The law states that California's legislative power is mainly held by the California Legislature, which is made up of the Senate and Assembly. However, the people of California have kept the right to directly propose laws (initiative) and vote on them (referendum).

This law emphasizes that the founding principles of the United States are based on having free, fair, and competitive elections. Over time, however, the concentration of political power in long-serving incumbents has made elections less democratic and harder for new candidates to compete.

It points out that legislators serving unlimited terms and utilizing state resources to their advantage create an environment where it is very difficult for fresh voices to enter politics. This results in career politicians who are more aligned with bureaucracy than with the people.

To fix this, the law proposes limiting the powers of incumbency by placing restrictions on retirement benefits, regulating state-financed staff and services for incumbents, and capping the number of terms a legislator can serve. These changes aim to ensure fair elections and encourage new candidates.

The California State Senate has 40 Senators who serve 4-year terms, with half elected every 2 years. The California State Assembly has 80 members, all serving 2-year terms. Both Senators and Assembly members start their terms on the first Monday in December after the election.

A person can only serve a total of 12 years in the Senate, Assembly, or a combination of both, with this applying to those first elected after the rule was put in place. Assembly members are elected in November of even-numbered years, while Senators are elected at the same time and places as Assembly members.

To be eligible for the Legislature, a person must be an elector, have lived in the district for one year, and been a U.S. citizen and California resident for three years prior to the election. They must also not exceed the term limits upon election. If a seat becomes vacant, the Governor must quickly hold an election to find a replacement.

This law states that the California Legislature begins its regular session at noon on the first Monday in December every even-numbered year and must end by midnight on November 30 of the next even-numbered year. If there's something urgent, the Governor can call a special session, where the Legislature can only deal with the issues mentioned in the Governor's proclamation. They are also allowed to manage session-related expenses.

This section restricts California legislators from accepting certain types of income to avoid conflicts of interest. Legislators can't earn money from lobbyists or those with recent contracts with the legislature. If they do, they must abstain from influencing legislation that financially impacts these parties for a year.

Travel expenses are regulated, with rules on when these allowances can be claimed, primarily around when the legislature is in recess. Additionally, this law sets limits on retirement benefits, capping benefits based on salary over $500 a month unless earned while serving. Adjustments for cost of living can be made post-retirement, but with specific rules regarding past service periods.

Anyone elected to or serving in the California Legislature after November 1, 1990, must join the Federal Social Security Program. The state only covers the employer's portion of Social Security costs. Legislators won’t earn other pension or retirement benefits from their service because legislative service is not meant to be a career. This doesn't cancel out any benefits already earned under other laws before this act was adopted, but no new benefits will be earned apart from Social Security.

This section outlines rules for the California Legislature regarding managing its members' conduct and activities. Each house can expel or suspend members with a two-thirds majority and can choose to withhold salary and benefits during suspension. Suspended members lose all rights and powers of their office until suspension ends.

Legislators can't accept honorariums or gifts that may cause conflicts of interest, and they must follow laws prohibiting such actions. Members are restricted from accepting compensation for appearances or actions before state agencies that may impact legislation. After leaving office, former members can't lobby the legislature for a year.

The Legislature is tasked with adopting and enforcing laws to prevent Members from engaging in conflicting activities, with the people retaining power to enforce this provision.

This law establishes the structure for electing members to the California State Legislature. The state is divided into 40 different regions called Senatorial districts and 80 regions called Assembly districts. Voters in each Senatorial district select one Senator, and voters in each Assembly district select one member for the Assembly.

This section outlines the rules and procedures for each house of the California Legislature. It requires each house to choose officers, adopt rules, and maintain a journal of proceedings. Most sessions and committee meetings must be open to the public, and people have the right to record and broadcast them, with certain rules to prevent disruption. Audiovisual recordings must be made public online within 24 hours and kept for at least 20 years. However, closed sessions may occur for specific reasons, like personnel matters, security issues, or legal consultations. Political party caucuses can also meet privately. The Legislature must provide notice and reasons for closed meetings and implement these rules by resolution or statute. Lastly, one house cannot adjourn for more than 10 days without the other's consent.

This law limits the California Legislature's total spending on salaries, operating expenses, and equipment. In the first year after the law is adopted, spending can't exceed $950,000 per member or 80% of the previous year's spending, whichever is less. In future years, spending can only increase according to the same percentage increase as the state's spending limit from Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

This California law outlines the process and rules for how bills are introduced, heard, and passed in the state legislature. In regular sessions, a bill cannot be addressed until 31 days after introduction unless waived by a three-fourths vote. Bills must be read by title for three days in each house, but this can be waived by a two-thirds vote. Before passing, bills and amendments must be available online for 72 hours unless an emergency declared by the Governor requires otherwise.

Most laws go into effect on January 1 following a 90-day waiting period after their enactment, while laws from special sessions take effect 91 days after their session ends. Some exceptions, like tax laws or urgent matters, become effective immediately. Urgency statutes, those needed to maintain public peace, health, or safety, require a two-thirds vote and cannot change any office structure or grant special privileges.

This law states that when the California Legislature proposes changes to initiative statutes, bond issuances, or constitutional amendments for voter approval, they cannot make those changes conditional on the approval or opposition of any specific local area or based on specific voting outcomes. In other words, the law must apply uniformly across the state, regardless of how different regions vote.

Additionally, these measures cannot include options that would cause different laws to take effect based on whether a certain percentage of votes are cast for or against them.

This law states that a statute should only cover one main topic, and this topic must be clearly indicated in the statute's title. If a statute includes topics not mentioned in the title, those parts are invalid. Also, you cannot just change a statute by referring to its title; any changes made require the affected section to be rewritten with the amendments included.

This section outlines the process for how a bill becomes law in California. Once the Legislature passes a bill, it's sent to the Governor. The Governor has a few options: sign it into law, veto it, or do nothing, in which case it can still become law through specific conditions. If vetoed, the Legislature can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote. There are also specific timelines and conditions under which a bill automatically becomes law if the Governor doesn't act, including details about handling fiscal emergencies and appropriations.

The Governor can adjust budget items and must justify any changes to the originating house, who can reconsider these changes and override them like a veto. Additionally, if there's a fiscal emergency, the Governor can call a special session to address financial issues, and the Legislature must act on this before considering other bills or adjourning.

This section allows the California Legislature or its individual houses to create committees through a resolution. These committees have the purpose of helping with legislative tasks, such as gathering information and advising on issues that fall under the Legislature's authority.

This section details the process for California's budget creation and approval each year. The Governor must propose a budget to the Legislature within the first 10 days of the year, including detailed expenditures and revenue estimates. If spending exceeds income, the Governor must suggest how to raise extra funds. State agencies are expected to provide needed information for preparing this budget.

A budget bill listing the proposed expenses must accompany the budget, introduced immediately in both legislative houses. The Legislature must pass the budget by June 15. No other bills requiring funds can be sent to the Governor until the budget is approved, except emergency or legislative-related bills.

Any single appropriation outside the budget must be for a specific purpose and requires a two-thirds vote to pass. However, the budget bill and related appropriations need only a majority vote, unless it impacts public school funding.

The Legislature can manage the submission and enforcement of budgets for state agencies, but cannot pass a budget that overspends the estimated state revenue for that year. If the budget isn't passed by June 15, legislators lose salary and reimbursements until it is delivered to the Governor, and these can't be paid back later.

Within 10 days after the budget is submitted, adjusted, or enacted, the Director of Finance must report to the Legislature. This report includes predictions of both income and spending from the General Fund for the upcoming year and the following three years.

If you're elected as a member of the California Legislature, you can't have any other state job or office during your term unless it's another elected position.

A legislator cannot be sued or legally summoned during legislative sessions or within five days before and after these sessions.

This law states that anyone who tries to sway a legislator's decision by offering bribes, promising rewards, using threats, or employing any dishonest tactics, or any legislator who is influenced by such methods, is committing a felony.

This law says that laws meant for everyone should work the same way for all cases. It also states that if a general law can be used, then a specific local law is not valid. Basically, it promotes fairness and uniformity in applying the law.

This law states that the California Legislature cannot give, or allow other local governments to give, additional pay or benefits to public workers or contractors after the work is done or the contract is completed. Additionally, they can't authorize payments on agreements that weren't made legally.

This law explains the process of impeachment for certain state officials in California. The State Assembly is the only body that can initiate impeachment, while the Senate conducts the trial. For someone to be impeached, two-thirds of the Senate must agree through a recorded vote. Impeachment applies to statewide elected officials, State Board of Equalization members, and state court judges accused of misconduct in office. If convicted, the punishment is removal from office and possibly being barred from holding future state offices, but they may still face criminal charges separately.

In California, the Legislature cannot approve lotteries or the selling of lottery tickets, except for specific exceptions. Horse racing, including betting on it, is allowed under regulations laid out by the Legislature. While the California State Lottery is permitted, casinos like those in Nevada and New Jersey are banned. However, the Governor can make agreements with Indian tribes to operate slot machines, lottery games, and card games on tribal lands. Bingo games can be conducted by cities and counties, but only for charity. Additionally, nonprofits can host raffles as long as most profits go to charity, and certain rules are followed. The Legislature can adjust the rules about raffle profits if needed.

This law allows the California Legislature to establish fish and game districts with rules to protect wildlife within them. It also outlines the creation of a Fish and Game Commission with five members, appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate for six years. The Legislature can give the commission power over fish and game matters, and commission members can be removed by a legislative vote.

California's Legislature has provisions for dealing with emergencies caused by war or enemy attacks. These include temporarily filling legislative and gubernatorial offices if a significant number of members are killed, missing, or unable to perform their duties. The law also allows for convening the Legislature, holding elections for vacant positions or those occupied by unelected individuals, and selecting a new, temporary location for the state or county government if necessary.

This law ensures that the people can hold their legislators accountable. It requires the leaders of both houses of the California Legislature to report the goals and objectives of their respective houses at the start of each session. At the end of each session, they must also report on the progress made toward those goals and objectives. This transparency helps the public understand what their representatives are planning and if they are achieving those plans.

This section of the California Constitution states that laws can't be passed quickly as urgency statutes if they involve funding for changing the look of certain historic parts of the State Capitol or for buying differently designed furniture for those areas. Money for such projects can only be spent if it was specifically set aside for that purpose. However, this rule doesn't apply to normal repairs and maintenance of the Capitol building, its furniture, and fixtures.