Binding a Future Legislature

Binding a Future Legislature By Chris Micheli

             You may have heard around the California State Capitol the following phrase: “You cannot bind a future Legislature.” What does that mean? And does it apply to the electorate, or just the Legislature?

The California Supreme Court, in the case of In re Collie (1952) 38 Cal.2d 396, explained that neither house of the California Legislature may bind its own hands or those of future Legislatures by adopting rules not capable of change. The high court said, “It is the general rule that one legislative body cannot limit or restrict its own power or that of subsequent Legislatures and that the act of one Legislature does not bind its successors.”

This is pretty straight forward because a subsequent Legislature (e.g., in the 2025 California Legislative Session), can change a statute enacted by the 2023 California Legislature. They would do so by enacting a new statute that amends or repeals the previously enacted one.

Does this apply to the voters as well? In other words, can the People of the State of California bind a future legislature?

             Under Article II of the California Constitution, the initiative and referendum are not rights granted to the People, but rather powers reserved by the People in the state Constitution. As a result, the appellate courts in this state, have opined that the People’s reserved power of initiative in the California Constitution is greater than the power of the legislative body. Why is that?

 

As the courts have explained, the legislative body (i.e., the Assembly and Senate) may not bind future Legislatures. However, by constitutional mandate, unless an initiative measure expressly provides otherwise, an initiative measure may be amended or repealed only by the electorate and, as a result, through exercise of the initiative power, the People may bind future legislative bodies other than the People themselves.

 

So, while the Legislature cannot bind a future Legislature, the People can bind future Legislatures by their enactments.

 

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