CC 3-19-19 Item #3 Legislative Process Presentation1
Overview of the California
Legislative Process
BASIC STEPS
1.Bill is drafted and legislator introduces bill
2.Bill assigned to committee, needs majority vote
3.Heard in Fiscal Committee if it has fiscal impacts
4.Floor vote on bill, typically need majority to pass
5.Steps 2 -4 repeated in second house
6.Bill becomes law if Governor signs bill or takes
no action after 30 days
CC 3/19/19 #3
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Committee Hearings
●Rules Committee assigns bill to policy committee for
its first hearing
●Bills assigned to committees based on subject area
●During committee hearing, author presents bill to the
committee, and testimony may be heard in support
or opposition to the bill
●Committee then votes on whether to pass the bill
out of committee, or that it be passed as amended
Committee Hearings – Cont.
●Bills may be amended several times
●Majority vote of committee membership needed
to pass and be sent to next committee or to floor
●Prior to bill's hearing, a bill analysis is prepared that
explains the intended effect of the bill on current
law, together with background information
●Bill analysis also lists organizations that support or
oppose the bill
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Second and Third Readings
●Bills passed by committees are read a second time
on the floor and then assigned to a third reading
●Bill analyses are also prepared prior to third reading
●On third reading, the bill is explained by author,
discussed by Members, and a roll call vote is taken
●If a bill is defeated, the Member may seek
reconsideration and another vote
Amendments in Second House
●If a bill is amended in the second house, it must go
back to the house of origin for concurrence
●If the first house does not concur, the bill is referred to
a two-house conference committee to resolve the
differences
●If a compromise is reached, the bill is returned to
both houses for a vote
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2019 Legislative Deadlines
Feb 5 Last day for bills to be introduced
Apr 26 Last day for Policy Committees to meet
and report to Fiscal Committee
May 3 Last day for Policy Committees to meet
and report to the floor
May 17 Last day for Fiscal Committees to meet
and report to the floor
May 31 Last day for each house to pass bills
introduced in that house
2019 Legislative Deadlines – Cont.
Jun 3 Committee meetings may resume
Jul 10 Last day for Policy Committees to meet
and report to Fiscal Committee
Jul 12 Last day for Policy Committees to meet
and report to the floor
Aug 30 Last day for Fiscal Committees to meet
and report to the floor
Sep 6 Last day to amend bills on the floor
Sep 13 Last day for any bill to be passed
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Where to Find Bill Information
and Other Resources
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Questions?