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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.

LEGISLATIVE INTENT SERVICE, INC.

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 NEWS AND NOTES

 

Supermajority Legislatures:  As a consequence of the November/2012 election, over 40 states in 2013 will have one-party control of their legislatures, the highest number since 1944.  For 38 of these states, the party in control also controls the governor’s office  A quick breakdown of these results, notes that states with Democratic supermajorities in both houses as well as a Democratic governor include California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts.  On the other side, states with Republican supermajorities in both of their legislative houses and a Republican governor include Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming.  Missouri has a Republican supermajority in both houses and a Democratic Governor while Rhode Island has Democratic supermajorities in both houses and an Independent Governor.  A blog for the National Conference of State Legislatures found that half of the states will have veto-proof majorities in 2013 (where one party controls enough vote to override a gubernatorial veto). 

 

What is a “Supermajority”?   There is no simple definition of a supermajority because a supermajority’s needs are different for each state and measure under that legislature’s consideration.  Basically, a supermajority is one that requires more than a simple majority to succeed, such as three-fifths or two-thirds or three-fourths, depending upon whether the legislative measure is a constitutional amendment, a tax proposal or any other subject-matter requiring a specific higher fraction than a simple majority to pass pursuant to that state’s constitution.  This makes the term “supermajority” more of a challenge to figure out since it is not enough to merely determine if either party is in the majority but whether there are enough votes to pass any specific bill as required by law.

 

Winter Newsletter:  We have published up at our website the winter edition of our quarterly newsletter, Engrossment .  This latest issue covers the history for the enactments of various California codes, such as Civil, Education, Insurance, and Probate.  As you read through these brief histories, you gain insight regarding California’s legislative history from as far back as the 1850’s through modern times. 

 

MCLE:  Hurry, hurry!  California attorneys whose last names begin with the letters A through G have a deadline of February 1, 2013, only two weeks away, to meet their MCLE requirements.  LIS offers two free self-study exams that are approved by the California State Bar – one regular hour on the subject of legislative process , and one hour of ethics on the subject of ethics and evidence of legislative intent .  Both exams are available 24/7 for your convenience at legintent.com . One of our attorneys will grade and email your certificate to you quickly.

 

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