Chris Micheli

Volume of Daily Journal Letters Submitted by Bill Authors – 2025 Update  By Chris Micheli             One of the main avenues for California legislators to clarify their bills or, most often, to express their intent behind their legislation, is to submit a formal letter to the Assembly Chief Clerk for Assembly Bills or the Senate Secretary for Senate Bills. Once approved by their respective houses, these letters are published in the Assembly Daily Journals for ABs and the Senate Daily Journals for SBs.             Having reviewed legislative records for the past two decades to locate all of these letters, I wanted to examine their frequency over the last twenty years and therefore compiled the following chart that shows the number of letters published in the respective Daily Journals in the two houses by year for the past 23 years:   YEAR AS...

Practical Tips for Working with Budget Committee Staff  By Chris Micheli             In talking with both houses’ budget committee staff over the past few weeks, there are some practical tips that were shared with me for those working with these staff members. While some of these recommendations may seem obvious, many of them bear repeating. The following are some of the suggestions shared with me: ·        Timing is important. Make sure you talk with the consultant prior to them finishing their analysis for a budget item. ·        Hearing from an advocate just days before a budget item’s scheduled committee hearing does not leave much opportunity for the consultant to address any concerns. Email seems to be the preferred method of communication for fiscal consultants. ·        As Assembly and Senate committees (and subcommittees) ...

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...

Quiz on Where Areas of Law Are Found in the California Codes  By Chris Micheli             As readers may recall, almost all statutes enacted by the California Legislature are found in one of the 29 Codes (i.e., they are “codified” statutes) that contain over 155,000 sections of state law. Among those provisions, some are found in obvious Codes, but others are found in Codes that may surprise readers.             The following is a sample of statutes that may or may not be located in the obvious Code. Check out the answers at the bottom following the questions: Questions Question # 1 – Eminent Domain Law is found in which Code? The Civil Code or the Code of Civil Procedure? Question # 2 – Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District is found in which Code? The Public Utilities Code or the Streets & Highways Code? Question # 3 – Workers’ Compensation and Insurance L...

Recent Legal Challenges to California Statutes  By Chris Micheli             2025 has been an interesting year for legal challenges against statutes enacted by the California Legislature. While the following list is not exhaustive, this is a good sampling of pending or completed litigation to be aware of: ·        The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted a partial injunction blocking enforcement of the climate-related financial risk disclosure law, SB 261. ·        The U.S. Department of Justice has sued over the state voters’ enactment of Prop. 50 at the November special election. ·        The U.S. Department of Justice has sued over the enactment of the anti-masking bill, SB 627. ·        The California Court of Appeal for the Fifth District upheld a 2023 statute on card-check unioni...