https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/operation-of-statutes-and-resolutions
There are a number of sections in California’s Government Code that set forth the operation of statutes and resolutions. These statutes in the Government Code were enacted back in 1943 and can be found in Title II, Division 2, Part 1, Chapter 6 of California’s Government Code.
Included in the many sections of this
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/considerations-in-legislative-drafting
Before you can really set off drafting legislation in California, you need to understand the format of California’s Codes. There is a specific way that our Codes our organized. Codes read, from top to bottom: the Code, Title, Division, Part, Chapter, Article, and then lastly, Section – which is the actual piece of law.
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/sending-and-withdrawing-bills-from-the-floor
Generally, the committees deal with legislation before passing measures to the floor of either the Senate or the Assembly. However, there are rare instances where legislators choose to return a bill to committee when that measure is pending on either floor. There are times when legislators desire to pull or withdraw a bill out
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/californias-balanced-budget-requirement
Does California have a balanced budget requirement? The short answer is yes, but there are a number of constitutional and statutory provisions that create this requirement.
In Article IV, Section 12(a), there is a clause that states, “If recommended expenditures exceed estimated revenues, then the Governor shall recommend the sources from which those additional
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/conducting-business-in-the-california-legislature-during-the-covid-19-pandemic
With the Legislature operating, but under social distancing guidelines, I thought I’d use this space to recount my experiences conducting business in the Legislature during the pandemic.
There’s roughly only one staffer per office, although most legislators have been in the building to at least participate in legislative hearings, and as of last week,
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/the-role-of-the-ag-and-the-lao-in-initiatives
California’s Attorney General (AG) and Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) play very important roles in California’s initiative process. The roles for both of these officials are spelled out in California’s Constitution and Election Code, and those roles have also been further clarified in court.
As far as the Attorney General is concerned, California’s Constitution states
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/aca-25
Back in April, when lawmakers announced that the Legislature would be returning to session, the Assembly and Senate announced that they would be returning on different dates. As Hannah Wiley reported in the Sacramento Bee, based on the legal advice they received from their counsel, the Senate passed an emergency resolution allowing Senators
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/how-covid-19-is-impacting-the-legislatures-bill-load
As one might expect, the COVID-19 pandemic has made a significant impact on the bill load facing the California Legislature. Leadership asked legislators in both the Senate and the Assembly to substantially reduce the number of bills that they were going to carry this year. But just how sharply did the bill loads decline?
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/voting-on-a-recall
As spelled out in Article II, Section 13 of the California Constitution, the recall is the power of the electors to remove an elected officer. The process is initiated by filing a petition alleging a reason for the recall. But per Section 14 of Article II, “sufficiency of reason is not reviewable.” As such,
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/chris-michelis-new-book-on-the-california-legislative-process
I sat down (over Zoom) with Chris Micheli to talk about his new book, Understanding the California Legislative Process. The new book breaks down how the legislative process in California works, taking provisions of the California Constitution, California Government Code, Assembly, Senate, and Joint Rules and explaining them in plain English.
I talked