Common Bill Mistakes How to spot them and how to avoid them
Quick Glossary Bill - a document that creates a statute Statute - another word for law, can also be referred to as a code section Law - a thing that tells people what to do or not do, or how to do or not do something. We create laws as statutes and we create statutes through bills. Regulation - a rule that is made pursuant to a statute. Departments write regulations to implement or administer laws. In Y&G we usually aren t concerned with writing regulations.
Quick Glossary Enacting Clause - the bit at the start of the bill that says what you are doing to what code section and about what. Abstract - the middle bit that is a summary of your bill. Think of it as your idea statement. What you would tell your friends at lunch your bill is about. Generally starts with This bill would. Body or Bill language - the words that do the stuff. The legal bits. The part that matters the most.
Types of California Legislation - #1 Bills This is the most common type of legislation and probably what you should be going for. A Bill can add a new statute ( code section ), amend an existing statute, or repeal an existing statute.
Types of California Legislation - #2 Constitutional Amendment Basically just like a bill, except you are adding, amending, or repealing a part of the California State Constitution (instead of a code section) If you want to do this, email billhelp@calymca.org for more information.
Types of California Legislation - #3 Joint Resolution This is more like a policy proposal. It is a suggestion to US Congress (or someone else) that they adopt a particular policy or take a particular action. This is an option in Y&G, but why worry about the federal government when there is so much fun to be had with state statutes? If you want to do this, email billhelp@calymca.org for more information.
Types of California Legislation - #4 Concurrent Resolution In Y&G, we say this is a recommendation to a state administrative agency (like Caltrans, Department of Fish & Wildlife, Department of Public Health, etc) to do something. In real life, Concurrent Resolutions do things like designated Fresno Day or Smoked Almonds Awareness Month. This probably isn t the vehicle you re looking for. But, if you really want to do this, email billhelp@calymca.org for more information.
Who Has The Power to Fix This Problem? This is probably the most important question to ask yourself when starting to write your bill. If the answer is United States Congress then maybe you should pick a different topic. Common policy areas that are up to Congress or the President to take action on, NOT the California State Legislature, include: Immigration (visas, citizenship, DACA, etc); International affairs (who to bomb or not bomb, where to send troops); stuff the FCC does; stuff the FDA does; etc
State Legislative Code Sections Our state laws are divided by subject into these Codes. Each Code is divided into section. Each law has its own section. We call these sections statutes
These things are NOT State Laws. Don t amend them! United State Code that s federal law. Congress gets to make those laws.
These things are NOT State Laws. Don t amend them! This is the Code of Federal Regulations - rules created by Federal agencies like the FDA, FCC, Energy Commission, US Dept of Transportation, etc.
These things are NOT State Laws. Don t amend them! This is the California Code of Regulations - rules created by California agencies like Caltrans, CalFIRE, Department of Health Care Services, etc. These are California rules, true, but they are written by agencies, not by the legislature.
These things are NOT State Laws. Don t amend them! These are bills. These are what you are making. They might be laws or they might not. You can use them as the basis for your own bill, but don t try to amend a bill (no Act to Amend SB/AB, etc ) If you re not sure whether you re about to try to amend a bill rather than a statute, email billhelp@calymca.org
Parts of a Bill For Y&G purposes, all legislation must have 3 parts: - Enacting Clause - Abstract - Body
Enacting Clause This part of the legislation tells the reader what you want to do and what statute or code you are doing it to. Let s take a closer look.
Enacting Clause To properly construct your enacting clause, just fill in the blanks in this sentence: An act to Section of the Code, relating to
Enacting Clause An act to [1] Section [2] of the [2a] Code, relating to [3] There are only 4 blank spaces to worry about. [1] Your ONLY choices here are: - ADD - if you are writing a totally new law, you ADD it. - AMEND - if you are changing an existing law, you AMEND it. - REPEAL - if you want to trash an existing law, you REPEAL it.
Enacting Clause An act to [1] Section [2] of the [2a] Code, relating to [3] [2, 2a] Your ONLY choices here are a section in one of these Codes:
Enacting Clause An act to [1] Section [2] of the [2a] Code, relating to [3] [3] the relating to part is the easiest. Just say what your bill is about in 2 or 3 words MAX. -Changing the speed limit? Relating to speed limits -Something - literally anything - about education? Relating to education. -Something about crimes and punishments? Relating to criminal justice. DON T OVERTHINK THIS PART. 2-3 words and that s ALL.
Abstract This part of the legislation tells the reader in plain words what you want to do. Think of it as the one or two sentences you d use to explain your idea to a friend while waiting in the Hyatt Elevator line.
Abstract To properly construct your abstract, just write some sentences. That s it. In fact, sometimes it is easiest to write this part last. (Just make sure that you do, in fact, write it.)
Abstract Are you going to increase the redemption value for recycling? Abstract: This bill would increase the California Redemption Value from 5 cents to 10 cents for all bottles and cans. Are you going to require police officers to wear body cameras? Abstract: This bill would require all California police officers to wear body cameras. #easy
Body This is it! This is where your bill does the thing! It s the legally operative language. If the first parts were the appetizer and the salad, this is the entree. The meat. The good stuff. The point.
Oh, Quick Note Those two green boxes contain some stuff you ll also need. That sentence The People of the State of California do enact as follows: is what tells the reader who is doing this. The people are! Through their chosen representatives in the legislature.
Oh, Quick Note (continued) That second green box? That is basically your Enacting Clause restated. In the Enacting Clause you told people what you were doing to what thing. Now you are reminding them by saying...
An act to [1] Section [2] of the [2a] Code, relating to [3] Becomes: Section [2] of the [2a] Code is [1] to read: [2a] is one of those Codes and [1] is add/amend/repeal. [2] is the section number of the statute that you are doing the thing to.
Body Back to the body. If you are ADDING a totally new law, write that law here. Statutory language SHOULD NOT include phrases like this bill would, or this bill wants to, or I want to Save that for the abstract.
Body If you are AMENDING an existing statute (same as code section or law ), you should cut and paste the existing language and then show your changes by striking out language you don t want there any more (looks like this) and adding new language, which is italicized (looks like this.)
Body If you are REPEALING an existing statute (same as code section or law ), you should cut and paste the existing language and then strike out the whole dang thing (looks like this).
Body Even if you are changing ONE word in a Section that runs from subpart (a) through subpart (z) and takes 10 pages to print you still need to use that entire Section to illustrate your change. Legislators have to see changes in context to make informed decisions.
Ready for some examples of common mistakes? Delegation Names have been redacted. If you see your bill here, don t feel bad! You are helping 3400 delegates learn how to better complete the bill development process. Ready? Let s begin...
What s wrong with this bill?
So close! But see that word Federal? That s how you know there s a problem. The CA State legislature cannot amend federal law or regulation. Only Congress and Federal Agencies can. Aside from that, however, good job on getting all 3 parts of the bill in there!
What s wrong with this bill?
Two main mistakes here: First, the enacting clause is missing it s three parts: An act to [1] Section [2] of the [2a] Code, relating to [3] It starts with an act to but doesn t identify a code section or what it is doing to the code section. Though the Abstract is well done, it also continues in what should be the body of the bill. Remember, in the body of the bill, you shouldn t have sentences that include language like this bill has or this bill would, etc.
What s wrong with this bill?
Several common mistakes here: First red flag is the phrase regulatory provision. Remember regulations are rules that come from a state department or agency - they aren t statutes that come from the legislature. And the enacting clause is missing it s three parts: An act to [1] Section [2] of the [2a] Code, relating to [3] The Abstract is missing and the body of the bill is more like a proposal than statutory language because it lacks references to existing code or a way to place it in context.
What s wrong with this bill?
This one is really close! The enacting clause is just about perfect. It references a Code, the section of the code, and what it will do to that code section (amend it). The relating-to language is just the right length. It is missing its Abstract, though (which would only need to be a sentence or two of summary about the bill s intent). The amended language is properly highlighted (doesn t need to be underlined, but that s okay). All it needs before the cut/pasted existing language is this sentence: Section [2] of the [2a] Code is [1] to read:
What s wrong with this bill?
A couple of mistakes here: First, and easiest to identify, the abstract is missing. Next, the enacting clause is a little bit out of order but the larger problem is that the code section referenced isn t correct. Also, the enacting clause says the bill will amend a code section, but the body of the bill lacks any formatting that would tell the reader what is being changed (strikethrough or italics).
Looking at the source: This is the cited code section and we can see that it is not what is referenced or included in the body of the bill. It would take a bit more research to find this bill idea the best possible home within California s Statutory scheme. If you have trouble finding your bill idea a home, email billhelp@calymca.org
What s wrong with this bill?
This one is so close! This bill has almost all of its parts done correctly. It suffers from a bit of an over-copy-and-paste from the original law as it currently exists. The material in the middle red box doesn t need to be there. The delegation found the correct code and section but forgot to plug it into the enacting clause and needs to translate the enacting clause from An act to [1] Section [2] of the [2a] Code, relating to [3] To: Section [2] of the [2a] Code is [1] to read But, they did find the right section to amend and showed it using italics in the body.
What s wrong with this bill?
This bill needs significant reworking This bill is mostly in proposal form and suffers from attempts to make it too formal sounding. Bills seem complicated, but at the end of the day, their language should be as simple as possible. Using the right bill format and ensuring all of the required parts are present makes it easier for others to understand your policy ideas quickly.
The most immediate problem, however is that this bill seeks to alter a regulation. The legislature cannot alter regulations, it can only make, amend, or repeal statutes. (Also, the enacting clause is too long and the abstract and body seem to have merged.) So how could we take this idea and make it into a bill that meets our Y&G requirements? Reading the language here, it appears the author wants to exempt menstrual supplies from taxation.
Start by looking at the list of California Codes to see if there is one related to Taxes. Looks like there is..
Select that code and click expand all to see the full Table of Contents for this Code.
The next part is a bit more complicated, but use the Ctrl+F Search function and scroll around a bit to get familiar with the table of contents. I know that I want to exempt something from sale tax, so I m going to look for sections on Sales tax and then exemptions. This part takes time! It s tricky! Don t get discouraged. Do your best and call for backup if you get stuck (billhelp@calymca.org)
After a lot of searching I don t find anything about menstrual, menstruation, or tampon or anything else in the Revenue and Tax Code. So I guess I am going to need to ADD a new code section.
But I also wonder... I know this has been a hot topic in the news for awhile. Has anyone in the real legislature proposed a similar bill? Maybe I can look for help that way..
Look! The first result mentions my keyword and Taxes
Now I know that I need to add a section and this even gives me a number to use. Success!
So let s return to our policy idea and see how we can turn it into a properly formatted bill. We have figured out the code and have found a good section number to use. We know what we want to do. Now we just put it all together.
So with all of that in mind and our basic research done, the previous language becomes this. And yes, the bill really can (and should)! be this short and to the point. (Even the real life bill wasn t much longer than this. See AB 9 from the 2017-18 Regular Session of the State Assembly.)
Are you ready to take on your bills this year? We hope this helped you identify some common bill mistakes and how to avoid them. Remember, there are a lot of resources available to help you throughout the bill development process. For bill help, email billhelp@calymca.org
Bill Draft Submission Tips To submit your bill drafts, email them as Word (.doc) attachments to billsubmission@calymca.org Don t have Word? No problem! Use google docs and download them as Word (.doc) files by clicking on the File menu and selecting from the Download as options. Save your file with the following name: XXXX_[Delegation Name] That s the 4 digit bill number, an underscore, and your Delegation name. Attach it to an email and send it off by the deadline! Happy Legislating!