Much media attention regarding the end of the 2005-2006 California legislative session has focused on the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 – AB32 – limiting carbon dioxide emissions. However, an article in Saturday’s Los Angeles Times by Evan Halper concentrates instead on bills that legislators attempted to push through the legislature toward the very end of the session: "Last Minute Bills Receive Little Scrutiny" (September 2, 2006). Not all of these "jam jobs" passed, but one that did loosened some campaign finance restrictions. Halper describes another bill, which allows car dealers to raise their document preparation fee, as a "gut and amend" because its author stuck the fee increase into a bill that had dealt with air quality until the week before. A third last-minute bill allows rental companies not to mention a 10% airport concession fee in their rate advertising. The article illustrates one reason why even the best legislative history research sometimes produces no information at all about the intent behind a particular piece of legislation.

The Los Angeles Times is available on both Lexis (NEWS;LAT) and Westlaw (LATIMES). California bill tracking is available on Lexis, Westlaw and the California legislature’s website. For previous Heafey Headnotes postings about California Legislative History Research, click on the "California Research" category in the blog’s right-hand column. One posting in that category will link you to the recently revised California Legal Research Guide, also available to SCU Law students in print and on ClaraNet.