Chris Micheli

2024 Departing Members – STATE ASSEMBLY By Chris Micheli             On November 5, voters will cast their ballots for, among others, half the California State Senate seats and all of the Assembly seats. On December 2, the Legislature will convene their 2025-26 Legislative Session. So, how many new legislators will be seated at that time? For the State Assembly, assuming the status quo regarding those state assembly members running for re-election (i.e., that they will win their seats again next month), there will be at least 24 new state assembly members. The following are the 24 departing Assembly Members, in alphabetical order (along with their party affiliation and district number), and whether their departure is due to term limits or whether they have additional years to serve: Wendy Carrillo (D) – AD 52 – has 4 years remaining Sabrina Cervantes (D) – AD 58 – running for Senate – has 4 years remaining Megan Dahle (R...

2024 Departing Members – STATE SENATE By Chris Micheli             On November 5, voters will cast their ballots for, among others, half the California State Senate seats and all of the Assembly seats. On December 2, the Legislature will convene their 2025-26 Legislative Session. So, how many new legislators will be seated at that time? For the State Senate, assuming the status quo regarding those state Senators running for re-election (i.e., that they will win their seats again next month), there will be 12 new state Senators (note, however, that 4 sitting Assembly Members are likely to win senate seats, so those could be excluded from the count of 12 “new” senators). The following are the 12 departing Senators, in alphabetical order (along with their party affiliation and district number), and whether their departure is due to term limits or whether they have additional years to serve: Toni Atkins (D) – SD 39 – due to term...

Total Measures Considered in Prior Sessions  By Chris Micheli             What are the total number of legislative measures introduced in prior session? In the California Legislature, there are three types of legislative measures: bills, constitutional amendments, and resolutions. There are three types of resolutions: house, concurrent, and joint. And, there are two types of sessions: regular and special. I reviewed the past dozen 2-year legislative sessions and the total number of legislative measures considered in the regular and special sessions. Here are the total number of measures in the regular and special sessions considered during each 2-year sessions over the past quarter century: 2023-24 Session: 5,564           Assembly: 3,704          Senate: 1,860 2021-22 Session: 5,129         ...

How Often Does the Legislature Express Its Opinion?  By Chris Micheli             There are three types of measures used in the California Legislature: bills, constitutional amendments, and resolutions. There are also three types of resolutions: house, concurrent, and joint. While some resolutions are used to elect officers and adopt rules, the vast majority of resolutions are simply expressions of opinion by the Legislature (e.g., joint resolutions express legislative opinion on federal matters), or designating something (e.g., a house or concurrent resolution could designate women’s health month).             Resolutions only require adoption by one house (in the case of a house – HR or SR – resolution) or both houses (in the cases of joint – SJR or AJR – and concurrent – SCR or ACR – resolutions), but no action by the Governor. While bills create statutes and constit...

Bills in California Special Sessions  By Chris Micheli             I reviewed the special sessions over the past quarter century held by the California Legislature to examine how many measures are considered during those special sessions. The following are the results of my research: 2023-24 Session (2) 1 st Extraordinary Session – 9 measures, 5 of them bills (2 ABs, 3 SBs) 2 nd Extraordinary Session – 11 measures, 9 of them bills (9 ABs) 2021-22 Session (0) None 2019-20 Session (0) None 2017-18 Session (0) None 2015-16 Session (2) 1 st Extraordinary Session – 43 measures, 40 of them bills (26 ABs, 14 SBs, 1 SCA) 2 nd Extraordinary Session – 39 measures, 35 of them bills (20 ABs, 15 SBs) 2013-14 Session (2) 1 st Extraordinary Session – 10 measures, 8 of them bills (4 ABs, 4 SBs) 2 nd Extraordinary Session – 4 measures, 0 bills, 1 ACA 2011-12 Session (1) 1 st Extraordinary Session – 82 ...

California Bills That Take Immediate Effect  By Chris Micheli             In California, statutes generally take effect on January 1 following the year in which they were signed into law (e.g., a bill signed by Governor Newsom in September 2024 usually takes effect on January 1, 2025). However, there are statutes that take effect immediately. Those statutes are set forth in the California Constitution and they are noted in the Title of the bill. Article IV, Section 8(c)(3) provides the four types of measures that take effect immediately. It states: “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.” The following lists the total number of bills introduced during the 2-year sessions over the past quarter century that would take effect immediately (which is about 10% of ...

Gubernatorial Appointments Considered by the State Senate  By Chris Micheli             Have you ever wondered how many gubernatorial appointments are considered each session by the California State Senate? While the Governor annually appoints hundreds of individuals to serve in appointed offices, from cabinet secretaries to members of boards and commissions, not all of them are required to receive the “advice and consent” of the State Senate.             The following lists the number of gubernatorial appointees that have been submitted to the California State Senate during the 2-year legislative sessions over the past sixteen years (8 sessions): 2023-24 Session 414 2021-23 Session 130 2019-20 Session 414 2017-18 Session 373 2015-16 Session 409 2013-14 Session 477 2011-12 Session 523 2009-10 Session 433

Tribal-State Gaming Compacts Considered by the State Legislature  By Chris Micheli             Have you ever wondered how many tribal-state gaming compacts are considered each session by the California Legislature? While the Governor has exclusive authority to negotiate tribal-state gaming compacts, they are considered and approved by the Legislature by way of a bill. The following is a listing of all compacts or amendments to existing compacts that have been submitted to the California Legislature during the listed 2-year legislative sessions over the past sixteen years (8 sessions): 2023-24 Session 43 2021-22 Session 44 2019-20 Session 9 2017-18 Session 22 2015-16 Session 15 2013-14 Session 7 2011-12 Session 5 2009-10 Session 2

Proposed Constitutional Amendments by the Legislature  By Chris Micheli             While the People can propose additions, amendments, and repeals of provisions of the California Constitution, the Legislature can also propose changes to the state Constitution. These are done through either Senate Constitutional Amendments or Assembly Constitutional Amendments. SCAs and ACAs must be passed by at least a 2/3 vote of the Assembly and Senate before they can be placed before the voters for adoption. As opposed to bills, SCAs and ACAs are not presented to the Governor for final actions.             The following provides the numbers of proposed constitutional amendments introduced in the Senate and Assembly over the past sixteen years (8 sessions) for consideration: 2023-24 Session SCAs – 10 ACAs – 23 Total: 33 2021-22 Session SCAs – 10 ACAs – 16 Total: 26 ...

CA Legislative Explainer: Urgency Clause Measures  By Chris Micheli Bills signed into law by the Governor that contain an urgency clause become urgency statutes or urgency clause statutes. California Constitution Article IV, Section 8 deals with urgency statutes. Section 8(c)(3) provides that urgency clause bills go into effect immediately upon their enactment. That is the major distinction between a regular bill and an urgency clause bill. The regular bill takes effect on the following January 1 (or later) while the urgency clause bill takes effect immediately. What determines an urgency? Section 8(d) specifies that “ urgency statutes are those necessary for immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety.” Because of this definition, an urgency measure must contain an urgency clause which specifies why the bill qualifies for this special status based upon this definition. In this regard, Section 8(d) requires “a statement of facts constituting the necessity sh...

CA Legislative Explainer: How a Bill Becomes a Law  By Chris Micheli For those not fully acquainted with the California legislative process, new laws (called statutes) are enacted by the Legislature as bills (and signed by the Governor to become statutes). The Legislature can also amend or repeal existing statutes (also with the Governor’s action). Pursuant to Article IV, Section 8, “the Legislature may make no law except by statute, and enact no statute except by bill.” Statutes Need Bills Whether a statute is added, amended or repealed, that process must be done by a bill being passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor (unless he or she allows it to become law without a signature). According to the California Legislature, “the process of government by which bills are considered and laws enacted is commonly referred to as the legislative process.” About the Legislature and Process A bill must be approved by both houses of the Legislature before it is sent to t...

CA Legislative Explainer: Key End-of-Session Process Items  By Chris Micheli             Although the following items are not an exhaustive list, they cover some of the most frequently-asked questions regarding process items at the end of the California Legislative Session:   72-Hour In-Print Rule   A bill cannot be passed or become a statute unless that bill and any amendments have been in print and published on the Internet for at least 72 hours before the vote, unless the Governor has submitted a statement that the bill is needed to address a state of emergency. No bill may be passed unless a majority of members of each house votes in favor of the bill.   Consent Calendars   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 th...

CA Legislative Explainer: Reading a Bill  By Chris Micheli             In the California Constitution, Article IV, Section 8(b)(1), it explains that “ the Legislature may make no law except by statute and may enact no statute except by bill.” Reading a bill requires an understanding of the component parts of a bill. In terms of its anatomy, a bill contains the following major provisions: Legislative Session At the top of Assembly bills only, the following language appears: “California Legislature – 2023-2024 Regular Session.” Bill Number Which follows the words “Assembly Bill” or “Senate Bill. The Assembly Chief Clerk or the Secretary of the Senate assigns the bills numbers for each bill introduced in its respective house of origin Bill Author As well as joint, principal, and coauthors. The first line always lists the main author(s) who introduced the bill. Below the first line lists any principal coauthor and the ne...