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Letters of intent: A bill’s author gets short shrift from the courts
The state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Kit Leong, via Shutterstock)ANALYSIS: One of the long-running points of contention when California courts examine what’s known as “legislative intent” is the judiciary’s general disdain for statements made by the authors of legislation. Those clear-language statements accompanying bills, common in the Capitol, seek to offer guidance and state the purpose and intention of an author’s legislation.