Your Assembly member's bills get plucked and amended: The Nuts and Bolts of Sacramento

 It's election season and your local CA State Assembly member suddenly realizes that he has not introduced a single bill for his district in the last two legislative cycles. And he is in a tough fight with a primary challenger of his own party who is after him for not introducing any bills to protect the water rights of Valley farmers. He desperately needs a bill but does not have time to write one. What does he do? He finds spot bill! 

What is a spot bill?

A spot bill is a bill that already has been written and that sits in the inner sanctum of the State Legislature waiting to be introduced by a State Assembly member or State Senator who is in a real pinch and quickly needs a bill that is crafted on a particular area of interest to that legislator and his or her district. The spot bills usually do not change existing law and are not controversial and so they easily pass in committee hearings and on the floor of the legislative chamber in which they are introduced. 

In this particular hypothetical case, our legislator needs a bill on protecting water for Valley farmers. Since the bill can't change existing law as a spot bill, it simply will state things the way they are but will sound important: "The State of CA remains committed to the agricultural industry's commensurate needs for water in the pursuit of its requisite obligations in planting, growing and cultivating California's rich agricultural manifold." As you can see, the bill does not change existing law in any way but it sounds important and it attracts headlines in the local papers for that incumbent Assembly member who is facing a tough primary challenger from his own party.

So far so good

OK so far so good, right? Our hypothetical spot bill, which is proceeded by the letters AB because it is an Assembly bill, (State Senate bills are proceeded by the letters SB), has made it through all the Assembly subcommittees, including the Assembly Appropriations Committee (there's nothing to appropriate) and now is on the way to the Assembly floor as AB123. It will easily pass in the Assembly with a bipartisan vote because the bill does not change existing law in any way. And the Assembly member gets great press at home: "Assembly Member ________'s water bill for farmers, AB 123, passed in Assembly with a bipartisan vote." 

Plucking and Amending AB123

But what happens to AB123 when it reaches the State Senate? A ha! This is where the plucking and amending takes place! And this is the really, really scary part. This is the sordid reality of the California State Legislature as it is today. Our bill, AB123, goes through the same committee review process that it underwent in the Assembly. However, the difference is that this is the opposite chamber of the Legislature and all bets are off. No more "Mr. Nice Guy." AB123 gets completely plucked and amended. It no longer is a spot bill on water for California farmers. Besides it does not even mention farmers or water at all!

What has happened to AB123? To put it simply, it has been plucked, amended and thrown back onto the table for approval. First, all, and yes I do mean all, of the language of the bill has been crossed out, erased, and removed from the bill. It has been plucked. And the language has been replaced with wording about gun and ammunition purchases, age limits, caliber limits, background checks, etc.. (amended). Our non-controversial water bill, which did not change existing law, has been converted into a very controversial gun and ammo purchasing bill in totally incognito fashion. But it retains its original title: "AB 123 Water bill for farmers." This is what is so deceiving to voters and even to the media.

Why would State Senators do this?

Why would the opposite chamber, in this case the State Senate, want to change the language of a bill and make it a completely new bill? Think about it. There are State Senators who would lose their seats if their constituents knew that they voted for tougher gun and ammo purchasing laws. This way they can vote for a controversial bill without anybody knowing about it. So far as the public is concerned, their State Senator voted for a non-controversial water bill for farmers that did not change existing law. And no Assembly member voted for a gun and ammo law. They all voted for a do nothing water bill! And yet the final result is a controversial gun and ammo law that everybody could say they did not vote for because they voted for a water bill! Whew! So that's how things are done in Sacramento! 

 Our challenged Assembly member

And what about our Assembly member who originally introduced AB123 as a water bill? He's still lamenting his victory in the Assembly with his bill and boasting how he is protecting the water rights of farmers, hoping all the while that the local newspapers won't delve deeper to find what really happened to AB123. More than likely, they won't and our do nothing Assembly member with his spot bill will get re-elected to another mediocre term.

Nuts and Bolts

This, my friends, is the low down and dirty reality of the California State Legislature today. Sobering, isn't it? That's the nuts and bolts of it like it or not!