Chris Micheli

What About 2-year Bills?  By Chris Micheli             Since the house of origin deadline on June 6, there have been quite a few inquiries about so-called “2-year bills,” also known as “carryover bills.” What are they and can they be taken up before next year?             These types of measures are set forth in the California Constitution. Article IV, Section 10(c) reads, in part: “(c) Any bill introduced during the first year of the biennium of the legislative session that has not been passed by the house of origin by January 31 of the second calendar year of the biennium may no longer be acted on by the house.”             As a result of this constitutional provision (which cannot be waived or suspended), a bill introduced only in the first year of the Legislative Session (i.e., the odd-numbered year) can ...

Some Legislative Drafting Notes  By Chris Micheli             In reviewing hundreds of bills during the House of Origin deadline week, I came across several provisions of legislation worth reviewing. The following are some of the notes I took: Amending a Voter Initiative In a bill amending a bond measure, the Legislative Counsel’s Digest explained that the California Wildlife, Coastal, and Park Land Conservation Act, an initiative measure approved by the voters in the June 7, 1988, statewide primary election, provided bond funds for wildlife, coastal, and parkland conservation. The initiative measure authorizes the act to be amended by  a  2 / 3  vote of the Legislature if the amendment is consistent with the purposes of the act. Specifically, in Section 6 of the ballot measure, it provides: “The Legislature may amend this act. by statute passed in each house of the Legislature by rollcall vote entered in...

Referral of Fiscal Bills in the California Legislature  By Chris Micheli             Recognizing that the California Legislature just completed its fiscal committee deadline for the 2025 Legislative Session, there have been quite a few questions regarding when bills have to be heard in the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees and why some bills not “keyed” fiscal were still sent to the fiscal committees.             By way of background, Joint Rule 10.5 specifies guidance to the attorneys in the Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC) when determining whether a bill should be “keyed” as a fiscal bill. The “keying” of a bill is done by the drafting attorneys at OLC. It is not done by the fiscal committees, nor DOF or LAO. If the OLC determines that a bill is “fiscal,” then the measure will be re-referred to the Appropriations Committee in each house. The respectiv...

Why Do Some Tax Increase Bills Only Contain an Urgency Clause? B y Chris Micheli Some have raised the question why a bill that is clearly a tax increase contains an urgency clause and does not mention that it is a tax increase. A bill that would raise taxes and does not contain an urgency clause will have these statements in the Legislative Counsel’s Digest: This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of  2 / 3  of the membership of each house of the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy. A bill that contains just an urgency clause will have these statements in the Legislative Counsel’s Digest: This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Back to the initial question -- Basically, the Office of Legislat...

An Example of Clear and Concise Drafting in California Bill by Chris Micheli   49042.  The department may, in its discretion, award a grant described in Section 49041 to a small-scale grocery store. 49043.  The department may use up to 10 percent of total program funding for technical assistance. 49044.  On or before January 1, 2028, the department shall report the number of grants awarded under the program and the location of grant recipients to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code. 49045.  The department may adopt guidelines to implement this article. 49046.  The implementation of this article is contingent upon an appropriation for its purposes by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another act. 49047.  This chapter shall remain in effect only until December 31, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.

Can Donald Trump Serve a Third Term?  By Chris Micheli Since this question keeps getting raised, let’s take a quick look at whether Donald Trump can serve more than 8 years in office. The 22 nd Amendment to the United States Constitution (which was ratified by the states in 1951 after former President FDR was elected 4 times, and the only one to serve more than 2 terms) provides in full: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once.” The likely argument of Trump and his supporters hinges on a single word: “elected.” Their argument is basically, if he were elected as Vice President, he could “serve” again upon the removal, death, resignation, or inability of the President to serve. That would allow him to serve a third or more terms...