Posts Tagged: lawmaker

Practical tips for working with the governor’s legislative unit

California Governor's seal

by BY CHRIS MICHELI posted 06.26.2023

Here are some practical tips that were shared with me for those working with the staff members of the Governor’s Legislative Unit.

Technical amendments: Below the radar, but crucial

State Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Shuttesrstock)

by CHRIS MICHELI posted 05.09.2017

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.

DMV, Judicial Council hit over fees

California drivers in a Los Angeles traffic jam.(Photo: ShutterStock)

by JOHN HOWARD posted 01.27.2017

A motorist who faced more than $1,600 in fines for a traffic violation is suing the Department of Motor Vehicles and the state Judicial Council in federal court, contending that millions of California drivers had their licenses suspended illegally because they were unable to pay spiraling fees. “Traffic courts in California routinely impose exorbitant penalty assessments, fines and fees on all traffic court cases over and above the statutory fines” required for public safety, the pending suit contends.

To combat one of the current challenges facing her district, Brown introduced a bill requires that, by 2015, the California Workforce Investment Board set guidelines to aid WIB with training programs for entrepreneurs. The bill’s goal is to help the growth and success of small businesses, which will create an increase in jobs not only in the 47th District, but the entire state.

In title, Assemblyman Ken Cooley is a freshman lawmaker, one of a new crop of legislators in the historic class of 2012.

In fact, he’s no stranger to the Capitol: Cooley, a Democrat, served nearly eight years as the late Assemblyman Lou “The Enforcer” Papan’s senior aide (Papan ran the Rules Committee with an