Should adding an urgency clause be a ministerial act?

Should adding an urgency clause be a ministerial act? By Chris Micheli

California’s Constitution in 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 distinction between a regular bill and an urgency clause bill.

A regular bill takes effect on the following January 1 following enactment, while an urgency bill takes effect immediately upon enactment. In addition, an urgency clause bill is not subject to the usual calendar deadlines contained in the Joint Rules and is not subject to a referendum.

An author can introduce a bill with an urgency clause if appropriate. What determines an urgency? Section 8(d) of Article IV specifies that “urgency statutes are those necessary for immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety.” In addition, the following types of bills cannot contain an urgency clause: “that create or abolish any office or change the salary, term, or duties of any office, or grant any franchise or special privilege, or create any vested right or interest.”

Despite an author being able to introduce a bill with an urgency clause, in order to add an urgency clause after the bill has been introduced without one, permission of the respective Rules Committee is required. Joint Rule 58 specifies: “58. An amendment to add a section to a bill to provide that the act shall take effect immediately as an urgency statute may not be adopted unless the author of the amendment has first secured the approval of the Committee on Rules of the house in which the amendments are offered.”

The question then becomes whether the Rules Committees be able to reject the addition of an urgency clause when one is applied for by the bill’s author? “Securing the approval” would appear to provide discretion to the Rules Committee whether to accept or reject the author’s request. However, should it be a discretionary matter or a ministerial matter?

I think that, if an author wants to add an urgency clause (and it fits within the constitutional parameters), then he or she should be allowed to do so. In almost all cases, it will increase the vote threshold to 2/3 and make the bill more difficult to pass. Other than an instance of the urgency clause violating a constitutional prohibition, I do not know a rationale for denying an author permission to add an urgency clause to their bill.

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