Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez addressing lawmakers about her labor bill, AB 5. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/APAssemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez wrapped up this legislative year feeling pretty good about her accomplishments. Despite often fierce opposition, the San Diego Democrat was able to pass 11 pieces of legislation, including those that protect child sexual abuse survivors and workers.
A flowering marijuana plant in a California destined to be used for medicinal purposes in California. (Photo: PRO Stock ProfessionalThe California cannabis conundrum: A lot more weed, a lot less money. Since Proposition 64 took effect earlier this year, the cannabis industry has raked in nearly $135 million of revenue for the state through sales taxes, not including local jurisdiction taxes. Even with increased sales each quarter, some officials are calling the revenue “substantially below projections.”
The state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo SchnepfDesign, via Shutterstock)Clearly, Washington, D.C., and Sacramento share many things in common — including such negatives as a hyper-heated political culture, insularity and a pervasive sense of entitlement. And California’s Legislature is obviously based upon the federal legislative model. Nonetheless, their legislative rules are different, so let’s take a look at some of the major distinctions.
The state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Kris Wiktor)The burning question of the day: Should Joint Rule 10.5 be changed? If you, like most normal people, have little interest in the Capitol’s battles, then this question prompts a big yawn. But if you engage in the interminable wars over legislation, then this issue is a very, very big deal. So pay attention, you may be tested on this later.
The Assembly chamber in the state Capitol, Sacramento. (Photo: Felix Lipov)ANALYSIS: During the budget negotiations in September, there was talk in the Capitol about whether it was proper – or even legal – for California lawmakers to pass two measures amending the state budget that had been adopted three months earlier. These two bills, known as “junior” budget bills, were approved along with a half-dozen budget trailer bills making numerous policy changes in state law for the 2017-18 fiscal year. Gov. Brown signed them all.
OPINION: As the Legislature hurries to complete its final month of work for the year, the Capitol is humming with activity as legislators present and vote on hundreds of bills, advancing them to the governor’s desk. In the case of each bill, the Legislature’s responsibility is the same: To carefully consider its policy merits and its long-term impacts on regular Californians, our economy and our state’s future.
The Assembly in session on June 15, 2017, the deadline to approve the 2017-18 state budget.(Photo: Anna Frazier, Capitol Weekly)A boost in the bill-introduction limit for members of the Assembly could allow up to 800 new pieces of legislation by the end of 2018. But a question arises: Will the crush of new bills, which likely would push the Assembly’s total above 3,000 per session, make it harder to meet the provisions of Proposition 54?
Photo illustration: A young woman in custody clings to a chain-link fence. (Shutterstock)New legislation to overhaul California’s youth criminal justice system includes a key provision that bars life-without-parole sentences for juvenile offenders. Currently, the United States is the only country in the world to impose life-without-parole sentences on minors. Throughout the past decade, the U.S. Supreme Court has handed down decisions that have begun to reverse the trend.
State Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Shuttesrstock)Substantive amendments deal with the core of the bill. But there are also important technical amendments that need to be made to legislation, often to ensure that the bills are properly enacted into statutes.
State Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Shuttesrstock)In the Legislature, there are several types of amendments — amendment is a fancy word for “change” — that can be made to any number of measures, including bills, resolutions and constitutional amendments.