean-up the Codes

July 31, 2023 6:22 amJuly 31, 2023 6:37 am

In recently-enacted legislation during the 2023 California Legislative Session, readers will see examples of how attorneys in the Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC) clean-up statutes due to outdated language, and even misspelled words contained in existing California Codes. The following...

Should Tax Levy Statements Be Explained?

June 9, 2023 5:30 amJune 9, 2023 6:47 am

Some California bills are deemed a “tax levy” by the Office of Legislative Counsel. Readers of California legislation will see a section at the end of a bill that reads as follows: This act provides for a tax levy within...

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...