CA Legislative Explainer: Effective and Operative Dates

CA Legislative Explainer: Effective and Operative Dates By Chris Micheli

There is often confusion regarding effective versus operative dates in California statutes. Specifically, individuals may inquire when a statute actually “takes effect.” When it takes effect can be different than when the statute is operative.

January 1 following the year a bill is enacted is the most common effective date and is basically the “default” effective date. A common definition of “effective date” is when the new law is “on the books.”

There are certain types of bills that are deemed to be in effect upon enactment (i.e., when the governor signed them and the secretary of state assigned a chapter number). However, unless the bill calls an election, contains an urgency clause, or is a budget-related bill or tax levy measure, one can presume the effective date of a new law is January 1 of the following year.

On the other hand, a common definition of “operative date” is when the new law becomes operative (which commonly, but mistakenly, is described as when the new law is “in effect”). Any bill can specify a delayed operative date (i.e., have a date after the January 1 following enactment).

An operative date is distinguished from an effective date. “A statute may be worded so as to provide for an operative date other than its effective date” 28 Ops. Atty. Gen. 20 (1956). An operative date, therefore, may be the same as the effective date, or it may be different than the effective date.

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