Legal
The Anatomy a California Bill
In the California Legislature, pursuant to Article IV, Section 8(b)(1), “the Legislature may make no law except by statute and may enact no statute except by bill.” As a result, a bill is what enacts a statute. The Legislative Counsel...
State-Mandated Local Programs in California Legislation
You may have noticed while reading a California bill that, at the end of the Legislative Counsel’s Digest, there are four “keys,” which identify the vote required for passage of the bill, whether the bill contains an appropriation, whether the...
Federal Court in California Rules Against Trump’s Illegal Immigrant Census Count Executive Order
On Thursday, three federal judges in Northern California ruled that President Donald Trump’s Executive Order to not include those in the country illegally in the 2020 Census is illegal, becoming the second state to halt the Order. A three judge...
Appellate Court Rules Against Uber, Lyft in Rideshare Driver Classification Appeal
On Thursday, the California 1st District Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the state in the rideshare driver classification appeal, ordering Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare companies to comply with AB 5 and classify their drivers as employees. Rideshare...
An Introduction To Legislative Drafting
What is legislative drafting? Legislative drafting or bill drafting is the work of professionals who usually provide their services in a centralized office for the U.S. Congress or state legislatures. These individuals draft bills, resolutions, and constitutional amendments (for the...
The Seven Cs of Basic Legislative Drafting
What are the “Seven Cs” and what do they have to do with legislative drafting? During this time of pandemic, I have been researching and reading about legislative drafting and studying some of the materials that are available to the...