Hints on Drawing Legislative Bills |
Common terms and phrases
79 HINTS ambiguities amend sections amendatory appropriation bill cited Civil Code civil procedure code of civil Code provides code sections comma common law conflicting constitutional provision CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS construction of statutes construed contained Court of California cumbersome decisions definite detail distinct subject DRAWING LEGISLATIVE BILLS drawing of bills Dunne easily happen effect enacting clause example expression four codes Hellman HINTS ON DRAWING implies inexperienced draftsman inserted instance intended Kings County Legislature Librarian LIBRARY license litigation long sections mandatory matter meaning ment mileage Moffitt necessary normal school trustees Notwithstanding numbered sections obscure old constitution omission omitted ordinary payment penal code Political Code prescribe purpose revised rule San Francisco Section 24 separate bill Shoulters single act skill statute deals statute law style subject-matter superfluous Supervisors Supreme Court Technical terms tional title enumerate ture UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN validity Words and Phrases
Popular passages
Page 3 - There is hardly any kind of intellectual work which so much needs to be done, not only by experienced and exercised minds, but by minds trained to the task through long and laborious study, as the business of making laws.
Page 9 - No bill making an appropriation of money, except the general appropriation bill, shall contain more than one item of appropriation, and that for one single and certain purpose to be therein expressed.
Page 8 - SECTION 1. The Legislative power of this State shall be vested in a Senate and Assembly, which shall be designated the Legislature of the State of California ; and the enacting clause of every law shall be as follows : " The people of the State of California, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Page 10 - If it were necessary to mention every subdivision of the general subject of an act In the title, to the extent here claimed, our statutes would present a somewhat ludicrous appearance. The statement of the subject in the title would generally occupy almost as much space as the act itself. Furthermore, if subjects, as intended by the Constitution, must be so minutely subdivided, it would be impracticable to enact any comprehensive law on any general subject, by reason of the necessity of dividing...
Page 9 - However numerous the provisions of an act may be, if they can be fairly considered as falling within the subject-matter of legislation, or as proper methods for the attainment of the end sought by the act, there is no conflict with the constitutional provision above quoted.
Page 10 - Pac. 251) ; that it is not required that the title shall disclose the purpose and scope of the act, but it is sufficient if it intelligently refers the reader to the subject to which the act applies, or which is affected by it (Hellman v.
Page 3 - To draw a statute ... in such language as to effect exactly the result intended is one of the most difficult achievements of legal skill.
Page 5 - But a familiar and fundamental rule for the interpretation of a legislative statute is that it is presumed to have been enacted in the light of such existing judicial decisions as have a direct bearing upon it.
Page 4 - desired" cannot be ignored in the construction of the act any more than the word "required, " and the former is at least as forcible in its expression of a request as the latter is in its expression of a command. The act in all other provisions containing mandates and prohibitions is positive and forcible in its language. Thus it is noticeable that the same section further along provides: "It shall be unlawful to affix any such stamp...
Page 4 - ... sentences, useless repetitions, the insertion of superfluous words, or phrases without a definite meaning, render a statute obscure or ambiguous. Whenever possible, ordinary language should be used, but with careful precision and accuracy. In many cases, however, the use of technical terms cannot be avoided for the reason that these are the only means of expressing definitely the intended sense. Technical terms may be either of a legal kind, or those pertaining to the subject-matter with which...