How much does it cost when California lawmakers push new legislation?

SACRAMENTO — Thousands of bills were introduced by the California Legislature by the deadline last week, but how many will reach Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk? 

The number: 2,124 bills, is fewer than last year, but still considered “quite a few bills” by McGeorge School of Law Adjunct Professor Chris Micheli. 

California, he said, has a high percentage of bills that become law up to 40% on average, out of 2,300 to 2,500 bills introduced every year. In 2023, the number was the highest in over a decade at 2,600 bills introduced. 

“On average, actually about 40% of all the bills that get introduced every year in the California Legislature make it to the governor’s desk,” said Micheli. 

A figure on how much it costs, from introduction to passage, in 2024 was not available from the Legislative Analyst’s Office, but CalMatters did the math to determine what it may cost, on average, to introduce bills in 2024. 

Accounting for inflation, as the last available cost of a California bill was two decades ago, it could cost upwards of $30,000 for a single bill from start to finish. However, Micheli said a specific figure on what it costs may not be accurate as bills vary in length and the number of amendments, as in, no two bills are the same. 

“We have a lot of bills. Most of them are bad policy and they don’t do anything to fix the state. And so with my office, I realize we’re not in the majority, our bills aren’t likely to pass,” said Assemblymember Bill Essayli (R- Riverside).

Essayli told CBS13 that he still proposes legislation so that there is a “clearer contrast” from the majority.