Chris Micheli

Committees of the California Legislature  By Chris Micheli             There are well over one hundred different committees between the two houses of the California Legislature – 130 to be exact in the 2025-26 Legislative Session. While most of the work is done by the Standing Committees of the Senate and Assembly, there are several other types of committees, as well as a number of joint committees, comprised of an equal number of Assembly Members and Senators.             The following lists the type and number committees in the two houses of the California Legislature: SENATE (45) ·        Standing Committees of the Senate: 25 ·        Senate Committee on Legislative Ethics: 1 ·        Select Committees of the Senate: 12 ·        Subcommitt...

How California Regulations Are Made  By Chris Micheli   California has over 200 State agencies, departments, boards, and commissions that make public policy through their authority to adopt regulations. A list of State agencies that have adopted regulations can be found on the website of California’s Office of Administrative Law (OAL), which is found at www.oal.ca.gov   OAL’s website also provides direct access to the California Code of Regulations (CCR), which is organized under various subject matter titles, of which there are 28 titles. These titles contain the over 60,000 state regulations that are currently in effect.   California’s Administrative Procedure Act (APA) contains required procedures for rule-making and administrative hearings conducted by all of these agencies and departments. The APA is found at Chapter 3.5, 4 and 5 commencing with Section 11340 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.   In addition, there are r...

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 ...

Making Findings and Declarations Stronger  By Chris Micheli             Findings and declarations are being used more frequently in bills that are being considered by the California Legislature. Whether or not these statements are necessary is the subject of debate among legal scholars. However, if findings and declarations are to be used, I believe they can be strengthened in most instances. And, most importantly, they should be understood as not being mere opinions; instead, they should be fact based.             Most legislative findings and declarations are contained in uncodified statutes (meaning they are not in one of California’s 29 Codes), most often in section one of the bill. The following is an example from a 2026 Session bill:   SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Effective public safety depends on trust...

Can Legislative Committees Work as a Subcommittee?  By Chris Micheli             During this busy time with committees hearing hundreds of bills, it often takes time to establish a quorum. What is the importance of establishing a quorum? And can Standing Committees of the California Legislature act as a subcommittee?   What is the importance of a quorum and how is it established? In the California Legislature, according to the Office of Legislative Counsel, “a quorum must be recorded in order for legislative business to be transacted.”   For example, Section 7(a) of Article IV of the California Constitution provides, in part, the following: “A majority of the membership constitutes a quorum, but a smaller number may recess from day to day and compel the attendance of absent members.”   As a result of this constitutional requirement, the quorum is the minimum number of legislators that are required to ...

Is the Bill a "Gut-and-Amend”?  By Chris Micheli One of the controversial occurrences during the annual California Legislative Session is so-called “gut-and-amend bills.” According to the Legislative Counsel, 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 issue of legislative issue “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 re...

Reading a Bill to Understand What It Is Proposing to Do  By Chris Micheli             While there are several tips for reading and understanding what a bill in the California Legislature proposes to do, the key is to review the main sections of the bill which contain the substantive changes in the law. There are four main tips to reading a bill to understand what it is proposing to do. Those questions are the following: First, what is the bill proposing to do? California bills can add a new section of law, amend an existing section, or repeal an existing section. All bills clearly tell their readers what the bill proposes to do. The following is an example of this provision in a bill: An act to add Section 11403.5 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to foster care.             The reader is told three things in this initial section of the bill: a new se...