A statute’s language may have a fairly complicated history and the annotations accompanying the major code books published may not provide you with the specific changes that were legislated for each of the bills identified in the annotations for the statute. At this point, it becomes necessary to “trace” your language to find out which one legislative measure brought in your language of interest within the statute in question. The Statutes at Large for California go back to 1850 and you should be able to find these chapter books at your local law library. When the governor signs any bill into law, the secretary of state will assign a ... Read More >
May 17
CA Assembly Bill 188 of 2013 affects commercial property change of ownership under Proposition 13
Assembly Bill 188 proposes to revise California Proposition 13’s circumstances under which a “change in ownership” of real property owned by a legal entity is deemed to have occurred by closing a commercial property tax loophole to more accurately reflect when change of ownership takes place, thus recovering lost tax revenue. On May 13th, the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxationplaced this bill in suspense, perhaps stalling it permanently. This Committee’s analysis noted the following statements by the author of Assembly Bill 188, Assembly member Tom Ammiano: “California's current system for assessing and taxing property, as ... Read More >
May 9
California Minimum Wage Annual Adjustment – CA AB 10 of 2013
An increase to the minimum wage is being proposed by California Assembly Bill 10, authored by Assembly member Luis Alejo of Salinas, CA. Assembly member Alejo seeks to increase the current $8.00 per hour minimum wage to not less than $8.25 per hour. Furthermore, this bill would increase the minimum wage after January 1, 2015 to not less than $8.75 per hour. Finally, on January 1, 2016, California Assembly Bill 10 would increase the minimum wage to not less than $9.25 per hour. The adjustment would begin on January 1, 2017 and these minimum wage increases would continue annually thereafter. The existing federal law under the Fair Labor ... Read More >
May 1
LIS News and Notes – Law Day
LEGISLATIVE INTENT SERVICE, INC. Your partner in legislative history research (800) 666‑1917 • www.legintent.com ____________________________________________________________________ LIS NEWS AND NOTES (LIS’ website has a new look! Read below to learn more!) Happy Law Day Today is Law Day, which is observed every May 1st and is recognized as an opportunity to address legal issues with fundraisers, bar association luncheons, essay contests, school lessons, and even role playing, leading to opportunities to discuss the law and courts. In 1957, American Bar Association President Charles Rhyne promoted this day to ... Read More >