Chris Micheli

What's Wrong with Reading on the Assembly Floor?  By Chris Micheli             On occasion, if you listen to the proceedings on the Floor of the California State Assembly, you may hear either a legislator seeking “permission to read on the Floor,” or you might hear a legislator raise a point of order that a colleague is reading on the Floor. What is the basis for either of these two statements?             Assembly Rule 112, which is titled “Objection to Reading of Any Paper,” provides that an Assembly Member, once recognized by the presiding officer, “may object to the reading of any paper before the Assembly.” If such an objection is made, the presiding officer can make a ruling on the objection. Or, the question of reading by an Assembly Member is determined by a majority vote of the Members present and voting. This vote would follow a brief statement by the presidin...

Author Not Presenting a Bill  By Chris Micheli             What happens when a bill author is not available to present his or her bill in a committee of the California Legislature? The general practice is for another legislator to present the bill in the missing legislator’s absence.             The first choice is usually a joint author or a co-author. Next is line is often a member of the legislative committee that is considering the bill. In any of these instances, the permission of the committee chair is usually secured. For example, in one Assembly committee’s rules, it provides: “If an author is unable to present their bill, another member of the Legislature may present.” Another Assembly committee has this more detailed rule: “Presentation of Another Member’s Bill: If an author is unable to present their bill, another Member of the Legislature, or a memb...

Is the Law Codified or Uncodified?  By Chris Micheli             We sometimes hear statements around the California State Capitol about codified versus uncodified laws. What’s the difference?             Essentially, codified laws are those that are contained in the Codes for the State of California. There are 29 codes in California, beginning with the Business and Professions Code and ending with the Welfare and Institutions Code, with 27 other Codes in between. Codified laws are those that are of general applicability and are permanent in nature.             As a general rule, uncodified laws are those that originate from court decisions (common law) and general customs and practices. They are not viewed as being permanent in nature and they are usually of a specific, rather than general, nature. Nonetheless, th...

What Is a Tax Levy in California Legislation?  By Chris Micheli             There is often confusion regarding whether a bill is a tax levy or not, and what a “tax levy” means. A common misconception is that a tax levy is a bill that proposes a tax increase. The determination of whether a bill is a tax levy is determined 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 the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. Under Article IV, Section 8(c)(3) of the California Constitution, “statutes calling elections, statutes providing for tax levies or appropriations for the usual current expenses of the State, and urgency statutes shall go into effect immediately upon their enactment.” This begs the question of what is a “tax levy”? Unfortunately, the...

A Few Bill Drafting Observations  By Chris Micheli             In reviewing some of the newly-introduced bills in the 2026 California Legislative Session, I came across a few interesting provisions. Expanded Notwithstanding Clause             I came across this relatively new language, which adds everything after “notwithstanding any other law.” I’m not sure it is necessary because that is the purpose of the introductory phrase, but perhaps this is a new approach that is being taken:   Notwithstanding any other law, and for purposes of this code and any other law or regulation, … New Declaratory Language In two bills that were amended in March, I came across this new statement, instead of the more common legislative findings and declarations. In addition, this included a new phrase, “matter of legislative policy.” I think I like the traditional languag...

A Second Type of Consent Calendar  By Chris Micheli             In the Senate Appropriations Committee, under Senate Rule 28.8, the Chair of the fiscal committee must send to the Senate Floor any non-appropriation measure for which “(a) any additional state costs are not significant and do not and will not require the appropriation of additional state funds, and (b) the bill will cause no significant reduction in revenues.”             In the Assembly Appropriations Committee, there is not a similar rule. However, there are two separate consent calendars that are usually voted on each week. The first is the traditional one based upon consent calendar bills under the Joint Rules (called an “uncontested bill”). Under Joint Rule 22.1, an “uncontested bill” means a bill that “(a) receives a do-pass or do-pass-as-amended recommendation from the committee to which it is ref...