Chris Micheli

CA Legislative Explainer: Suspense File Process  By Chris Micheli The two Appropriations Committees in the California Legislature have a unique procedure they each use called the “Suspense File.” Basically, any bill which has been keyed “fiscal” by the Office of Legislative Counsel is re-referred to the fiscal committee in each house, which is called the Appropriations Committee, unless that measure is placed on consent or the amount of the bill’s fiscal impact is below a certain threshold established by the respective committees.   Under the rules of both houses of the Legislature (the Assembly and Senate), the Committees on Appropriations may maintain a suspense file, to which bills may be referred by a vote of a majority of the members of the committee that are present and voting, pending further consideration by the committee. A bill may be taken off the suspense file and heard upon two days’ notice published in the Assembly or Senate Daily File by a vote of a major...

CA Legislative Explainer: Possible Bills Actions by the Governor  By Chris Micheli   When a bill is passed by the Legislature and sent to the Governor, there are three actions that can occur: (1) sign the bill into law; (2) veto the bill; or (3) allow the bill to become law without a signature (aka “pocket signature”). The options available to the Governor can be found in Section 10 of Article IV of the California Constitution.   Signature by the Governor   Section 10(a) provides in part: “Each bill passed by the Legislature shall be presented to the Governor. It becomes a statute if it is signed by the Governor.” In general, the Governor has 12 days in which to act on a bill sent to him or her from the Legislature. That 12-day period begins once the bill has been “presented” to the Governor, not the day that the bill passed the Senate or Assembly.   The 12-day “signing” period is applicable to all bills that are presented to the Governor twelve or...

CA Legislative Explainer: Legislative Publications  By Chris Micheli   There are a number of publications that are regularly used by the California Legislature. Of note is that several of these publications are specified in the California Government Code. Article I, Sections 9700-9708, deals generally with legislative publications. As an overarching provision, all printing for the Legislature and the individual houses is governed by the individual rules of the State Senate and the State Assembly, as well as their Joint Rules.   The Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the Assembly are charged with printing all of the legislative bills, resolutions and constitutional amendments proposed by their respective members. All of the legislative printing is done by the State Printing Office (SPO), which is required by statute to print the laws, including initiative measures, as well as any other printing that is ordered by either the Senate or the Assembly. ...

CA Legislative Explainer: Gut-and-Amend Bills  By Chris Micheli One of the controversial occurrences during the annual California Legislative Session is so-called “gut-and-amend bills.” According to the Office of Legislative Counsel (i.e., the Legislature’s lawyers), these measures are defined as “when amendments to a bill remove the current contents in their entirety and replace them with different provisions.” The controversy is the second part of the process – replacing the bill’s contents with a subject which is unrelated to the original contents of the bill. Such amendments raise the legislative issue of “germaneness,” which refers to whether a proposed amendment is relevant to the subject matter currently contained in the measure. While Legislative Counsel may opine on the issue of germaneness, the determination of germaneness is decided by the Presiding Officer and, ultimately, subject to an appeal by the membership of the respective house.   As a result, a majori...

CA Legislative Explainer: Effective and Operative Dates  By Chris Micheli There is often confusion regarding effective versus operative dates in California statutes. Specifically, individuals may inquire when a statute actually “takes effect.” When it takes effect can be different than when the statute is operative. January 1 following the year a bill is enacted is the most common effective date and is basically the “default” effective date. A common definition of “effective date” is when the new law is “on the books.” There are certain types of bills that are deemed to be in effect upon enactment (i.e., when the governor signed them and the secretary of state assigned a chapter number). However, unless the bill calls an election, contains an urgency clause, or is a budget-related bill or tax levy measure, one can presume the effective date of a new law is January 1 of the following year. On the other hand, a common definition of “operative date” is when the new law becomes...

CA Legislative Explainer: General and Special Statutes  By Chris Micheli A general statute is essentially a law that pertains uniformly to an entire community or all persons generally. On the other hand, a special statute is essentially a law that applies to a particular person, place, or interest. California law provides for both types of statutes. California’s Constitution in Article IV, Section 16, provides “ (a) All laws of a general nature have uniform operation. (b) A local or special statute is invalid in any case if a general statute can be made applicable.” As a result, general statutes are the main type of statutes enacted and they apply uniformly by their language; however, special statutes can be pursued so long as a general statute would not apply in the particular circumstance. Working with the bill author, the Office of Legislative Counsel will make a determination whether a special statute will pass constitutional muster and, if so, how t...

CA Legislative Explainer: Convening a New Legislative Session  By Chris Micheli   The  California Legislature  convenes a new two-year session every other December. California’s Constitution, in Article IV, Section 3(a), requires that “The Legislature shall convene in regular session at noon on the first Monday in December of each even-numbered year and each house shall immediately organize. Each session of the Legislature shall adjourn sine die by operation of the Constitution at midnight on November 30 of the following even-numbered year.”   There are additional provisions found in the California Government Code. Section 9020 provides that “The Legislature shall convene in regular session at the City of Sacramento at noon on the first Monday in December of each even-numbered year, and each house shall immediately organize.”   Section 9022 provides the following for the State Senate: “At the day and hour appointed for the assembling of any regul...