Chris Micheli

Should There Be an Office of Regulatory Counsel?  By Chris Micheli             For those involved in the California legislative process, everyone is familiar with the outstanding work that is done by the attorneys and staff in the Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC). For those who are not regularly involved in the regulatory arena, you may not be aware that there does not exist a similar office to assist executive branch state agencies. As a result, I am advocating for the creation of a new “Office of Regulatory Counsel,” (ORC) that should be houses in the Governor’s Office, similar to a handful of other offices based in the Governor’s Office, such as Go-Biz, Office of Tribal Adviser, etc.             The ORC would be similar to the Office of Legislative Counsel, which drafts legislation for the Legislature and Governor, but the ORC would play a similar role for execu...

Frequently Asked Questions About Using Letters to the Daily Journal  By Chris Micheli What are the purposes of a Letter to the Journal? They are used when a Member may need to submit a letter to the Journal for clarification on one of their bills, or to express the author’s intent for their bill. Where is the letter published? In either the Assembly or Senate Daily Journals , depending on which is the bill’s house of origin. While occasionally letters are placed in both journals for the same bill, or a letter is published in the other house’s journal, those are likely not to be recognized by the courts in this state. Who submits a letter to the journal? These signed letters are submitted by the bill’s author on their letterhead and addressed to either the Assembly Chief Clerk (for an AB) or the Senate Secretary (for an SB). What happens when the author submits the journal letter? These letters are reviewed by the staff of the two legislative leaders of the respective ho...

Snapshot of Bill Signing Messages --  Compiled by Chris Micheli --  November 2023   2023 Gavin Newsom 10 ABs / 8 SBs 18 total 2022 Gavin Newsom 12 ABs / 10 SBs 22 total 2021 Gavin Newsom 3 ABs / 5 SBs 8 total 2020 Gavin Newsom 7 ABs / 4 SBs 11 total 2019 Gavin Newsom 5 ABs / 6 SBs 11 total   Total signing messages: 36 ABs / 33 SBs 69 total / 14 average per year 2018 Jerry Brown 6 ABs / 7 SBs 13 total 2017 Jerry Brown 15 ABs / 3 SBs 18 total 2016 Jerry Brown 10 ABs / 7 SBs 17 total 2015 Jerry Brown 7 ABs / 2 SBs 9 total 2014 Jerry Brown 5 ABs /...

Frequently Asked Questions About Vetoed Bills  By Chris Micheli             How is a bill vetoed? The Governor may veto a bill by returning the bill unsigned with any objections to the house of origin. What does the house of origin do with the veto? It is required to enter the objections (i.e., the veto message) in the Daily Journal. Can a vetoed bill be overridden? Yes, it requires each house to pass the bill by rollcall vote entered in the Daily Journal, two-thirds of the Members concurring. What happens if both houses override the Governor’s veto? The bill becomes a statute. When does the vetoed bill take effect if the veto is overridden? If it is one of four types of bills that take effect immediately, then it would be the day the bill gets a chapter number after both houses vote to override the veto. If it is a regular bill, then the following January 1. The state Constitution provides that “a statute enacte...

Another Reason to Limit Bill Introductions?  By Chris Micheli             As I did my final review of Governor Newsom’s actions on the 1,046 bills sent to him after the 2023 Legislative Session, I noticed that some of the Governor’s veto messages provide additional rationales for limiting bill introductions.             Out of 156 vetoes from the 2023 Session, the number one reason for the Governor’s veto was budget concerns or cost pressures. In fact, 41% of the vetoes used that basis. That by itself is not a reason to limit bill introductions, but another statistic may provide such a reason…             By my count, just over 1/3 of the bills vetoed by Governor Newsom likely should not have been sent to his Desk and, arguably, should not have made it through the process at all. In fact, perhaps they should not h...

Frequently Asked Questions about Signing Messages by California Governors  By Chris Micheli             What is a signing message? Despite no constitutional provision, Governors in this state have long used “signing messages” to accompany a Governor’s signature on a bill. What is an example of a signing message? The following is an example of a bill from the 2022 Legislative Session that Governor Newsom signed:   To the Members of the California State Senate: I am signing Senate Bill 851, which makes technical changes that will allow taxpayers paying the Elective Pass-Through Entity Tax to fully utilize their Other State Tax Credit. These changes are clarifying of actions made this year through SB 113 {Chapter 3), a budget trailer bill. Although this modification may result in a revenue reduction, I am signing this bill to clarify implementation so the Franchise Tax Board can execute the program in a manner t...

Frequently Asked Questions about Motions in the California Legislature  By Chris Micheli   What is the process for a motion to adjourn in the Assembly? These motions are not debatable and may not be amended, and are always in order with certain exceptions. A motion to adjourn requires adoption by a majority vote of the Members present and voting.   What is the process for a motion to recess to a time certain in the Assembly? These motions are treated the same as a motion to adjourn, except that the motion is debatable when no business is before the Assembly, and the motion can be amended regarding the time and duration of the recess.   What is the process for a motion to lay on the table in the Assembly? These motions are not debatable and may not be amended. These motions are adopted by an affirmative recorded vote of 41 or more Members. A motion to lay an amendment on the table is adopted by a majority of the Members present and voting.   What ...