Analysis

The reenactment rule in California

California's lady justice, image by BreizhAtao

ANALYSIS – According to the courts, the purpose of the constitutional reenactment rule, which prohibits amending a section of statute unless the section is reenacted as amended, is “to avoid enactment of statutes in terms so blind that legislators themselves are deceived in regard to their effect.”

Analysis

Effective versus operative dates of statutes

Image by Adao via Shutterstock

ANALYSIS – There is often confusion regarding effective versus operative dates. Specifically, Capitol observers often inquire when a statute actually “takes effect.” When it takes effect can be different than when the statute is operative.

Analysis

A bill’s ‘keys’ – what are they?

The California state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Karin Hildebrand Lau, via Shutterstock)

Each bill in the California Legislature contains certain, required features such as an enacting clause, a title, the author’s name, a bill number, and the Legislative Counsel’s Digest, among other provisions.

Analysis

Newsom vs. DeSantis – the inevitable showdown?

FILE - This combination of photos shows California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaking in Sacramento, Calif., on June 24, 2022, left, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaking in Sioux Center, Iowa, May 13, 2023, right. (AP Photo, File)

While mostly political, the feud between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis occasionally veers into the personal.

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