Legislature Archives - Page 14 of 18

Legislative Deadlines

January 10, 2020 6:19 amJanuary 10, 2020 6:21 am

The California Legislature works on the basis of deadlines for moving measures (bills, resolutions and constitutional amendments) through the legislative process. The Assembly Chief Clerk and the Senate Secretary each maintain information related to these legislative deadlines. Based upon the...

Picking the Right Bill Author to Be Your Legislative Champion

January 5, 2020 9:07 amJanuary 5, 2020 9:08 am

It is often a time-consuming and sometimes daunting task to find just the right author for a bill to introduce in the California Legislature. How do some lobbyists pick the right bill author? While there is no cookie-cutter approach to...

What Is Subject to Referendum?

January 3, 2020 6:14 amJanuary 3, 2020 6:17 am

Pursuant to Article II, Section 9 of the California Constitution, “the referendum is the power of the electors to approve or reject statutes or parts of statutes except urgency statutes, statutes calling elections, and statutes providing for tax levies or...

Legislative Powers and Duties by Statute

January 1, 2020 8:00 amJanuary 1, 2020 8:03 am

In California’s Government Code, there are several code sections that set forth legislative powers and duties. These statutes were added by Proposition 24 in 1984 and are found in Title 2, Division 2, Part 1, Chapter 8, Article 2. The...

What is a Constitutional Amendment?

December 20, 2019 7:15 amDecember 20, 2019 7:59 am

What is a “constitutional amendment”? Although California’s Constitution provides for the amendment of this document, the constitution does not define this term. A traditional definition of a constitutional amendment is a modification to an existing constitution. California’s Legislative Counsel defines...

Does the Legislature Meet in Public or in Private?

December 13, 2019 10:03 amDecember 13, 2019 10:06 am

California’s Constitution, in Article 4, Section 7, deals primarily with the proceedings of the houses and committees of the Legislature. In Section 7(c). “the proceedings of each house and the committees thereof shall be open and public.” Moreover, “the right...

Legislative Oversight

December 9, 2019 6:07 amDecember 8, 2019 7:00 pm

A critical role for the legislative branch of government is oversight regarding executive branch activities. Fundamentally, oversight is intended to ensure government accountability and make certain that tax dollars are spent properly and efficiently by the executive branch of state...