https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/drafting-considerations-for-resolutions
As you know, there are three types of resolution in the California Legislature – House, Joint, and Concurrent. Two of these types of resolution – Concurrent and Joint – require adoption by both houses of the Legislature before they can take effect. Passage of a resolution does not require the signature of the Governor,
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/drafting-a-bills-title
Pursuant to Article IV, Section 9 of the California State Constitution, each bill must have a title. In fact, the State Constitution specifically states, “A statute shall embrace but one subject which shall be expressed in its title. If a statute embraces a subject not expressed in its title, only the part not expressed
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/introduction-to-legislative-drafting
What exactly is legislative drafting, sometimes also called bill drafting? To start, legislative drafting is defined more broadly to include primary legislation and secondary legislation. Primary legislation is what immediately comes to mind when you think of legislation – bills, resolutions, and constitutional amendments that are debated and voted on by the legislative branch.
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/why-a-bill-may-be-declared-unconstitutional
On occasion, California statutes can be challenged in either state or federal court with the argument that the statute violates the California or United States Constitutions. So, on what bases can a statute be declared unconstitutional?
One basis is vagueness. Essentially, the standard here is whether or not the statute is written with a
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/california-energy-commission
The California Energy Commission, or CEC as it is often referred to as, was established in 1974 by the Warren-Alquist Act in response to the nation’s energy crisis in the early 1970’s. The CEC is charged with leading the state to a 100% clean energy future. It is the state’s primary energy policy and
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/overview-of-the-california-department-of-finance
Similar to how the LAO serves the California Legislature, the Department of Finance – DOF or Finance for short – serves as the chief fiscal policy advisor to the Governor. Its closest federal counterpart is the Office of Management and Budget, OMB, which serves as the President’s chief fiscal policy advisor.
The DOF engages
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/the-judicial-council-and-judicial-branch-policymaking
The judicial branch of California government engages in policymaking through the Judicial Council.
The Judicial Council is chaired by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court. It pursues a number of different goals, including: providing access, fairness, and diversity in our court system; ensuring independence and accountability of the judiciary; modernizing the management
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/judicial-branch-support-agencies
California’s judicial branch is supported by several important entities that assist the judiciary in operating efficiently. These include the Commission on Judicial Appointments and the Commission on Judicial Performance. Let’s take a look at what they do, and who make up the memberships of these Commissions.
The Commission on Judicial
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/urgency-clause-statutes
Urgency statutes are found in Article IV, Section 8 of the California Constitution. Bills signed into law by the Governor that contain an urgency clause become urgency statutes.
Article IV, Section 8(c)(3) of the Constitution lays out the major difference between a regular bill and an urgency bill. A regular statute goes into effect
https://soundcloud.com/capimpactca/organization-and-structure-of-the-california-legislature
As one would imagine, the organization and structure of the California Legislature is found in Article IV, and there are half a dozen sections in Article IV that relate to the organization and structure of the Legislature. What are in these sections? I’ve included a sampling of some of the more comprehensive sections in