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Legislative Intent Service, Inc. News & Notes

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.

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LIS NEWS AND NOTES

Veteran’s Day:  Next Tuesday is Veteran’s Day, a day to honor our veterans which came about because on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 in World War I, an armistice between Germany and the Allied nations came into effect.  One year later, on November 11, 1919, Armistice Day was commemorated for the first time when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the day should be "filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory".  

In 1926, the United States Congress officially recognized the end of World War I and declared that the anniversary of the armistice should be commemorated and also requested that the president should "issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11, inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples."

In 1938, Congress approved “AN ACT Making the 11th day of November in each year a legal holiday.”  (52 Stat. 351)   That Act stated:

   Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 11th day of November in each year, a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as Armistice Day, is hereby made a legal public holiday to all intents and purposes and in the same manner as the 1st day of January, the 22d day of February, the 30th day of May, the 4th day of July, the first Monday of September, and Christmas Day are now made by law public holidays.

   Approved, May 13, 1938.

While November 11th was intended to honor the veterans of World War I, later in 1954, Congress changed the word “Armistice” to “Veterans” in response to requests by veterans’ service organizations following World War II.  Therefore, on June 1, 1954, November 11 became a day to honor all American veterans, where ever and whenever they had served.

 

New Initiative Rules:   This week’s national elections are over, but future elections in California could get a little more interesting because of a new initiative petition law signed by Governor Jerry Brown.  Even though the initiative process is different for every state, there are five basic steps to any initiative common to all states:  1) Preliminary filing of a proposed initiative with a designated state official; 2)  Review of the initiative for compliance with statutory requirements prior to circulation; 3) Circulation of the petition to obtain the required number of signatures; 4) Submission of the petition signatures to the state elections official for verification of the signatures; and 5) The placement of the initiative on the ballot and subsequent vote.

Taking effect on January 1, 2015 in California will be new rules relating to initiative measures under the new “Ballot Initiative Transparency Act ”.  Gov. Brown signed SB 1253 into law on September 27, 2014 to make several changes to the initiative process, such as: 1) Providing a 30-day public review process, 2) Extending the timeframe allowed for circulating a petition; and 3) Allowing the withdrawal of a petition at any time before the measure qualifies for the ballot.  The bill also requires the Secretary of State's office to post on the Internet and regularly update the top 10 donors of the committees in support and opposition of an initiative.

Senator Darrell Steinberg carried this bill for California Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of California, which was also supported by the California Chamber of Commerce, the AARP, the California Business Roundtable, and the California State Employees Association, just to name a few.  Opposition appeared to come only from the California Teachers Association , which contended that the bill made “numerous unnecessary changes to the initiative process.”  The arguments in support of SB 1253 noted that the recommendations in the bill were actually made 20 years ago by the Citizen’s Commission on Ballot Initiatives. According to the proponents, presently, there is not a sufficient review process of initiatives by the public or the Legislature where either is able to provide greater input and suggest amendments or correct flaws before the measure is printed on the ballot.  Therefore, implementing a better public review process before the title and summary process by the Attorney General and allowing the Legislature to hold a hearing after 25% of signatures are collected helps to address this deficiency.  Also, there is the real concern that voters are asked to decide important issues through the initiative process without adequate information, so SB 1253 aims to provide clearer and more thorough information.  As he signed SB 1253 into law, Governor Brown stated that “California’s century-old initiative process is a hallmark of our electoral system and today we’re taking an important step to modernize and strengthen and direct democracy.” 

     

Three Free Self-Study MCLEs:  February 1st is coming up sooner than you think!  LIS offers THREE California State Bar approved self-study exams on the separate subjects of legislative process (1 hr.), the California Public Records Act of 1968 (1 hr.) and legal ethics (1 hr. ethics!). 

These free exams are easily available 24/7 at our website for your convenience and will help you meet your State Bar MCLE compliance.  In a timely manner, we will correct the exams and provide you with your State Bar approved certificates electronically. 

 

Free Quotes:   Need legislative intent and history research?  Any state?  Federal legislation?  We’ll provide you with a free email quote, M-F, within one to three hours.  Fill out the “Contact” form at our website or simply reply to this email or call us directly at 1-800-666-1917. 

 

LIS 40th Anniversary:  With 2014 marking Legislative Intent Service, Inc .’s 40th year in business, LIS has been in the business of researching legislative history and intent longer than any other private research law firm in California. The facts are out there and our mission is to help you find all of the facts.

For 40 years, LIS has been researching state and federal bills based on research protocols it developed through tried and true research methodologies that are unmatched by any other research organization. We know that the types of documents available in 2014 are not the same documents available for bills enacted in 1814 and 1914, and we know what materials are available for these and any other earlier time periods.  Our goal is always to locate these documents and to keep digging for more. So, when clients call and ask our staff attorneys if there could possibly be any materials available on their bill in question, our answer is always, “yes!”     

 

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