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LIS News and Notes

March 29, 2010

Some bill research does not include the Governor's file because at the time we researched the bill, the sitting Governor had not released his chaptered bill file. If the Governor's file is not included with this particular research, please contact our office (1-530-666-1917 or quote@legintent.com) and we will be happy to provide this file at no charge if it is available. Please Note: Governor files did not exist prior to 1943.

CALIFORNIA PROPOSITIONS 100 YEARS AGO:  In 1909, California’s newly elected progressive-era legislators passed Senate Bill 3, the Direct Primary law, which would permit Californians to vote directly for candidates. This was a time in California politics where the progressive movement battled to wrest control of the State from what they perceived to be a corporate and political machine system that selected state officials outside of the will of the people. This progressive movement culminated in 1911 with the election of Governor Hiram Johnson and the enactment of the first comprehensive Public Utilities Act, the Constitutional provisions for the initiative and referendum, and many other major changes in the laws of the State. The most widely used of the three, the initiative process, allows citizens to by-pass the legislature by drafting their own proposed statutory and constitutional laws, gathering signatures, and qualifying their laws to be placed on the ballot. 

. . . AND TODAY:  There have been 338 citizen initiatives over the last 100 years that have qualified for the ballot with voters approving 112 of them.  The “recall” process was used only once so far, in 2003 to recall Governor Gray Davis. Currently, there are two statewide ballot elections planned:  June 8, 2010 (Primary Election) and November 2, 2010 (General Election).  Propositions 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 will be before the electorate in the June election.  With 433,971 signatures required, one ballot so far has qualified for the November election:  "Changes California Law to Legalize Marijuana and Allow It to Be Regulated and Taxed." 

SELF-STUDY MCLE:  The California State Bar has approved LIS' two self-study exams , which we offer free of charge here on our website and available at your convenience, 24/7.  You can earn 1.0 hr. ethics MCLE credit and/or 1.0 regular legislative history and intent MCLE credit:

The ethics exam relates to introducing into court extrinsic and intrinsic legislative history materials and your ethical duty to the court, ethical duty to the client, the work/product privilege, and evidentiary considerations. 
The legislative history exam addresses the legislative process for passing legislation, the types of documents prepared on legislation, and how to analyze these documents to elicit the information that will help you win your case.

NEWSLETTER:  The Spring/2010 edition of LIS’ quarterly newsletter, Engrossment , is now posted at our website.  We write about our newly redesigned webpage, updated and new points and authorities (which include various states), and a summary of the results from our January client survey.
 
RESEARCH SAVINGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS:

When you place a custom research order for three legislative measures (any state!) in April and May, you can save $$ by using our Spring-into-Action 15% discount available at:  http://www.legintent.com/discount.php.    
Referring new contacts to us may result in a 10% discount for your next legislative history research request.  If any new contact tells us that you referred them to LIS, we will email a 10% discount to you for each referral. 
We offer FREE QUOTES!  Call in your quote request for any state or federal statute or regulation at 1-800-666-1917 or email it to us by going to http://www.legintent.com/pricequote.php or emailing directly to quote@legintent.com.
You may be able to order customized research at a 20% discount for your pro bono project. 
LIS' Online Store Research offers legislative histories for a reduced rate of $300 per bill.   Go to www.legintent.com to learn more.
Recovering your fees for LIS research is possible if your position prevails.  (Van de Kamp v. Gumbiner, 221 CA3rd 1260 (1990)).  LIS has been cited in over 60 court opinions.  See: http://www.legintent.com/cases.php.
Those clients who responded to our January/2010 Survey received their 25% discount for one custom research order which they can use anytime in 2010. 
Our free State Bar-approved self-study exams qualify you for 1.0 MCLE credit and 1.0 MCLE ethics credit and is available online 24/7.  Need 1.0 hour of MCLE?  Simply go to:  http://www.legintent.com/mclemain.php.