What Are the Component Parts of California’s Codes?

What Are the Component Parts of California’s Codes? By Chris Micheli

            California has over 155,000 individual statutes. Those statutes are placed in one of 29 Codes, which this state gives a name to, as opposed to the federal government and some states, which provide a number. California’s 29 Codes begin with the Business and Professions Code and conclude with the Welfare and Institutions Code, with 27 other Codes in between.

            What are the component parts of these 29 Codes?

            In the Welfare and Institutions Code, Section 6 notes that division, part, chapter, article, and section headings contained in the Codes are not to be deemed to govern, limit, modify, or in any manner affect the scope, meaning, or intent of the provisions of any division, part, chapter, article, or section hereof. So, those are the component parts of the Codes.

Just as a bill has a format or hierarchy, so does each code. Each code has its own hierarchy of provisions and organization, but generally the format is:

Code

            Title

                        Division

                                    Part

                                                Chapter

                                                            Article

                                                                        Section

            Does it get narrower than section? Yes. In the California Public Utilities Code, Section 10 defines the term “section” to mean a section of the code unless some other statute is specifically mentioned. The term “subdivision” means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned.

Each code section is additionally organized into various subdivisions:

Section __.

(a)   Subdivision

(1)   Paragraph

(A) Subparagraph

(i)                 Clause

(I)                Subclause

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Another Reason to Limit Bill Introductions?

Another Reason to Limit Bill Introductions?  By Chris Micheli             As I did my final review of Governor Newsom’s actions on the 1,046 bills sent to him after the 2023 Legislative Session, I noticed that some of the Governor’s veto messages provide additional rationales for limiting bill introductions.             Out of 156 vetoes from the 2023 Session, the number one reason for the Governor’s veto was budget concerns or cost pressures. In fact, 41% of the vetoes used that basis. That by itself is not a reason to limit bill introductions, but another statistic may provide such a reason…             By my count, just over 1/3 of the bills vetoed by Governor Newsom likely should not have been sent to his Desk and, arguably, should not have made it through the process at all. In fact, perhaps they should not h...
Read more

Frequently Asked Questions about California’s Budget Process

Frequently Asked Questions about California’s Budget Process  By Chris Micheli             What are the main parts of the California state budget? They are the Budget Bill, Budget Bill Junior, Trailer Bills, and Supplemental Reports.             What is the Budget Bill? This bill contains the appropriations and “Budget Bill Language”. Note that only a Budget Bill (or BBJ) can contain multiple appropriations. It requires a majority vote for passage and the bill takes effect immediately. There is just one Budget Bill. What is the “Budget Bill Jr.”? This is the bill that amends the main Budget Bill by making changes to multiple appropriations. There are often multiple BBJs. What is a Trailer Bill? This bill makes the statutory changes needed to implement the budget. It is the same as any other bill, but it takes effect immediately with a majority vote if it contain...
Read more

Can Any Bill Call an Election?

Can Any Bill Call an Election?  By Chris Micheli             In June 2024, we saw two bills that contain a provision to call an election.             Both bills contain a “plus” section at the end of the bill, which is an uncodified statute, stating the following: “this act calls an election within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.” Such a measure only requires a majority vote, unless some other constitutional provision requires a higher vote threshold (e.g., a tax increase). What is the basis for this statement? Section 8(c)(3) of Article IV of the state Constitution provides: “ 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.” However, there is no further gui...
Read more