Governor Jerry Brown called a special session of the state Legislature to replace the "Rainy Day Fund" on the November, 2014 ballot with a dedicated reserve to allow the state to pay down its debts and unfunded liabilities. In Assembly Constitutional Amendment 4 ["ACA 4"], the 2010 Legislature approved the proposal for the November 2014 ballot to go before the general electorate. In calling for this special session, Governor Brown observed that the proposal did not address the volatility of capital gains revenue, did not provide a reserve for schools to help cushion future downturns, and constrained the state's ability to pay down long-term ... Read More >
Mar 19
Massachusetts High Court Ruling Shocks Public
What is legislative intent? Legislative intent, or the interpretation of legislation based on legal precedence and what is -- and isn't -- written in current laws, can make all the difference, especially in unique cases. The State of Massachusetts, for example, recently considered legislative intent to arrive at a controversial ruling. Massachusetts' Shocking Decision Massachusetts' high courts ruled on Wednesday, March 5th that a relatively new phenomenon, known as upskirt photography, is perfectly legal. Although the decision outraged many, the court upheld the ruling -- insisting that current legislation did not explicitly or ... Read More >
Mar 10
Precedents in California Legislation, and Current Legislative News
If you're doing law research in California, you might come across this interesting legislative gem: in Los Angeles County, you can only throw a frisbee when you have the permission of the lifeguard. Like any state, California has many strange laws and rules on record. California legislative history is complex, dating back to 1850, when the state became the 31st member of the union. Some Interesting Precedents You Might Come Across in California Legislative History Research 1946 -- Empire Star Mines v. California Employment Commission. This court decision made clear that the most important factor for determining independent contracting ... Read More >
Feb 14
CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY GRAND RE-OPENING – We were there!
The attorneys and staff at LIS attended the February 11, 2014 reopening ceremony commemorating the California State Library moving back into the newly renovated Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building. The library is located across the street from the state’s historic State Capitol. Enjoy the photos below -- sorry about the stamped date on my camera being 12 hours behind! Maria The renovations took four years of dedicated hard work by master architects, engineers, and technology experts to bring the 1928 neo-classical library building up to the 21st Century. The building now showcases murals and intricately painted ... Read More >
Feb 11
Four Helpful Documents for Determining Legislative Intent
The field of law covers so much ground, it can often be difficult to understand what one law or piece of legislation is attempting to communicate. For this reasons, legislative intent is a particularly tough nut to crack, as they say. If you tried to, however, the breakdown would be a bit like this. Laws are sometimes difficult to interpret for a number of reasons, most often because of the language that's been used to express them. Despite the legal profession's efforts to use precise wording and syntax via "legalese," not every law and statute reads perfectly and clearly to folks in later generations. When such a situation arises -- when ... Read More >
Jan 30
Unpredicted Bipartisanship Apparent in Federal Legislation Stats
In a revelation that there was more bipartisanship in Congress than realized, there are 2013 federal legislation statistics that seem to support a finding that all was not rancorous between the political parties and factions in Congress during the last congressional session. A report published by the Sunlight Foundation noted that while only 15 Senate bills and 41 House bills became law in 2013, Congress was less partisan than commonly believed. There were a total 5,584 bills from both chambers introduced in 2013, with six subjects as the main focus for at least 50% of them: health, armed forces/national security, taxation, public ... Read More >