With California’s new tire regulations hitting the news, we thought we would dig a little deeper to uncover the largely forgotten legislation that actually prompted the California Energy Commission (CEC) last month to set forth its regulatory plan for future new tire purchases by consumers. You may have heard that this past month, the CEC announced a two-phased approach targeted at phasing out the sale of certain energy efficiency standards, based on rolling resistance, which is the amount of energy a tire uses as it rolls down the road. Lower resistance means a vehicle uses less gas or electricity. New cars come with generally ... Read More >

Part 2 of our e-bike series: What are the requirements under California law for driving various electric vehicles? Since Legislative Intent Service, Inc. last reported on e-bikes and the current legislative trends on this topic, we have continued to see the news flooded with accidents involving these trendy vehicles.  The latest sad report involves the fatality of an elderly teacher walking on a sidewalk hit by a 15-year old Orange County boy riding an e-motorcycle.  But was this boy even allowed to be driving this potentially dangerous mode of transportation? Let’s take a look at California’s requirements for each category of ... Read More >

Celebrating Janene, the CA Constitution, and Electric Bikes, Scooters and Motors A HUGE Thank you to Janene!  Janene recently celebrated her 40th work anniversary with Legislative Intent Service, Inc. Janene’s tenure with LIS has seen many changes: when she was first hired, we were using typewriters!  In recent years, she has overseen the digitization of our internal archives and has been our go-to for finding and organizing helpful old reports, transcripts and periodicals.  If you have had a technical difficulty downloading or opening our research, chances are it was Janene who helped you solve the problem. We are SO grateful to ... Read More >

Legislative Intent Service, Inc. is based just a few miles down the road from the country’s “bike capital” of Davis, California, and with the news of a fatal e-bike accident happening in this city of cycles recently, it hit close to home.  It got us thinking about the rules of the road for this popular new form of transportation, and here is what we found. Background on e-bikes: E-bikes (electric bikes) are conventional bicycles equipped with an electric motor and battery that provide pedal assistance or throttle power, making pedaling easier, faster, and more efficient. They are designed to augment human power rather than replace ... Read More >

Amending California’s Constitution The California Constitution, ratified in 1879, is the supreme law of the state and has been amended 525 times. This body of law is known for being quite lengthy and for allowing citizens to directly change the law of the state through the initiative process, a feature often used for major policy shifts. But first, a little background starting with the infancy of our Constitution: California became the 31st state on September 9, 1850. The state's first Constitution was adopted in 1849 and was used until 1879, when the second constitution became effective. California’s only two constitutional conventions ... Read More >

LEGISLATIVE INTENT SERVICE, INC. Your partner in legislative history research for 50 years! (530) 666-1917 • www.legintent.com     LIS NEWS AND NOTES This newsletter brings a bit of constitutional, legislative and administrative history …  THE PAST IS ALWAYS PRESENT: RESEARCHING LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY HISTORY ... is the topic of Friday, March 6th’s Northern California Association of Law Librarians (NOCALL) Spring Institute.  I am honored to be presenting on one of my favorite regulatory history topics (yes, I have a favorite regulatory topic to research): the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC). The IWC was established by the ... Read More >