How California Statutes Are Made
How California Statutes Are Made By Chris Micheli The California Legislature, like its federal counterpart, is bicameral (meaning it has two houses) with the Assembly (which has 80 members) and the Senate (which has 40 members) and the two houses meet in biennial sessions. There are essentially two paths to lawmaking in California. The initiative is a power reserved to electors to propose statutes and amendments to the California Constitution. This requires submission of the measure to the Attorney General for title and summary, collection and certification of signatures, placement on the ballot, and ultimately passage by the statewide electorate. There are statutory initiatives and constitutional initiatives. The other path is legislative wherein the Legislature passes bills and the Governor signs them to create statutes. A piece of legislation s tarts when a group, organization or legislator suggests legislation and either a Senator or Assembly Member agrees to author the ...