Posts Tagged: laws

Analysis

The Micheli Files: Should legislative intent statements be codified?

California law, image by Vitalii Vodolazskyi

ANALYSIS – On occasion, California legislators include statements of intent, or make findings and declarations, in their bills. When reviewing these bills, readers will see that, in most instances, these statements are “uncodified,” meaning that they are not codified (i.e., placed in a Code). In more limited cases, these statements are codified along with the other, substantive statutory provisions. This raises the question whether these legislative statements should be codified or not.

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.

News

Richard Pan, strong backer of vaccinations, to leave Legislature

Sen. Richard Pan delivers remarks on the Senate floor. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, AP)

A California lawmaker who rose to national prominence by muscling through some of the country’s strongest vaccination laws is leaving the state Legislature later this year after a momentous tenure that made him a top target of the boisterous and burgeoning anti-vaccination movement.

News

Hugely expensive ballot fight looms over gambling

Dealing the cards at a casino gaming table. (Photo: Nejron Photo, via Shutterstock)

Californians, given the chance, would wager hundreds of millions of dollars a year on sporting events, say analysts, and that golden potential is luring gaming tribes, card rooms and online sportsbooks to the November ballot.

Opinion

California must defend its environmental protection laws

Morning mist and the lake near Mt. Lassen. (Photo: Matthew Connolly, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The governor of California delivered a blow to the environmental community recently by vetoing a bill that would have ensured that laws protecting water, as well as air, climate, worker safety and endangered species could not be weakened by future federal government rollbacks.

News

New law protecting sex workers stirs emotions

A photo illustration of a young girl in custody. (Image: structuresxx, via Shutterstock

The woman, writing to Gov. Gavin Newsom about Senate Bill 233, called herself voiceless.In her letter she told the governor about rapes she’s suffered while homeless and on the streets. Pimps had beaten her. One once threw her out of a hotel, leaving her naked in the parking lot.She feared to call police. They never listened to her before, the unnamed woman wrote.

Opinion

Oil industry politics ruled cap-and-trade deal

Smokestacks on a geothermal power plant near the Salton Sea in Southern California's Imperial Valley.(Photo: Tom Grundy, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Over 35 years ago, I came to pick up my fifth and third grade sons from school and found them making “Santa beards” out of the foaming toxic waste that flooded their playground. Later that night, I watched my youngest have a seizure at the dinner table as a result. Ever since, my Inland Valley community and I have been fighting for our right to live and breathe without getting sick.

News

Veterinary law emerges from the shadows

A family pet receives care in a veterinary hospital. (Photo: Didesign021, via Shutterstock)

A California statute governing blood-banking programs and transfusions for dogs has flown under the radar for the past 7 years, causing private veterinarians to break a law that they did not know existed. The issue would still be cloaked in obscurity had it not been for comments that emerged during a recent veterinary seminar at UC Davis.

News

California inconsistently enforces hospital privacy laws

An elderly patient in a wheelchair receiving care at a California hospital. (Photo: bikeriderlondon, via shutterstock)

In 2008, outraged by a string of snooping incidents involving celebrities’ medical records, California legislators passed a groundbreaking law that compelled hospitals to quickly report patient privacy breaches and gave the state power to levy fines for such violations. But a ProPublica analysis of state data shows enforcement has been inconsistent.

Opinion

Crucial balance: Environmental safeguards and economic impacts

A sugar factory , Puunene, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo: Mike Brake)

OPINION: Political pundits are saying Gov. Brown, Senate Leader Kevin de León and Sen. Fran Pavley suffered a major political defeat when SB 32 was pulled back and the fuel reduction provisions of SB 350 were removed. We don’t see it that way. This was one skirmish in a long-term battle to balance our environmental, social and economic goals.

Support for Capitol Weekly is Provided by: