Chris Micheli

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 guidance in the Constitution, nor in any California Code, regarding what a “statute calling an election” looks like o

New Legislative Ballot Measure Contains Intriguing Provisions  By Chris Micheli             In the evening of Sunday, June 30, Senate Bill 1381 was gutted-and-amended to contain a proposed ballot measure by the Legislature for the November 5 General Election. The amendments were adopted on July 1 and substitute new authors for the bill.             SB 1381 would amend Government Code Section 7599.2, amend Health & Safety Code Section 11352, add H&S Code Section 11369, amend Penal Code Section 487, and add Penal Code Sections 490.3 and 666.1. The bill also calls for an election, so it would take effect immediately upon enactment. SB 1381 requires a majority vote, according to the Digest Key.             The purpose of SB 1381 is to provide an alternative ballot measure for the voters to consider. It is backed by Governor Newsom and legislative leaders “to crack down on property crime and fentanyl.” The measure contains five findings and declarations to be made by the Legi

The Law Allowing Measures to Be Withdrawn from the Ballot  By Chris Micheli             In the 2014 California Legislative Session, then-State Senator Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) authored Senate Bill 1253, which became Chapter 697 when the Governor signed the bill on September 27. SB 1253 amended California Elections Code S ections 9, 101, 9002, 9004, 9005, 9014, 9030, 9031, 9033, 9034, 9051, 9082.7, 9094.5, 9604, and 18621.             Among its many provisions are: (1) Requiring the Attorney General, upon receipt of a request to prepare the circulating title and summary, to initiate a 30-day public review process for the proposed initiative measure. (2) Requiring the fiscal estimate of a proposed initiative measure be prepared jointly by the Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst. (3) Extending the date that a petition with signatures on a proposed initiative measure is required to be filed with the county elections official to not later than 180 days from t

Frequently Asked Questions about Gifts and Honoraria and California Legislators  By Chris Micheli                                           What does the state Constitution say about gifts and honoraria for legislators? The California Constitution, in Article IV, Section 5, prohibits any honorarium being paid and limits gifts being made to state legislators. Government Code Title 9 (Political Reform), Chapter 9.5 (Ethics) deals with both topics as well.             Are honoraria allowed under the state Constitution? Article IV, Section 5(b) specifies: “No Member of the Legislature may accept any honorarium. The Legislature shall enact laws that implement this subdivision.” Article 1 of Chapter 9.5 of Title 9 of the Government Code deals with Honoraria in Sections 89501 and 89502.             How is honorarium defined in state law? Government Code Section 89501(a) defines an honorarium as “ any payment made in consideration for any speech given, article published, or attendance

Language Needed for a Prop. 98 Suspension Bill  By Chris Micheli              On occasion, the California Legislature and Governor decide to suspend the voter-approved minimum school funding guarantee, Prop. 98, when the state’s finances require it. Under Prop. 98, the state Constitution requires the state to apply a minimum amount of funding for each fiscal year for the support of school districts (K-12) and community college districts.              Prop. 98 does allow the Legislature to suspend this minimum funding obligation for one year by the enactment of an urgency statute. As a result, a bill that suspends Prop. 98 requires an affirmative act to suspend the constitutional minimum funding guarantee and specify what the funding amount will be for that fiscal year. And, the bill must declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. This bill requires a 2/3 vote due to the urgency clause.                The Digest Keys would be the following: Vote: 2/3