Image via iStockAs readers might anticipate, there are extensive rules of punctuation when drafting legislation in California. First, as a general bill drafting guide, the rules of English grammar, including punctuation, usually apply to legislative drafting.
Image via APOn both January 3 and July 3 of the 2024 California Legislative Session, the State Assembly Floor Sessions were disrupted and temporarily recessed by protesters in the Gallery. This has raised the question whether there are any laws available to preclude this disruptive behavior.
Image by RawpixelIn the past, the California Legislature used conference committees as a part of the legislative process. However, despite extensive rules and procedures for their use that still exist today in the Joint Rules and the respective house rules, the conference committee in the California Legislature is largely nonexistent today.
Emergency by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock ImagesUnder California’s Administrative Procedure Act (APA), there are two forms of rulemaking that are authorized to be conducted by executive branch agencies and departments: regular and emergency. The two rulemaking processes have different requirements; Chris Micheli walks us through the procedures.
Image by peterschreiber.mediaMany Capitol observers are aware of the single subject rule. Some know that the California Constitution, in Article II, Section 8(d), provides that “an initiative measure embracing more than one subject may not be submitted to the electors or have any effect.” But does a similar rule exist for bills considered by the California Legislature?
Image by Vitalii VodolazskyiThe California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) is charged with ensuring that executive branch agency and department regulations are “clear, necessary, legally valid, and available to the public.” OAL is responsible for reviewing proposed regulations by California’s more than 200 state agencies and departments that have rulemaking authority.
Image by NanoStockkMainly because legislative committees in the California Legislature have to process so many bills at their limited hearings, there is little public debate, particularly among legislators, regarding bills that are heard in the committees of the State Senate and State Assembly. Nonetheless, there are instances when a legislator’s public statements may be considered by the judiciary.
Image by tumsasedgarsCalifornia’s Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which is patterned after the federal APA, sets forth the procedures by which the state’s executive branch agencies and departments must adopt regulations. In that vein, there are a few items of interest for those who participate in the rulemaking projects of state agencies.
Image by Vitalii VodolazskyiWhen drafting new laws in California or in other jurisdictions, sometimes interest groups and those drafting legislation may turn to model laws or uniform acts. They may also review similar laws adopted by the federal government or other states, or even other jurisdictions around the globe. As readers might imagine, there are positive and negative aspects of using these other laws when drafting legislation.
California justice, image by MehaniqOn occasion, bills in the California Legislature contain severability clauses. These types of bills contain multiple provisions and, when those types of bills are challenged in litigation, a court may be required to determine whether the valid provisions are “severable” from the law’s invalid provisions.