Chris Micheli

Political Power Versus Legislative Power  By Chris Micheli             Is there a difference between “political power” and “legislative power” under the California Constitution? According to Article II, Section 1, "All political power is inherent in the people." Article II contains the three forms of direct democracy and voting, which are found in the state Constitution. There is also the lawmaking powers of initiative and referendum contained in Article II. According to Article IV, Section 1, "The legislative power of this State is vested to the California Legislature..., but the people reserve to themselves the powers of initiative and referendum. " This provision means the legislative power is shared between the legislative branch of state government (i.e., our 120 elected legislators) and the people. This language is similar to what is contained in the federal Constitution in Article I, Section 1, which states: “All...

2023-24 California Legislative Session: A Look at Regular Session Bills  By Chris Micheli             In reviewing the recently-completed 2023-24 California Legislative Session, the following chart provides five major actions on all regular session bills during the 2-year session:   Assembly Bills Percentage of Introduced Bills Action Senate Bills Percentage of Introduced Bills 3,291 n/a INTRODUCTIONS 1,530 n/a 1,992 60.5% PASSED HOUSE OF ORIGIN 1,199 78% 1,455 44% SENT TO THE GOVERNOR 797 52% 1,836 56% DIED IN THE LEGISLATURE 733 48% 1,227 37% SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR 680 44% 228 7% VETOED BY...

Helpful Statutory Interpretation Guidelines in California Statutes  By Chris Micheli             In reading the California Code of Civil Procedure, I came across Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 7 of Part 3. Article 1 is titled, “Construction.” This provides several helpful statutory interpretation or construction principles that are actually applicable throughout California’s 29 Codes that contain over 155,000 statutory sections of law.             Section 1235.020 states: “Chapter, article, and section headings do not in any manner affect the scope, meaning, or intent of the provisions of this title.”             Section 1235.030 provides: “Whenever any reference is made to any portion of this title or to any other statute, such reference shall apply to all amendments and additions heretofore or hereafter made.” ...

Will There Be a Third Extraordinary Session? By Chris Micheli           There has been lots of speculation, especially after yesterday’s Presidential election results, about Governor Gavin Newsom calling a 3 rd special session this year.           I believe that is unlikely to occur because of procedural hurdles in the California Constitution.         Article IV, Section 3(a) provides, in part, that: “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.” As of today, that would leave, in theory, about three weeks to draft, analyze, consider, debate, and vote on one or more bills.           However, Article IV, Section 10(d) states: “The Legislature may not present any bill to the Governor after November 15 of the second calendar year of the biennium of the legislat...

California Supreme Court’s Most Recent Statutory Interpretation Case  By Chris Micheli             On October 28, 2024, the California Supreme Court unanimously decided North American Title Company, et al. v. Superior Court of Fresno County (Cortina, et al., Real Parties in Interest) . The high court’s 7-0 decision was written by Chief Justice Guerrero and it provides the most recent example of a statutory interpretation case decided by the justices. The Court’s decision sets forth important statutory construction principles, as well as the use of legislative history, governing the courts in this state and providing important guidance to legislators, staff, advocates, and attorneys working in and around the California State Capitol who deal with bills and proposed statutory language.             In reviewing the statutory scheme to understand the two parties’ differin...

An Introduction to Bill Drafting in California  By Chris Micheli Pursuant to Article IV, Section 1 of the California Constitution, the Legislature and the People share the lawmaking power. In drafting legislation (including proposed initiatives by the people), California’s Office of Legislative Counsel follows a number of drafting principles. First, there are the formal rules that are contained in the state Constitution, California’s Government Code, and the Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly Second, there are the informal rules, including principles of statutory interpretation and general guidance in drafting. Among the general guidance in legislative drafting in the California Legislature, the attorneys in the Office of Legislative Counsel follow rules of proper grammar and they strive for clear, concise, and consistent language generally. OLC attorneys also try to avoid ambiguity, which otherwise will lead to differences in interpretation, among those trying to comply wi...

Considering Vetoed Bills in California  By Chris Micheli             Now that the California Legislature has concluded its 2024 Session, and Governor Newsom has finished acting on all of the 1,200+ bills that reached his Desk this year, are vetoed bills considered by legislators? And, if so, can new legislators sworn into office on December 2 vote on those vetoed bills as well?             The answer to the first question is yes, but the answer to the second question is no. Article IV, Section 10(a) states, in part, “The Governor may veto it by returning it with any objections to the house of origin, which shall enter the objections in the journal and proceed to reconsider it. If each house then passes the bill by rollcall vote entered in the journal, two-thirds of the membership concurring, it becomes a statute.” As a result of these constitutional provisions, the ...