Understanding California's Lawmaking Process: From Bill To Law

The process of turning a bill into law in California is complex, but it can be broken down into four basic stages. First, a bill is introduced by a legislator, who sends the idea to the Legislative Counsel's Office to be drafted into an official bill. Second, the bill goes to a committee hearing, where it is assigned to a policy committee for its first hearing. Third, the bill is read a second and third time in the house of origin and, if passed, sent to the other house to repeat the process. Finally, the bill is sent to the Governor for approval, who has 12 days to sign, approve without signing, or veto it. If the bill is not vetoed, it goes to the Secretary of State to be chaptered and becomes a law.

How a bill is introduced

The process of introducing a bill begins with an idea, which can come from anyone. The idea must then be presented to a Member of the Legislature, who will author the bill. The legislator, acting as the author, sends the idea and language for the bill to the Legislative Counsel, where it is drafted into an official bill. The drafted bill is then returned to the legislator for review. The author can then introduce the bill, delivering it to the Chief Clerk or Secretary, who gives the bill a number. The bill is then read for the first time in its house of origin.

The first reading of the bill involves the clerk reading the bill number, the name of the author, and the descriptive title of the bill. The entire text of the bill is not read. The bill is then sent electronically to the Office of State Printing. A bill must be in print for 30 calendar days, allowing time for public review, before any action or votes can be taken. There are, however, exceptions to this rule: Budget Bills, bills introduced in an Extraordinary Session, and resolutions are exempt. A three-fourths vote of the members of the house can also dispense with the 30-day requirement.

Committee hearing

Once the 30-day waiting period has passed, the bill moves on from its house of origin to the committee hearing stage. The Rules Committee refers the bill to a policy committee for a hearing. Some bills may be "double-referred" to two policy committees if their subject areas are considered sensitive or exceed the jurisdiction of one committee. Bills that will have a fiscal impact must also be heard by the fiscal committee.

During the committee stage, the bill is presented, and legislators hear testimony in support of or opposition to the bill in an open hearing. Committees prepare written analyses of each bill, describing the effect of the proposed legislation and noting supporting and opposing viewpoints of individuals and organizations. Following the conclusion of the open hearing, committee members vote by roll call on the bill. Committees may act on legislation in numerous ways: they may, for instance, pass a bill with amendments, pass a bill unchanged, hold a bill, defeat a bill, or refer a bill to another committee.

The committee chair then reports the committee recommendations to pass, not pass, or amend the bill. If the bill passes through the committee without amendments, it is sent to the house of origin for the second and third reading. If the bill does not pass through the committee, and is not reconsidered in its house of origin within 15 days, it is returned and not considered for the remainder of that session. If the committee recommends that the bill be passed as amended, it is then either sent to the next committee or to the floor.

Second and third readings

Once a bill has been through the committee stage, it is read a second time on the floor in the house of origin and then assigned to a third reading. After the third reading of the bill, there will be another roll call vote. If the bill passes, it is sent to the other house for further consideration. If the bill is voted on and passes through the second house without amendments or with concurred amendments, it is forwarded to the governor for approval. If the house of origin does not concur with the amendments made by the opposite house, the bill is sent to a joint Assembly/Senate conference committee until concurrence is reached.

The second reading is a formality in most cases, with the bill being read by its title only. The third reading is the final reading of the bill and is when the bill is open to amendments. After the third reading, the bill is put to a vote. If the bill passes the vote, it is sent to the other house, where the process begins again. If the bill is amended in the second house, it must go back to the house of origin for concurrence on the amendments. If the house of origin does not concur, the bill goes to a conference committee made up of members from both houses to negotiate the differences. If a compromise is reached, the conference report is voted on in both houses.

Enrollment and consideration by the governor

Once a bill has passed through both houses of the California State Legislature, it is sent to the governor for approval. This is known as the enrollment and consideration stage.

Enrollment is the process of printing and proofreading the final version of a bill to ensure that the language in the document reflects the final action taken by the Legislature. The process ends with the delivery of the bill to the governor's office. The governor has 12 days to consider the bill. If the governor does nothing within this timeframe, the bill becomes a statute without their signature. However, at the end of each year of the legislative session, the governor is allowed 30 days to consider bills passed by the adjournment deadline of the Legislature. Bills typically become law on the following January 1.

The governor has three options: they can sign the bill into law, allow it to become law without their signature, or veto it. If the governor vetoes the bill, it is returned to the house of origin without a signature, along with a letter explaining their objections. The veto can be overridden if two-thirds of both houses vote to enact the bill. If the bill contains one or more appropriation items, the governor may eliminate or reduce them while approving the other portions of the bill (this is known as the line-item veto).

The bill becomes a law

Once a bill has been introduced and read for the first time, it must be in print for 30 days before any action or votes can be taken. This is known as the "waiting period". During this time, the public can review the bill and decide whether they support or oppose it. After the 30-day waiting period, the bill is referred to a policy committee for a hearing. This is the second stage of the process, known as the "Committee Hearing".

At the committee stage, the bill is presented and legislators hear testimony in support of or opposition to the bill in an open hearing. Committees prepare written analyses of each bill, describing the effect of the proposed legislation and noting supporting and opposing viewpoints. Following the hearing, committee members vote on the bill by roll call. Committees may pass a bill with amendments, pass it unchanged, hold it, defeat it, or refer it to another committee. Once a committee has reported a bill out of the committee, the bill must be placed on the second reading for the adoption, or ratification, of the committee's recommendation.

The third stage is the "Second and Third Readings". Bills reported out of committee are read a second time on the floor in the house of origin and then assigned to a third reading. After the third reading of the bill in the house of origin, another roll call vote is taken. If the bill passes, it is referred to the other house, and the entire procedure begins again. If the bill passes through the second house without amendments or with concurred amendments, it is ordered to enrollment and sent to the Governor for approval.

The fourth and final stage is "Enrollment and Consideration by the Governor". Enrollment is the process of printing and proofreading the final version of a bill to ensure that the language in the document reflects the final action by the Legislature. The bill is then delivered to the Governor's office, where the Governor has 12 days to consider the legislation. If the Governor does nothing after 12 days, the bill is considered approved and becomes a statute without their signature. If the Governor vetoes the bill, it must be returned to its house of origin. A two-thirds vote in both houses is then needed to override the veto and pass the bill into law. If the Governor approves and signs the bill, it is sent to the Secretary of State, who assigns it a chapter number. The bill officially becomes a law on the following January 1st, as long as 90 days have passed since the end of the legislative session.

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