Office of Legislative Counsel Archives - Page 5 of 5

Modernizing California Statutes

March 6, 2022 8:20 amMarch 6, 2022 8:27 am

As new legislation is considered in the California Legislature, it is incumbent on the attorneys in the Office of Legislative Counsel to update and modernize state statutes. There are examples of this ongoing effort throughout California bills and is an...

Speaking in an Affirmative Voice in Legislation

February 26, 2022 8:34 amFebruary 26, 2022 8:53 am

The California Legislature has taken the approach of changing existing statutes to reflect an affirmative or active voice, rather than a negative voice, in legislation. As a result, the Office of Legislative Counsel is changing statutes to reflect this approach....

California State Senate Going Back to Remote Voting for Members

January 8, 2022 11:32 amJanuary 8, 2022 12:09 pm

The California Globe heard from a member of the State Senate Friday evening that they won’t be shutting down for two weeks, but will be going back to remote voting – because COVID. Again. This, despite that Office of Legislative...

Intent Bills Are Not Spot Bills and Vice Versa

December 8, 2021 2:42 pmDecember 8, 2021 3:41 pm

Quite often bills introduced in the California Legislature without substantive language in them are called “spot bills.” However, that is not always the case even though both spot and intent bills act as placeholders with substantive amendments to be added...

An Introduction To Legislative Drafting

October 23, 2020 6:31 amOctober 25, 2020 1:46 pm

What is legislative drafting? Legislative drafting or bill drafting is the work of professionals who usually provide their services in a centralized office for the U.S. Congress or state legislatures. These individuals draft bills, resolutions, and constitutional amendments (for the...

General Versus Special Statutes

November 18, 2019 6:08 amNovember 17, 2019 4:41 pm

Most Capitol observers do not often come across bills that delineate between general or special statutes. What is a general statute versus a special statute? A general statute is essentially a law that pertains uniformly to an entire community or all persons...