Chris Micheli

Why Legislative Counsel Should Draft All Ballot Measures  By Chris Micheli             I found myself recently discussing initiatives and the common drafting concerns expressed by those who review them. With measures placed on the ballot by the Legislature, the attorneys in the Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC) for the California Legislature draft them, as OLC does for all legislative measures (bills, resolutions, and constitutional amendments). On the other hand, measures placed on the ballot by initiative are almost always drafted by private attorneys, few of whom have received any training in drafting legislative measures. One suggestion I made to this group of lawyers was to require all ballot measures, whether proposed by the Legislature (which is done today) or by the People (through the initiative), to be written by the attorneys at the Office of Legislative Counsel. Just as the Office of the Attorney General is re...

Some Types of Bills Require Specified Statements  By Chris Micheli             Urgency statutes, fiscal emergency statutes, right of public access, local or special statutes, and reimbursement disclaimers utilize explanatory statements. Of course, I would like to see more bills contain explanatory statements. Several of these three types of measures are actually required to do so by the state Constitution. It is an excellent practice by the Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC) to use explanatory statements in all of the different types of legislation. Let’s take a closer look at these five types of bills: Urgency Clauses             Article IV, Section 8(d) concerns urgency statutes. It provides the following:   (d) Urgency statutes are those necessary for immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety. A statement of facts constituting the...

Can a Legislator Re-introduce the Same Bill Next Year?  By Chris Micheli             As we head into the second year of the 2-year California Legislative Session, some legislators may want to re-introduce a bill that did not make it to the Governor’s Desk during this first year. Are there any applicable rules governing this question?             The Joint Rules of the Assembly and Senate contain Joint Rule 54, which is titled “Introduction of Bills.” Subdivision (a) discusses the deadline for bill introductions and exemptions from that deadline. Subdivision (b) concerns when the Assembly and Senate Desks are open and what occurs after the printing of a bill.             Subdivision (c) gives us guidance on reintroduced bills. It states: “ (c) Unless approved by the Committee on Rules of the house of origin, a...