Chris Micheli

Can Legislative Committees Work as a Subcommittee?  By Chris Micheli             During this busy time with committees hearing hundreds of bills, it often takes time to establish a quorum. What is the importance of establishing a quorum? And can Standing Committees of the California Legislature act as a subcommittee?   What is the importance of a quorum and how is it established? In the California Legislature, according to the Office of Legislative Counsel, “a quorum must be recorded in order for legislative business to be transacted.”   For example, Section 7(a) of Article IV of the California Constitution provides, in part, the following: “A majority of the membership constitutes a quorum, but a smaller number may recess from day to day and compel the attendance of absent members.”   As a result of this constitutional requirement, the quorum is the minimum number of legislators that are required to ...

Is the Bill a "Gut-and-Amend”?  By Chris Micheli One of the controversial occurrences during the annual California Legislative Session is so-called “gut-and-amend bills.” According to the Legislative Counsel, these measures are defined as “when amendments to a bill remove the current contents in their entirety and replace them with different provisions.” The controversy is the second part of the process – replacing the bill’s contents with a subject which is unrelated to the original contents of the bill. Such amendments raise the issue of legislative issue “germaneness,” which refers to whether a proposed amendment is relevant to the subject matter currently contained in the measure.                  While Legislative Counsel may opine on the issue of germaneness, the determination of germaneness is decided by the Presiding Officer and, ultimately, subject to an appeal by the membership of the respective house.   As a re...

Reading a Bill to Understand What It Is Proposing to Do  By Chris Micheli             While there are several tips for reading and understanding what a bill in the California Legislature proposes to do, the key is to review the main sections of the bill which contain the substantive changes in the law. There are four main tips to reading a bill to understand what it is proposing to do. Those questions are the following: First, what is the bill proposing to do? California bills can add a new section of law, amend an existing section, or repeal an existing section. All bills clearly tell their readers what the bill proposes to do. The following is an example of this provision in a bill: An act to add Section 11403.5 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to foster care.             The reader is told three things in this initial section of the bill: a new se...

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...