Deferral Clauses in California Legislation – California Globe

What’s a “deferral clause”? Mainly, a deferral clause is used when one invoice “defers” to a different invoice regarding which provisions will take impact. The next is an instance from a current invoice:

Any part of any act enacted by the Legislature throughout the 2022 calendar 12 months, aside from a bit of the annual upkeep of the codes invoice or one other invoice with a subordination clause, that takes impact on or earlier than January 1, 2023, and that amends, amends and renumbers, amends and repeals, provides, repeals and provides, or repeals a bit that’s amended, amended and renumbered, amended and repealed, added, repealed and added, or repealed by this act, shall prevail over this act, whether or not that act is chaptered earlier than or after this act.

This language is deliberately broad in its software. The language initially gives that it applies to “any part of any act” that enacted at any time throughout the whole calendar 12 months. Subsequent, it creates solely two exceptions – the annual upkeep of the codes invoice, or a invoice with a subordination clause.

And, lastly, this language requires that the part(s) of any act, whatever the timing of enactment, would be the one which takes impact. In essence, this provision overrides the Authorities Code provision that gives that the final enacted invoice takes impact, overriding any conflicting statutory provisions from an earlier enacted invoice.

The next instance is how a ground evaluation defined this language:

This invoice contains an “all goal” yielding clause that avoids any double jointing issues that may in any other case happen.

The next is an instance from a current invoice of an outline of the deferral clause as defined within the Legislative Counsel’s Digest:

This invoice would enact varied conforming and technical adjustments associated to a different invoice, AB ___, which recodifies and reorganizes the California Public Information Act. This invoice would solely turn into operative if AB ___ is enacted and reorganizes and makes different nonsubstantive adjustments to the California Public Information Act that turn into operative on January 1, 2023. The invoice would additionally specify that another invoice enacted by the Legislature throughout the 2021 calendar 12 months that takes impact on or earlier than January 1, 2022, and that impacts a provision of this invoice shall prevail over this act, besides as specified.

Because the Digest explains, the deferral clause permits another invoice, with specified exceptions, that conflicts with any part of this invoice will prevail over this invoice’s conflicting provision(s).

The opposite time period that’s utilized in these referral clauses is reference to a “subordination clause.” What’s that? Typically, a subordination clause is a clause that gives that the present invoice will take precedence over another payments made. “Subordination” mainly means to yield precedence.

Typically these deferral clauses are mixed with contingent enactment language, resembling the next instance from a current invoice:

This act shall solely turn into operative if Meeting Invoice __ of the 2021–22 Common Session is enacted and turns into operative on January 1, 2024, and that invoice would reorganize and make different nonsubstantive adjustments to the __, through which case this act shall additionally turn into operative on January 1, 2024.

These deferral clauses don’t seem fairly often in California, only a handful of payments every session. However invoice drafters needs to be accustomed to them.