California Legislature Archives - Page 23 of 50

Motions in the California Legislature

May 29, 2022 8:22 amMay 29, 2022 8:26 am

There are a number of formal motions that can be made on the Floors of the California Legislature. These motions are contained in the respective Assembly Rules and Senate Rules. The following is an overview of those motions specified in...

Drafting Claims Bills in the California Legislature

May 4, 2022 6:27 amMay 4, 2022 6:40 am

There is an annual “claims bill” that is enacted each year in the California Legislature. The claims bill is authored by the chair of the Appropriations Committee. There are essentially two types of claims bills. The first is for payment...

Do Courts Delve into Legislative Findings and Declarations?

May 3, 2022 6:39 amMay 3, 2022 6:45 am

A number of bills considered each year by the California Legislature contain “findings and declarations” that are written expressions of legislative intent. These are generally meant to set the stage for the statutory provisions that normally follow, and to give...

How Do Courts Determine Whether a Bill’s Provisions Are Severable?

May 2, 2022 6:26 amMay 2, 2022 6:33 am

Bills in the California Legislature often contain multiple provisions and, when those types of bills are challenged in litigation, a court must determine whether those provisions are “severable.” If a bill contains a severability clause, then the matter can be...

A sea of empty desks inside the California State Assembly

Dealing with Federal or Local Preemption in Legislation

April 30, 2022 7:40 amApril 30, 2022 7:48 am

California legislation at times needs to consider the impact of federal laws as well as local laws and the impact of California statutes. There are times when the Legislature has to consider that a statute it enacts does not get...

Contingencies in California Legislation

April 29, 2022 8:23 amApril 29, 2022 8:25 am

Bills in the California Legislature sometimes contain language that make the bill’s provisions contingent upon funding or some other circumstance. These are different than “contingent enactment” language which makes a bill’s enactment contingent upon passage of another measure, such as...

Legislative Grants of Rulemaking Authority

April 28, 2022 6:04 amApril 28, 2022 6:08 am

Pursuant to Article IV of the California Constitution, the legislative branch of state government is granted authority to make laws. The Legislature also has the power to delegate some of its lawmaking authority to the executive branch (called “delegation of...