Frequently Asked Questions About California Legislative Floor Actions

Frequently Asked Questions About California Legislative Floor Actions By Chris Micheli 

Can legislators in either house add on or change their votes on bills? The Assembly allows its Members to add or change votes after the vote has been announced, so long as the final vote is not changed.  The Senate does not allow this, except for the President pro Tempore and the Republican Leader, so long as the final outcome of the bill is not changed (pursuant to Senate Rule 44).

 

Are all bills without opposition placed on the consent calendar? There are different rules between the Senate and Assembly regarding what is a measure for the consent calendar on their floors. For example, under Senate Rule 28.3(a), if a Senate bill or Assembly bill is amended in the Senate to create a new bill or to rewrite the bill, a standing committee may not place the bill on its consent calendar.

 

Are pass on file and pass and retain the same procedurally? An author may choose to "pass on file," thus temporarily giving up his or her opportunity to take up a measure on the floor. In the Assembly, “pass and retain” prevents the author from taking up his or her bill for that legislative day. The Senate does not recognize a difference.

 

Do both houses’ floor analyses always list supporters and opponents of the measure? The Senate floor analyses list support and opposition positions, but the Assembly does not list any positions on their floor analyses.

 

Are parliamentary inquiries and points of personal privilege the same? A parliamentary inquiry is a procedural question posed by a legislator during a committee hearing or floor session. On the other hand, “a point of personal privilege is an assertion by a Member that his or her rights, reputation, or conduct have been impugned, entitling the Member to repudiate the allegations.”

 

Are the three constitutionally-required readings of bills the same? Each bill must be read three times in each house before final passage. First reading occurs upon introduction of the bill. Second reading occurs after a bill has been reported to the floor from committee (with or without amendments). Third reading occurs when the measure is about to be taken up on the floor of either house for final passage.

 

Can the Lt. Governor break a tie vote in either house? The Lt. Governor is the President of the Senate, which is primarily a ceremonial role, except in the case of a tie vote (i.e., 20-20). The Lt. Governor can break such a tie. In the Assembly, however, the motion or bill fails in the case of a tie vote.

 

Do bills taken off the Inactive File in either house immediately return to the Third Reading File? Bills taken off of the Senate Inactive File are returned to the Second Reading file. In the Assembly, bills previously on Third Reading that are moved to the Inactive File are subject to a “one-calendar-day notice” when removed from the Inactive File and returned to the Third Reading file.

 

What happens when a measure is on Third Reading? The third reading of a bill takes place when the bill is about to be taken up for consideration (i.e., presentation, debate, and vote) on either the Assembly Floor or the Senate Floor for final passage. A Third Reading Analysis is prepared for bills eligible for consideration on either the Assembly or Senate Floors.

 

What is the purpose of “Unfinished Business” Files? Both the Assembly Daily File and the Senate Daily File contain a portion titled “Unfinished Business,” which is the section that contains measures that have returned to their house of origin from the other house and await a concurrence vote. This section of the Daily File also contains bills that were vetoed by the Governor.

 

What is the Inactive File used for? This is a section of the Daily File for bills that made it to the Floor of either the Assembly or the Senate, but for whatever reason the bill’s author does not want to proceed with the measure.

 

What is the role of the Floor Manager? While the bill’s author presents his or her bill on the Floor of the house of origin (i.e., Assembly Bill presented by the Assembly Member or Senate Bill presented by the Senator), that is not the case in the other house. A Member of the other house designated by the bill’s author when the bill is considered by the other house is deemed the bill’s floor manager. In years past, this Member was referred to as the “floor jockey,” but this term is no longer used.

 

What is the purpose of a WORF? Under the Senate and Assembly Rules, bills that are not listed on the Daily File can only be taken up with either unanimous consent of the house’s members or by suspending the rules. A bill that is not listed on the Daily File, but which is taken up nonetheless, is referred to as a “WORF”. The process of taking up a WORF bill is to take the measure up “without reference to file (i.e., the Daily File)” (WORF). In order to do so, a vote of a majority of the house’s membership (41 in the Assembly and 21 in the Senate) is required to take up a bill without reference to file.

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