Chris Micheli

How Often Does the Legislature Express Its Opinion?  By Chris Micheli             There are three types of measures used in the California Legislature: bills, constitutional amendments, and resolutions. There are also three types of resolutions: house, concurrent, and joint. While some resolutions are used to elect officers and adopt rules, the vast majority of resolutions are simply expressions of opinion by the Legislature (e.g., joint resolutions express legislative opinion on federal matters), or designating something (e.g., a house or concurrent resolution could designate women’s health month).             Resolutions only require adoption by one house (in the case of a house – HR or SR – resolution) or both houses (in the cases of joint – SJR or AJR – and concurrent – SCR or ACR – resolutions), but no action by the Governor. While bills create statutes and constitutional amendments, once adopted by the voters, add, amend, or repeal provisions of the state Constitution, resolu

Bills in California Special Sessions  By Chris Micheli             I reviewed the special sessions over the past quarter century held by the California Legislature to examine how many measures are considered during those special sessions. The following are the results of my research: 2023-24 Session (2) 1 st Extraordinary Session – 9 measures, 5 of them bills (2 ABs, 3 SBs) 2 nd Extraordinary Session – 11 measures, 9 of them bills (9 ABs) 2021-22 Session (0) None 2019-20 Session (0) None 2017-18 Session (0) None 2015-16 Session (2) 1 st Extraordinary Session – 43 measures, 40 of them bills (26 ABs, 14 SBs, 1 SCA) 2 nd Extraordinary Session – 39 measures, 35 of them bills (20 ABs, 15 SBs) 2013-14 Session (2) 1 st Extraordinary Session – 10 measures, 8 of them bills (4 ABs, 4 SBs) 2 nd Extraordinary Session – 4 measures, 0 bills, 1 ACA 2011-12 Session (1) 1 st Extraordinary Session – 82 measures, 76 of them bills (46 ABs, 2 ACAs, 30 SBs, 1 SCA)

California Bills That Take Immediate Effect  By Chris Micheli             In California, statutes generally take effect on January 1 following the year in which they were signed into law (e.g., a bill signed by Governor Newsom in September 2024 usually takes effect on January 1, 2025). However, there are statutes that take effect immediately. Those statutes are set forth in the California Constitution and they are noted in the Title of the bill. Article IV, Section 8(c)(3) provides the four types of measures that take effect immediately. It states: “Statutes calling elections, statutes providing for tax levies or appropriations for the usual current expenses of the State, and urgency statutes shall go into effect immediately upon their enactment.” The following lists the total number of bills introduced during the 2-year sessions over the past quarter century that would take effect immediately (which is about 10% of the bills on average): 2023-24 Session 408 bills would take

Gubernatorial Appointments Considered by the State Senate  By Chris Micheli             Have you ever wondered how many gubernatorial appointments are considered each session by the California State Senate? While the Governor annually appoints hundreds of individuals to serve in appointed offices, from cabinet secretaries to members of boards and commissions, not all of them are required to receive the “advice and consent” of the State Senate.             The following lists the number of gubernatorial appointees that have been submitted to the California State Senate during the 2-year legislative sessions over the past sixteen years (8 sessions): 2023-24 Session 414 2021-23 Session 130 2019-20 Session 414 2017-18 Session 373 2015-16 Session 409 2013-14 Session 477 2011-12 Session 523 2009-10 Session 433

Tribal-State Gaming Compacts Considered by the State Legislature  By Chris Micheli             Have you ever wondered how many tribal-state gaming compacts are considered each session by the California Legislature? While the Governor has exclusive authority to negotiate tribal-state gaming compacts, they are considered and approved by the Legislature by way of a bill. The following is a listing of all compacts or amendments to existing compacts that have been submitted to the California Legislature during the listed 2-year legislative sessions over the past sixteen years (8 sessions): 2023-24 Session 43 2021-22 Session 44 2019-20 Session 9 2017-18 Session 22 2015-16 Session 15 2013-14 Session 7 2011-12 Session 5 2009-10 Session 2

Proposed Constitutional Amendments by the Legislature  By Chris Micheli             While the People can propose additions, amendments, and repeals of provisions of the California Constitution, the Legislature can also propose changes to the state Constitution. These are done through either Senate Constitutional Amendments or Assembly Constitutional Amendments. SCAs and ACAs must be passed by at least a 2/3 vote of the Assembly and Senate before they can be placed before the voters for adoption. As opposed to bills, SCAs and ACAs are not presented to the Governor for final actions.             The following provides the numbers of proposed constitutional amendments introduced in the Senate and Assembly over the past sixteen years (8 sessions) for consideration: 2023-24 Session SCAs – 10 ACAs – 23 Total: 33 2021-22 Session SCAs – 10 ACAs – 16 Total: 26 2019-2020 Session SCAs – 10 ACAs – 26 Total: 36 2017-18 Session SCAs – 24 ACAs – 32 Total: 56 2015

CA Legislative Explainer: Urgency Clause Measures  By Chris Micheli Bills signed into law by the Governor that contain an urgency clause become urgency statutes or urgency clause statutes. California Constitution Article IV, Section 8 deals with urgency statutes. Section 8(c)(3) provides that urgency clause bills go into effect immediately upon their enactment. That is the major distinction between a regular bill and an urgency clause bill. The regular bill takes effect on the following January 1 (or later) while the urgency clause bill takes effect immediately. What determines an urgency? Section 8(d) specifies that “ urgency statutes are those necessary for immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety.” Because of this definition, an urgency measure must contain an urgency clause which specifies why the bill qualifies for this special status based upon this definition. In this regard, Section 8(d) requires “a statement of facts constituting the necessity shall