Decoding Democracy: California’s Legislative Process Explained

Before diving into understanding what is on the ballot this election, it would be helpful to first understand how the legislative process works in California. After all, to meaningfully engage in the process, citizens must know how they are represented and where their participation makes an impact.

 There are three main questions that need to be answered for us to gain clarity around this branch of our state government:

1.      Who and what makes up the California legislature, and what are its roles and responsibilities?

2.      How is legislation passed? In other words, how does a proposed bill become law?

3.      Where does your vote play a role in the legislative process, and how are you able to engage when bills are passed without your vote?

Overview of The California Legislature

The state legislature is a bicameral system, consisting of the State Senate and State Assembly.[1] This structure may be familiar as it mirrors the makeup of the federal government, with the United States Senate and House of Representatives. The Senate has fewer members with longer terms, while the Assembly has more members who serve for less time. This helps to keep priorities and agendas in check for each house, so that not every member of both the Senate and Assembly is running for election at the same time or is serving the same term. As a result, the Senate can focus on long-term goals, while the Assembly can work in the short-term.

The California Senate is made up of 40 Senators, each one representing approximately 950,000 residents of the state. Before August 2024, the Senate was split between 32 Democratic Senators and 8 Republican Senators, giving the Democratic Party a supermajority of 75%.[2] However, as of the date of this article, Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil of District 4 has switched political parties, changing the split to 31 Democratic Senators to 9 Republican Senators.[3] Each Senator is elected to serve a 4-year term, and elections are split so that half of the Senate is elected during midterm elections and the other half is elected during Presidential election years.[4] This is one aspect of why your ballot won’t have positions for all 40 Senators up at a time. Senators who represent even-numbered districts are up for election in midterm election years, while Senators of odd-numbered districts are on the ballot in Presidential election years. Midterm elections are also when California’s other constitutional offices are on the ballot, such as the race for Governor, Attorney General, Treasurer, and so on. Even so, you still won’t see all 20 Senate positions on your ballot come this November, because voting is also broken up by district. For example, I live in an odd-numbered district, and so I will vote for my district’s representative in the state Senate this upcoming election, but I will not vote for a Senate position in the 2026 midterm.

The President of the Senate is the Lieutenant Governor, who is second in line after the Governor of California. The Lieutenant Governor is the tiebreaker vote but does not vote on legislation otherwise.[5] Senators also choose a leader from amongst themselves, known as the President pro Tempore – a Latin phrase meaning “for the time being.” This person serves as the presiding officer over the Senate, as well as chairs the Senate Rules Committee, which is responsible for assigning bills to policy committees for hearings, assigning chairs and co-chairs to the Senate policy committees, and acting as an administrative function of the Senate.[6]

The California Assembly has a total of 80 members who each serve 2-year terms, and the current split of political parties is 62 Democrat Assemblypersons, 17 Republic Assemblypersons, and 1 vacancy. All Assembly positions are up for election every 2 years, meaning you will see Assembly seats for your district on your ballot regardless of whether it is a Presidential election or midterm election year. The Assembly also elects a leader – the Assembly Speaker, parallel to the Speaker of the House on the federal level. One key difference from the Senate to note is that in the Assembly, if a bill reaches a tie vote, the initiative is dropped and there is no tiebreaker.[7]

As the legislature, the Senate and the Assembly together are responsible for introducing and passing legislation, specifically in the form of bills. There are limits put on how many bills a Senator or Assemblyperson can introduce in a legislative session, which is every 2 years. The Assembly allows each member to introduce a maximum of 50 bills every two years; the Senate allows 40 per member in the same period. Bills can be introduced in either house and must pass a majority vote in both before being passed to the Governor for his approval or veto.[8]

How a Bill Becomes Law

Speaking of passing legislation, how does that process work? Proposing a bill and ultimately getting it through the legislature to the Governor’s desk can be broken out into 5 steps.

Step 1

Each bill starts as an idea, which can be proposed by anyone! Bills must be authored either by a Senator or Assemblyperson, but they can get the idea from an interest group, a concerned citizen, etc. Once a legislative representative decides to move forward with the idea, they will send it to the Legislative Counsel to draft the idea into an actual bill.[9]

Who is the Legislative Counsel? The Legislative Counsel Bureau was established in 1913 to assist the Legislature in drafting bills. On their website, their duties read: “The Office of Legislative Counsel is a nonpartisan public agency that drafts legislative proposals, prepares legal opinions, and provides other confidential legal services to the Legislature and other clients.” [10] The actual title of Legislative Counsel refers to one person who is appointed as the head of the entire Bureau or Office of Legislative Counsel. Originally the Counsel was appointed by the Governor, but this changed in 1927 to what is now the current procedure. The Counsel is now selected by a vote of the entire legislature, both the Senate and Assembly, at the beginning of each legislative session, reinforcing the supposed bipartisan nature of the role.[11]

After the bill is drafted by the Legislative Counsel, it is then first introduced in the house of its author – so if the author is a Senator, it will be first introduced in the Senate; if the author is an Assemblyperson, it will be first introduced in the Assembly. The bill is introduced by reading the bill number, the bill author, and the descriptive title of the bill.[12] After it is introduced, it needs to be printed, so it is sent to another office – the Office of State Publishing. This office has a specific arm titled “Legislative Bill Room,” described on its website as providing, “Printing services for the California State Legislature, producing printed copies of the publications and recordings of legislative procedures on a daily basis.”[13] Welcome to 2024, we still have an entire office dedicating to printing things on paper for the government.

Bills then wait 30 days until further action can be taken. This is so that it is available to the public for review and investigation, and during this time the public can contact their legislators about the bill.[14] This waiting period can be waived by a three-fourths vote in either house.

Step 2

Once a bill passes through its drafting, introduction, and printing, it then needs to be presented before various committees in the house of its origin. As mentioned earlier, the Rules Committee of either the Senate or Assembly assigns the bill to its appropriate policy committee(s).

As a quick note, let’s look at who makes up the Rules Committees in both houses. In the Senate, the Rules Committee is made up of 5 members, chaired again by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. The other four members are elected by the Senate at the beginning of a new legislative session. In the 2023-2024 legislative session, the makeup consisted of 2 Democrat members and 3 Republican members.[15] The President Pro Tempore also appoints the chair and vice-chair of each Senate policy committee.[16] In the Assembly, the rules committee is currently comprised of 16 members, with the makeup consisting of 11 Democrat members and 5 Republican members.[17] All members are appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly. Members cannot serve as chair of any other standing committee. The Speaker of the Assembly has the same role as the President Pro Tempore of the Senate in that he or she appoints all chairs and vice-chairs of the Assembly standing committees.[18]

Once a bill is assigned to its relevant policy committee, it then goes before the committee to be heard. The purpose of these committees is to be a forum for a smaller group of representatives than the entire house to dive deep into the policy implications of each bill. Committees are also forums for public input, where citizens can come and vocalize any concerns or support for proposed legislation.[19] The Senate has 22 policy committees, and the Assembly has 33 policy committees, made up of topics ranging from agriculture to housing to the judiciary, and so on.[20] When a bill is presented in these forums, it is presented by the author and then testimony for and against the bill is given in front of the committee. The committee votes to pass the bill, amend the bill, or defeat the bill. Bills are ultimately passed by majority vote.[21]

If a bill has a fiscal impact or state cost, the bill must also go through either the Senate or Assembly Appropriations Committee. Appropriation committees hear and consider fiscal considerations and budget impact of bills rather than arguments on the basis of policy positions.[22] The Senate Appropriations Committee is comprised of 7 members assigned by the President Pro Tempore.[23] The Assembly Appropriations Committee is currently comprised 16 members during the 2023-2024 session, with members being appointed by the Assembly Speaker.[24]

There is no testimony from the bill authors, proponents or opponents, or public involvement at appropriation committee hearings; the bills are discussed and voted on by committee members. Appropriations committees have a strong impact on whether bills are allowed to move forward, especially seen through the use of the Suspense File. When reviewing a bill for fiscal considerations, if a bill has a cost of $50,000 or more from the general fund, or $150,000 or more to a special fund, the bill is placed in the Suspense File.[25] The committee can also place bills that don’t have these budget impacts in the Suspense File at their discretion. The way for bills to move out of the Suspense File is through a vote-only Suspense Hearing, held prior to the deadlines for fiscal committees to hear and report bills to the Senate Floor.  Bills will either move on to the Senate Floor for further consideration or be in held in committee and under submission.[26] In 2024, just 32% of bills in the Suspense File made it out. In prior years it was an average of just 25%.[27]

Again, there is no testimony, no discussion, and no reason given as to why the bill may be blocked from moving forward. This can be frustrating to bill authors as they are not given an explanation as to why the bill is being killed for fiscal impact. Some see it as a way to shelve and even kill controversial bills, with the true reason masked for fiscal considerations. One interesting example of this happening to a bill that, upon its drafting and introduction, was not presented originally to have a fiscal impact at all, is Assembly Bill 2408. This bill was introduced in the 2021-2022 legislative session to give prosecutors grounds to sue social media companies for addicting children to their platforms. The bill made it through the entire process in the Assembly, before it ended up before the Senate Appropriations Committee. It was then shelved in the Suspense File and killed during the vote-only suspense hearing. [28]

What is interesting about this is that the bill’s author had no idea how it ended up before the Senate Appropriations Committee in the first place, because the bill was drafted without needing appropriations. The Assembly Judiciary Committee included in their report (as the bill passed through the process in the Assembly) that the bill would not have fiscal impact, and the bill never went before the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Supposedly, the Senate Appropriations Committee determined that the bill would require the Department of Justice to add five new positions to take on the workload the bill was introducing. But again, the author claimed that when working with the Attorney General, they never indicated they would need more positions or that it would significantly increase the workload.[29]

This example illustrates that this portion of the legislative process has a severe lack of transparency and has people on both sides of the political aisle calling for reform to prevent more cases like the one just described from happening. But, if a bill has been introduced, has gone through the correct policy committees, as well as appropriations committees if there is a budget impact, and if the bill has survived to this point, it will then move to the third step in the process.

Step 3

The bill goes before its house of origin again for a second reading. The purpose of this second reading is to introduce any changes that were made to adopt policy committee recommendations. Additionally, further amendments can be proposed by the house before the bill is up for vote.[30] A bill analysis is prepared which explains the bill, the current law, background of the bill, and lists organizations supporting or opposing the bill.

There is then a third and final reading where the author explains the bill and it is discussed within the house. This is when it is finally presented for passage. A majority vote is required to pass - 21 votes in Senate or 41 in the Assembly - unless the bill requires funding and has been passed by the appropriations committee, in which case the threshold is higher, requiring 27 votes in the Senate or 54 votes in the Assembly.[31]

Step 4

At this point, once a bill passes in its house of origin, it then is sent to the other house to repeat Steps 1-3 there. So, if a bill originated and passed in the Senate, it would then go to the Assembly to start the process over. The other house can make amendments to the bill as it goes through the legislative process there, in which case it would be sent back to its house of origin for the house to reach agreement on the changes. Ultimately, both the Senate and the Assembly have to pass the bill.[32]

Step 5

The last step is to send the approved bill to the Governor’s desk for the final verdict on whether the bill will be signed, vetoed, or passed into law without a signature. Bills will pass automatically in 12 days if not actively vetoed, known as approval without signing.

Approval without signing usually indicates that the governor does not want to be associated with the bill, for whatever political reason. It could prevent alienating constituents or interest groups who disagree with the bill. Current Governor Gavin Newsom has not taken this action during his time in office, but former Governor Jerry Brown allowed five bills to become law without his signature during his time in office, and before that, former Governor Gray Davis also used this option for five bills. [33]

One example of approval without signing is Senate Bill 1272, which was a bill that sought to ask voters if the United States Constitution should be amended to overturn a previous court ruling related to campaign finance laws. Jerry Brown was governor at the time, and he agreed with the precedent of the bill – he too thought the court decision should be overturned – but he stated that the bill would have no legal effect. Even if the bill was passed, it wouldn’t have legal authority to amend the United States Constitution. As such, he allowed the bill to pass, but he did so without his signature, saying, “It is my intent to signal that I am not inclined to repeat this practice of seeking advisory opinions from the voters.” [34] Based on how infrequently this has been used over the past few decades, it seems it isn’t considered a popular option by governors.

If the governor vetoes the bill, a two-thirds vote in each house is needed to override the veto. A governor’s veto hasn’t been overridden in California since 1980, so this is also an unlikely option statistically.[35] Alternatively, when bills are passed, most will go into effect as law the following January 1st. [36] At this point, the bill is final record – it is signed, dated, and sent to the Secretary of State, where it is assigned a bill or chapter number and given the official seal of the Great State of California! [37]

California’s Ballot Initiative History & Process

You may be wondering, as I was, where does the voter come in? This process is how the legislature passes bills, but the votes of California citizens aren’t required at any point. What we see on our ballots are not bills that are introduced within the legislature; what we vote on are known as ballot measures – and ballot measures are introduced by an entirely different process.

This process was formalized in 1911 with the goal of putting the power of direct legislation into the hands of California citizens, so that it isn’t only the legislature who can pass bills unchecked.[38] Anyone, including you, can propose ballot measures through the California ballot initiative process to be voted on by your fellow Californians. There are three types of ballot initiatives: initiatives to create a new state law, initiatives to veto a state law passed through the legislative process, and initiatives to amend the state constitution.[39] Twenty-four states in the US don’t have a state ballot initiative process at all – these are states like Tennessee, New York, Texas, Delaware, Hawaii, and so on. Eleven states have a state ballot initiative process, but don’t allow all three types of ballot measures to be introduced by the people – for example, Idaho allows initiatives to create a new state law or to repeal a law passed through the legislature, but Idaho does not allow initiatives to amend the state constitution. Or on the opposite side, Florida allows initiatives for constitutional amendments, but not to introduce new laws or to repeal laws passed by the legislature. California is one of just 15 states that gives its people the power to initiate all three types, alongside states like Oregon, Arizona, and Colorado. How cool is that! You live in a state that gives you direct power to pass legislation, to keep the legislature in check by repealing legislation, and to amend the constitution you live under.[40] It’s so important then to know how the process works since we have the opportunity to be so involved!  

The process starts with a proponent drafting their proposition and submitting it to the Secretary of State, with a fee. The proposal is given a title and summary, a fiscal analysis, and then approved by the Secretary of State. At this point, the person who proposed the initiative must gather signatures for the initiative to be approved and on the ballot. The required signatures have to be gathered within 180 days, as well as submitted to the state and verified within 131 days of the election.[41] The number of signatures required depends on both the type of initiative it is, and the year it is being introduced in. That is because it is actually a percentage based on the total number of votes for all candidate for governor in the last midterm election, so that will fluctuate every four years as there are gubernatorial races. For initiatives for a new law or to repeal an existing law, the percentage required is 5% of that total vote number. For constitutional amendment propositions, the threshold is a little higher at 8% of that vote number. If all the required signatures are gathered in the required timeframe, the proposition will then qualify to be on the ballot and voted on in the upcoming election.[42]

One other interesting note about this is that prior to 2014, once a proposition qualified to be on the ballot, it was guaranteed to be on the ballot for the election. After 2014, the process was amended so that proposed initiatives and amendments could be withdrawn before the election, even after qualifying to be on the ballot. This opened the door to an entirely new process where lawmakers will offer proponents of ballot initiatives to pass compromise legislation to avoid campaign fights. [43] During the process of getting to our current slate of propositions for the November ballot, five ballot measures have already been withdrawn or negotiated away after initially qualifying.[44] The governor and lawmakers are involved in the process and can sometimes pressure proponents to remove their initiatives by offering compromises. For example, there were two propositions qualified to be on the ballot that dealt with funding pandemic preparedness through expanded taxes, as well as further funding for healthcare for children with critical illnesses. Newsom made a deal with these proponents that if they pulled these measures from the ballot, he would expand in the state budget a state medical research program so that it includes both pandemic prevention and further funding for children’s hospitals. These two propositions were dropped and won’t be voted on in November.[45] Regardless of this political jockeying, the power still ultimately lies with the proponents of the propositions, and if they meet the qualifications through gathering the required signatures, their propositions cannot be forced off the ballot.

What does all this mean for you today? Walking through the legislative process has made me even more convinced that we need to be informed, and that we need to be voting. The process for introducing and passing legislation mostly sits with your representatives in the state Senate and Assembly, which means you need to know who those representatives are and vote for the ones you believe will work to pass legislation that will align with what is best for our state, as well as what aligns with your values. But there is a reminder that the voice of the people ultimately keeps the legislature in check. While the legislative branch introduces and votes on bills, residents of the state can still be involved by testifying before committee hearings and by contacting the representatives in your district to make your support or opposition known. We also have the ability to directly get initiatives on ballots, especially initiatives to repeal bills passed in the legislature. This is important because no matter what bills are passed, all hope is not lost!

If you are a conservative in California, and you are looking at the Democratic supermajority in the legislature and in the governor’s office and wondering if you can truly make a difference, all hope is not lost for you! Just because there are bills passed that you believe will have negative outcomes, or that don’t align with what you agree with, the power remains with the people. You can still support groups that are working to repeal harmful legislation in the state. Additionally, if you are a Democrat, you should still be informed about the legislation that is being passed because you might not agree with or support every bill introduced by representatives of your party. Just because someone has the same political party affiliation as you, doesn’t mean that you have to agree with every policy that they hold. This is good news for conservatives and liberals alike, because if we are all using our common sense and thinking critically about the legislation being passed in our state, we can all be encouraged that we have some measure of direct impact and ability to hold our representatives accountable.

We will work together to be informed about what has been passed in our state and what is up for our vote this November, and then we will take action by actually voting, by supporting representatives and initiatives that align with our vision for California and our value systems. Additionally, another action item for you is to be on the lookout for future ballot initiatives that need signatures to be approved to be on the ballot! Personally, there have been several times I have seen groups collecting signatures for propositions outside of my local grocery store, gym, the local Target. I like to stop and take just a couple minutes to understand what these initiatives are about and if they align with my values, and then I take the time to put down my signature if I agree with them. This helps groups who are trying to use their direct power of legislation given by the California Constitution to create good laws and repeal bad ones. I would encourage you similarly, that the next time you see signatures being gathered, stop for a moment and try to understand if you want to support that specific measure or not.

Specifically for the Christian, understanding the legislative and ballot initiative processes means that we can be specific when we pray for our state to pray for representatives in both houses of the legislature who will have wisdom and clarity on what will actually be good for the residents of California, in line with God’s standard of goodness; bold voices to introduce initiatives that will enact good legislation and repeal bad legislation; and common grace among our communities to recognize the importance of their vote and to take seriously understanding how proposed ballot measures will help or harm the people of California.

In terms of resources, you can find the status of active and inactive ballot initiatives on the California attorney general’s website, as well as the California Secretary of State’s website, to see how many are in process of gathering signatures, how many have reached a certain threshold of signatures, and which have been withdrawn or have failed to gather signatures in the required time period. See those links here:

California Attorney General’s Website: https://oag.ca.gov/initiatives

California Secretary of State’s Website: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/initiative-and-referendum-status

For this election, we are past the 131 days before the election mark, so there are no further initiatives to qualify beyond the 10 slated to be on the ballot in November, but hopefully for the next election you can keep an eye on initiatives being proposed and that need signatures to qualify.

There is also a Statewide Ballot Initiative Guide and Suggested Deadlines guide for any of you who, in learning about this process, want to propose a ballot measure! See those resources here:

Initiative Guide:

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/ballot-measures/pdf/statewide-initiative-guide.pdf 

Sample Suggested Deadlines Guide:

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/ballot-measures/pdf/appendix-a.pdf

Sources:

[1] California State Senate. “Legislative Process | California State Senate,” n.d. https://www.senate.ca.gov/citizens-guide/legislative-process.

[2] California State Senate. “FAQs | California State Senate.” (n.d.). https://www.senate.ca.gov/citizens-guide/faqs#senate

[3] Zavala, A. (2024, August 8). “Democratic California State Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil is switching parties to become a Republican.” KCRA 3. https://www.kcra.com/article/democratic-california-state-sen-marie-alvarado-gil-is-switching-parties-republican/61830996

[4] California State Senate. “FAQs | California State Senate.” (n.d.). https://www.senate.ca.gov/citizens-guide/faqs#senate

[5] “California State Senate.” (n.d.). Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/California_State_Senate

[6] California State Senate. “FAQs | California State Senate.” (n.d.). https://www.senate.ca.gov/citizens-guide/faqs#senate

[7] “California State Assembly.” (n.d.). Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/California_State_Assembly

[8] California State Senate. “FAQs | California State Senate.” (n.d.). https://www.senate.ca.gov/citizens-guide/faqs#senate

[9] California State Legislature. “Overview of California Legislative Process,” n.d. https://www.counties.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/v2-tab5_-_legislative_advocacy.pdf.

[10] Office of Legislative Counsel. “Who We Are | Legislative Counsel,” n.d. https://legislativecounsel.ca.gov/about-us/who-we-are.

[11] Ibid.

[12] California State Legislature. “Overview of California Legislative Process,” n.d. https://www.counties.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/v2-tab5_-_legislative_advocacy.pdf.

[13] Office of State publishing. “About,” n.d. https://www.dgs.ca.gov/en/OSP/About.

[14] State Of California. “Life Cycle of a Bill - California State Capitol Museum.” California State Capitol Museum, October 16, 2023. https://capitolmuseum.ca.gov/learn/about-the-government/life-cycle-of-a-bill/#:~:text=Despite%20what%20the%20term%20might,it%20can%20be%20acted%20on.

[15] Ballotpedia. “Rules Committee, California State Senate - Ballotpedia,” n.d. https://ballotpedia.org/Rules_Committee,_California_State_Senate.

[16] Micheli, Chris. “The Rules Committees of the California Legislature – California Globe.” California Globe, n.d. https://californiaglobe.com/fr/the-rules-committees-of-the-california-legislature/.

[17] Ballotpedia. “Rules Committee, California State Assembly - Ballotpedia,” n.d. https://ballotpedia.org/Rules_Committee,_California_State_Assembly.

[18] Micheli, Chris. “The Rules Committees of the California Legislature – California Globe.” California Globe, n.d. https://californiaglobe.com/fr/the-rules-committees-of-the-california-legislature/.

[19] California State Senate. “Committees | California State Senate,” n.d. https://www.senate.ca.gov/committees#:~:text=Policy%20Committee%20hearings%20are%20the,regular%20basis%20throughout%20the%20year.

[20] Ballotpedia. “List of Committees in California State Government - Ballotpedia,” n.d. https://ballotpedia.org/List_of_committees_in_California_state_government#:~:text=The%20California%20Senate%20has%2022,Assembly%20has%2033%20standing%20committees.

[21] California State Legislature. “Overview of California Legislative Process,” n.d. https://www.counties.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/v2-tab5_-_legislative_advocacy.pdf.

[22] California State Senate. “Legislative Process | California State Senate,” n.d. https://www.senate.ca.gov/citizens-guide/legislative-process.

[23] Ballotpedia. “Appropriations Committee, California State Senate - Ballotpedia,” n.d. https://ballotpedia.org/Appropriations_Committee,_California_State_Senate.

[24] Ballotpedia. “Appropriations Committee, California State Assembly - Ballotpedia,” n.d. https://ballotpedia.org/Appropriations_Committee,_California_State_Assembly.

[25] Sanchez, Jared. “Inside the Black Box of Appropriations.” CalBike, May 10, 2023. https://www.calbike.org/inside-the-black-box-of-appropriations/.

[26] California State Senate - Senate Appropriations Committee. “What Is Suspense?” Senate Appropriations Committee, n.d. https://sapro.senate.ca.gov/FAQs#:~:text=What%20is%20Suspense%3F,referral%20to%20the%20Suspense%20File.

[27] La, Lynn. “California Bills: Which Died in ‘Suspense File?’” CalMatters, May 17, 2024. https://calmatters.org/newsletter/california-bills-suspense-file/.

[28] Andrew Sheeler, Lindsey Holden, and Stephen Hobbs. “California’s Secretive Suspense File: Where Bills Go to Die,” The Sacramento Bee, August 16, 2022. https://www.governing.com/now/californias-secretive-suspense-file-where-bills-go-to-die.

[29] Andrew Sheeler, Lindsey Holden, and Stephen Hobbs. “California’s Secretive Suspense File: Where Bills Go to Die,” The Sacramento Bee, August 16, 2022. https://www.governing.com/now/californias-secretive-suspense-file-where-bills-go-to-die.

[30] “Life Cycle of a Bill - California State Capitol Museum.” California State Capitol Museum, October 16, 2023. https://capitolmuseum.ca.gov/learn/about-the-government/life-cycle-of-a-bill/#:~:text=Second%20Reading&text=If%20a%20bill%20is%20reported,or%20Senate%20third%20reading%20file.

[31] Ibid.

[32] Ibid.

[33] La, Lynn. “California Workers Will Get More Paid Sick Days.” CalMatters, October 5, 2023. https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2023/10/sick-days-california/.

[34] Brown, Edmund (Jerry). “SB 1272 Letter to the Members of the California State Senate.” Archive.Gov.Ca, July 15, 2014. Accessed August 8, 2024. https://archive.gov.ca.gov/archive/gov39/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/SB_1272.pdf.

[35] Rosenberg, Paul. “Newsom’s Rash of Vetoes Call for Historic Overrides.” October 19, 2023. https://www.randomlengthsnews.com/archives/2023/10/19/newsom-vetoes-call-for-historic-overrides/47226.

[36] Ibid.

[37] California State Legislature. “Overview of California Legislative Process,” n.d. https://www.counties.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/v2-tab5_-_legislative_advocacy.pdf.

[38] Silva, J. Fred, Public Policy Institute of California, and University of California at Berkeley. “The California Initiative Process: Background and Perspective.” Report. Occasional Papers. Public Policy Institute of California, 2000. https://www.ppic.org/wp-content/uploads/OP_1100FSOP.pdf.

[39] Piper, Kelsey. “California’s Ballot Initiative System Isn’t Working. How Do We Fix It?” Vox, November 6, 2020. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/11/6/21549654/california-ballot-initiative-proposition-direct-democracy.

[40] “States with initiative or referendum.” (n.d.). Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/States_with_initiative_or_referendum

[41] “Signature requirements for ballot measures in California.” (n.d.). Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/Signature_requirements_for_ballot_measures_in_California

[42] Ibid.

[43] Koseff, Alexei. “Ballot measure madness: How California lawmakers are scrambling the November list.” CalMatters. June 27, 2024. https://calmatters.org/politics/elections/2024/06/california-ballot-propositions-november/.

[44] Ibid.

[45] Ibid.