California's historic Capitol dome. Image by :WallentineIn the new edition of Capitol Briefs: Crossover day comes and goes, Glazer’s journalism support bill dies, lawmakers ponder a new trio of ‘official” state emblems, and Anthony Rendon wants you to get happy!
The rules of consent, image by anabarauliaEach standing committee of the California State Senate (there are 22 of them) and State Assembly (there are 33 of them) operate under the Joint Rules of the Legislature, as well as the Standing Rules of the Senate and Assembly, respectively. Each standing committee may adopt rules governing the operation of their committees. These committee rules set forth the procedures and guidelines that are used to conduct the business of the particular legislative committee.
Image by zmotionsIt probably does not come as a surprise, but those working in and around California’s Capitol use a number of terms or “lingo” to describe aspects of the legislative and executive branch processes. The following is the first of a two-part a compilation of some of the more common terms used in California state government.
MICHELI FILES: In the second of three parts, longtime Capitol lobbyist and parliamentary aficionado Chris Micheli reviews the recent history of letters to the Daily Journal related to Assembly bills.
Chris Micheli photo by Scott DuncanOne of the main avenues for California legislators to clarify their bills or, most often, to express their intent behind their legislation, is to submit a formal letter to the Assembly Chief Clerk for Assembly Bills or the Senate Secretary for Senate Bills.
Image by WallentineVacancies are nothing new in the California Legislature, and as with most things in that body there are a suite of rules and procedure to follow to fill those empty positions.
California law, image by Vitalii VodolazskyiThe California Government Code contains a number of provisions related to the Legislature and the lawmaking process. There have been numerous court decisions over the past one hundred years interpreting key provisions of the Government Code. The following cases highlight some of the key decisions interpreting these statutory provisions related to the California Legislature and its legislative process.
Chris Micheli photo by Scott DuncanIn reviewing gubernatorial signing messages over the past two decades, I compiled the following chart of bills that have signing messages. The chart includes the session year, the Governor, the bill number and author, and the subject of the bill. This chart includes 19 years’ worth of signing messages by three Governors.
Image by MehaniqMICHELI FILES: It is not the role of the legislative or executive branches of government to determine a statute’s constitutionality. Rather, that role is reserved to the third branch of government – the judicial branch.
Public policy, image by AlexLMXANALYSIS – Readers of bills and statutes will regularly come across statements of legislative intent, such as paragraphs that usually begin with either “It is the intent of the Legislature to …” or “The Legislature finds and declares that …” On other occasions, readers may come across statements that “it is the policy of the state.” Both are expressed opinions or state desires of the Legislature.