An All-encompassing Legislative Statement

 An All-encompassing Legislative Statement By Chris Micheli

            As a legislative geek, in reading provisions of the California Fish and Game Code, I came across the following section of interest:

1850.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that it would be beneficial to identify species and habitat conservation initiatives at a regional scale, including actions to address the impacts of climate change and other wildlife stressors, in order to guide voluntary investments in conservation, and compensatory mitigation for impacts to ecological resources, including impacts to threatened and endangered species, other sensitive species, natural communities, ecological processes, and wildlife corridors.

(b) The purpose of this chapter is to promote the voluntary conservation of natural resources, including biodiversity and ecological processes, and to enhance resiliency to climate change and other threats. In order to further this goal, it is the policy of the state to encourage voluntary mechanisms to conserve biological and other ecological resources and to identify conservation actions, including actions to promote resiliency to the impacts of climate change and other stressors to species and habitat.

(c) It is further the policy of the state to encourage voluntary mechanisms to identify and implement advance mitigation actions that do all of the following:

(1) Can be used to compensate for project impacts, including, but not limited to, infrastructure and renewable energy projects, more efficiently.

(2) Are effective ecologically.

(3) Will help to conserve regionally important biological and other ecological resources.

(d) In enacting this chapter, it is the intent of the Legislature to promote science-based conservation, including actions to promote resiliency to the impacts of climate change and other stressors. It is further the intent of the Legislature to create nonregulatory mechanisms to guide investments in conservation, infrastructure, and compensatory mitigation for impacts to natural resources, including impacts to threatened and endangered species, other sensitive species, natural communities, ecological processes, and connectivity.

(e) In enacting this chapter, it is not the intent of the Legislature to regulate the use of land, establish land use designations, or to affect, limit, or restrict the land use authority of any public agency.

(f) Further, in enacting this chapter, it is not the intent of the Legislature that an approved regional conservation investment strategy would be binding on independent public agency action within the strategy’s geographic scope.

(Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 455, Sec. 2. (AB 2087) Effective January 1, 2017.)

            Why do I find this code section interesting? Because, as the reader can see, this statutory provision includes basically all possible statements by the Legislature in one place.

            The two main statements used by the Legislature (findings and declarations, and intent) are obviously contained in this code section. In addition, this code section has a “negative intent” statement (i.e., that it is not the intent …). And, it contains a rare purpose statement, as well as two statements that it is the policy of the state.

            The following is a breakdown of the six subdivisions contained in this single code section:

·       Subdivision (a) is a legislative finding and declaration.

·       Subdivision (b) is a statement of purpose of the chapter (of this Code).

·       Subdivision (b) also contains a policy of the state.

·       Subdivision (c) is a statement of a policy of the state.

·       Subdivision (d) has two legislative intent statements.

·       Subdivision (e) is a “not the intent of the Legislature” statement.

·       Subdivision (f) is a “not the intent of the Legislature" statement.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Orientation to the California State Capitol and Swing Space for Lobby Day Attendees

An Orientation to the California State Capitol and Swing Space for Lobby Day Attendees  By Chris Micheli             This article is intended to provide an orientation to the California State Capitol and its accompanying Swing Space for individuals participating in a lobby day.   The State Capitol The California State Capitol is the seat of state government, located in Sacramento. The building houses the chambers of the State Legislature, which is comprised of the Assembly and the Senate, We often refer to this building as the historic side of the Capitol. The first floor holds the original offices of California’s Governor (actually a 3-room suite), two offices of the Treasurer, Attorney General, and Secretary of State. There is also a State Library exhibit room and a State Archives exhibit room. The Senate has two hearing rooms on the first floor – 112 and 113. There is a small meeting room as well. The Asse...
Read more

Frequently Asked Questions about California’s Budget Process

Frequently Asked Questions about California’s Budget Process  By Chris Micheli             What are the main parts of the California state budget? They are the Budget Bill, Budget Bill Junior, Trailer Bills, and Supplemental Reports.             What is the Budget Bill? This bill contains the appropriations and “Budget Bill Language”. Note that only a Budget Bill (or BBJ) can contain multiple appropriations. It requires a majority vote for passage and the bill takes effect immediately. There is just one Budget Bill. What is the “Budget Bill Jr.”? This is the bill that amends the main Budget Bill by making changes to multiple appropriations. There are often multiple BBJs. What is a Trailer Bill? This bill makes the statutory changes needed to implement the budget. It is the same as any other bill, but it takes effect immediately with a majority vote if it contain...
Read more

Frequently Asked Questions about Comparing California Government to Those of Other States

Frequently Asked Questions about Comparing California Government to Those of Other States  By Chris Micheli Is California’s form of government different from the other states? No, California state government is not unique among the other states. All 50 states provide for a republican form of government in their individual constitutions. Do the states follow the federal government’s structure with three branches? Yes, all of the states are based upon the federal government with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. How is California’s legislative branch of state government structured? California’s Legislature is comprised of two houses - State Assembly and State Senate. The Assembly has 80 members elected every two years and the Senate has 40 members elected every four years Are all state legislative branches bicameral? With one exception (Nebraska), all states are bicameral and they all have upper and lower houses of differing sizes. What is the range ...
Read more