California Bills: Introduced Versus Enacted

California Bills: Introduced Versus Enacted By Chris Micheli

            I am often asked about the number of bills that get introduced each year in comparison to the number of bills that actually get to the Governor’s Desk, and the number of bills that ultimately get signed into law or vetoed. As a result, I have put together the following chart to compile these figures.

            This chart covers the past three decades. It is based upon the Session year, and then lists the numbers of Senate Bills (SBs) and Assembly Bills (ABs) introduced each year, then the number of bills sent to the Governor’s Desk.

The percentage in the fifth column (total bills sent to Governor) is the percentage of bills reaching the governor’s desk in comparison to the number of bills introduced that year. The last two columns are the numbers of bills signed into law and the number of bills vetoed (and their respective percentages of the bills that reached the Governor’s Desk that session year).

            With the exception of the first year of COVID (2020), the percentage of bills that reach the Governor’s Desk in comparison to the number of bills introduced that year ranges from a low of 32% to a high of 70%. That means that, for all the bills introduced each year, anywhere from 1/3 to more than 2/3 of them reach the Governor.

Over the last thirty-one years, the average percentage of bills that reach the Governor’s Desk in comparison to the number of bills introduced is 47%. As a result, over the past three decades, just about 1 out of every 2 bills introduced in the California Legislature reaches the Governor’s Desk. During that same time, the average veto rate was 17%, and the average signature rate was 83%.

 

Session Year

Total SBs Introduced

Total ABs Introduced

Total Introduced Bills

Total Bills Sent to Governor

Bills Chaptered

Bills Vetoed

2023

891

1,771

2,662

1,046 / 39%

?

?

2022

672

1,383

2,055

1,166 / 57%

997 / 85%

169 / 15%

2021

828

1,593

2,421

836 / 35%

770 / 92%%

66 / 8%

2020

682

1,541

2,223

428 / 19%

372 / 87%%

56 / 13%

2019

792

1,833

2,625

1,042 / 40%

870 / 84%

172 / 16%

2018

694

1,531

2,225

1,217 / 55%

1,018 / 84%

201 / 16%

2017

817

1,733

2,550

977 / 38%

859 / 88%

118 / 12%

2016

676

1,366

2,042

1,059 / 52%

900 / 85%

159 / 15%

2015

805

1,549

2,354

941 / 40%

808 / 86%

133 / 14%

2014

641

1,336

1,977

1,074 / 54%

931 / 87%

143 / 13%

2013

826

1,430

2,256

896 / 40%

800 / 89%

96 / 11%

2012

632

1,267

1,899

996 / 52%

876 / 88%

120 / 12%

2011

948

1,433

2,381

870 / 37%

745 / 86%

125 / 14%

2010

662

1,209

1,871

1,029 / 55%

733 / 71%

296 / 29%

2009

833

1,590

2,423

893 / 37%

652 / 73%

241 / 27%

2008

729

1,333

2,062

1,177 / 57%

763 / 65%

414 / 35%

2007

1,052

1,751

2,803

964 / 34%

750 / 78%

214 / 22%

2006

738

1,299

2,037

1,172 / 58%

910 / 78%

262 / 22%

2005

1,115

1,777

2,892

961 / 33%

729 / 76%

232 / 24%

2004

836

1,333

2,169

1,265 / 58%

954 / 75%

311 / 25%

2003

1,082

1,785

2,867

967 / 34%

909 / 94%

58 / 6%

2002

872

1,319

2,191

1,433 / 65%

1,170 / 82%

263 / 18%

2001

1,229

1,742

2,971

1,117 / 38%

948 / 85%

169 / 15%

2000

890

1,242

2,132

1,454 / 68%

1,092 / 75%

362 / 25%

1999

1,316

1,701

3,017

1,271 / 42%

1,025 / 81%

246 / 19%

1998

883

1,200

2,083

1,431 / 69%

1,080 / 75%

351 / 25%

1997

1,359

1,617

3,030

1,148 / 38%

951 / 83%

197 / 17%

1996

813

1,522

2,335

1,285 / 55%

1,171 / 91%

114 / 9%

1995

1,365

1,982

3,347

1,075 / 32%

982 / 91%

93 / 9%

1994

880

1,432

2,312

1,610 / 70%

1,299 / 81%

311 / 19%

1993

1,258

2,406

3,664

1,535 / 42%

1,306 / 85%

229 / 15%

 

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