Glossary of Common California Government Terms – A - B

Glossary of Common California Government Terms – A - B By Chris Micheli

It probably does not come as a surprise, but those working in and around California’s Capitol use a number of terms or “lingo” to describe aspects of the legislative and executive branch processes. The following is a compilation of some of the more common terms used in California state government:

2-year Bill - This is when a bill that did not pass out of its house of origin before the specified deadline in the first year of the two-year legislative session and is carried over to the second year of the Session. If the bill does not clear the second year deadline, then the measure has officially failed passage.

12-day Rule – The general rule for the number of calendar days the Governor has to act on a bill.

28.8 -- This is a Senate Rule that allows the Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman to waive a hearing and report a fiscal bill out of committee and to the Floor because there is very little state fiscal impact for the bill.

29.10 -- This is a Senate Rule that allows the Senate Rules Committee to refer a bill to a policy committee for a hearing if the bill has been substantially amended.

30-day Rule – The rule for the number of calendar days the Governor has to act on a bill sent at the end of Session.

41^st Senator -- While there are 40 members of the Senate, due to the power of some staff in the upper house, there are a few of them who are viewed as being almost as powerful of the elected members of the Senate.

72-hour Rule – The voters adopted Prop. 54 which, among other provisions, requires a bill to be “in print” in its “final form” for a minimum of 72 hours before either house can vote on it.

77.2 -- This is an Assembly Rule that allows the Speaker to refer a bill to a policy committee for a hearing if the bill has been substantially amended.

81^st Member -- While there are 80 members of the Assembly, due to the power of some staff in the upper house, there are a few of them who are viewed as being almost as powerful of the elected members of the Assembly.

A-Pages – This is the term often used to refer to the Governor's Budget Summary, which are the Governor’s Budget highlights.

Absence – When a legislator is not in attendance at an official legislative proceeding.

Absent Member – A legislator who is missing from a committee hearing or floor session.

Abstain – When a legislator chooses not to case an aye or no vote on a motion or measure.

Across the Desk -- Bills when introduced and amendments to bills are placed “across the desk” which is an official act of introducing bills or making amendments to existing bills.

Act – An act is another word for a statute (e.g., the Budget Act).

Add – Making an addition to an existing bill, statute, or regulation.

Adjourn / Adjournment – When a meeting or session concludes. Adjournment sine die is November 30 of the even-numbered year when the 2-year legislative session concludes.

Adjourn in Memory – When the Assembly or Senate at a Floor Session expresses its remorse for the death of a constituent or other individual.

Adopt – Amendments to legislative measures are approved by a committee or on the Floor.

Advocate – Another term for a lobbyist.

AG Opinion – An official written decision issued by the Opinion Unit on behalf of the California Attorney General.

Agenda – The order of business for a committee of the Legislature.

ALJ – An administrative law judge who conduct administrative hearings in California.

Alternative Member – An individual who sits on a committee, board, or commission and can participate in discussion and debate, but who does not vote unless they are taking the place of the individual for whom they serve as an alternate member.

Amend – Making a change to an existing bill, statute, or regulation.

Amendment – A change to a legislative measure or motion.

Analysis – A committee or floor analysis is done for each legislative measure being considered which explained what the measure would do and generally arguments for or against the measure.

APA – The Administrative Procedure Act, which is contained in the California Government Code, provides procedural rules for executive branch agencies to follow when adopting regulations, unless specifically exempted by statute.

Appeal – Used to object or challenge a ruling of a committee chair or presiding officer.

Appeal the Ruling of the Chair – A procedural motion when a legislator objects to the ruling of the committee chair or presiding officer on the Floor.

Appointment – The Governor appoints certain positions in the executive branch of state government.

Apportionment – The establishment of legislative districts.

Appropriation – An appropriation is an amount of money and authorization for a specific agency to make expenditures for a specified purpose.      

            Appropriation Schedule – This is the detail of an appropriation showing where appropriations are made to each of program.

            Appropriation Bill - This bill contains language that appropriates funds for expenditures by the state.

Appropriations Limit (“Gann Limit”) – The constitutional limitation on the maximum amount of tax proceeds that state or local governments may appropriate in a fiscal year. The limit is based on 1986-87 fiscal year appropriations, and is adjusted annually.

Approved by Legislature / Approved by Governor – When the Legislature passes a measure or the Governor signs a bill.

Assembly – The lower house of the California Legislature which is comprised of 80 members elected for 2-year terms.

Assembly Member – A member of the lower house, or State Assembly, of the California Legislature.

Assembly Rules – The rules adopted by the Assembly to govern its internal matters.

Augmentation – This is an increase in an appropriation previously made.

Author – In California’s Legislature, the legislator whose name is on the bill is the author.

Author Amendments – These are amendments made to a bill by the author of the measure either in committee or on the floor.

Author-sponsored Bill - This bill is the idea of the author, who is the official sponsor.

Authorized Position - In the Salaries and Wages publication as part of the Budget, it is the past year’s total authorized positions in state government.

Aye Vote – A positive vote or a vote in favor of a measure or motion.

Backed Bill - This bill is ready for introduction because it has a “backing” (formally called a jacket) that shows who the author is.

Balanced Budget Requirement – Under California’s Constitution, the Governor must propose a balanced budget by January 10 and the Legislature must pass a balanced budget by June 15.

Baseline Budget / Workload Budget – This is the “budget year cost of currently authorized services, adjusted for changes in enrollment, caseload, population, statutory cost-of-living adjustments, chaptered legislation, one-time expenditures, full-year costs of partial year programs, costs incurred pursuant to Constitutional requirements, federal mandates, court-ordered mandates, state employee merit salary adjustments, and state agency operating expense and equipment cost adjustments.”

Batching – In the Assembly, a procedural motion is made to approve a series of measures that both political parties agree can be passed by a single vote. It is usually for measures that do not have any opposition. It is similar to the Senate’s Special Consent.

BCP (Budget Change Proposal) – This is an acronym for the term “Budget Change Proposal” which is a document prepared by a state agency and the Department of Finance to propose and document budget changes to maintain the existing level of service or to change the level of service, propose new program activities not currently authorized, or to eliminate existing programs.

Bicameral Legislature – This is a 2-house legislature, like the U.S. Congress and 49 states (Nebraska is the only unicameral state legislature).

Biennium – Another term for the 2-year legislative session.

Big 3 – This term refers to the Assembly Speaker, Senate President pro Tempore, and the Governor, and often is used to describe their negotiating sessions.

Bill – A legislative measure to add, amend, or repeal a statute in California.

Bill Analysis – A floor or committee analysis done of a bill.

Bill Digest – Another term for the Legislative Counsel’s Digest of a bill.

Bill Signing Message – A statement made by the Governor when signing a bill.

Binding a Future Legislature – The courts have explained that a current Legislature cannot take any action that would bind or prevent a future Legislature from taking a different action.

Bipartisan – Something of a nature that enjoys support from both political parties..

Blue Pencil / Line-Item Veto -- This is a term often used to refer to the Governor’s ability to line-item veto items of appropriation in the Budget Bill or appropriation bills.

Bond Measure – A bill to enacted a revenue bond or general obligation bond to incur debt by the state.

Budget – The state budget includes proposed expenditures of state moneys for the next fiscal year.

Budget Act – This is the Budget Bill after it has been enacted into law.

Budget Bill – This is the annual bill required by the constitution that sets forth the spending proposal for the next fiscal year, containing the budget submitted to the Legislature by the Governor.

Budget Bill Junior – One or more bills that make adjustments to the annual Budget Bill (the plural is budget bills junior).

Budget Stabilization Account – This is the “rainy day fund” created by the voters by Prop. 2 on the 2014 ballot. 

Budget Year / Fiscal Year - The fiscal year addressed by a proposed budget, beginning July 1 and ending June 30. It is the 12-month period on which the state budget is planned. The federal fiscal year begins October 1 and ends September 30 of the following year.

Budget Year Plus One (or Plus Two) – This refers to the fiscal year following the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1. For example, the 2022-23 budget year begins July 1, 2022, while the Budget Year Plus One begins July 1, 2023.

Business Day – Working days of the week, excluding weekends and holidays.