It also describes the process that bills must travel to become enacted into law. If we had to summarize our advice in just two words it would be district office. Each Senator and Assemblymember maintains an office in his or her district, probably very near to where you live. This office exists to help you, the constituent. It is just a telephone call away from everything you need to know about a bill, about when it will be heard in committee, about the amendments that have changed the bill, or about how to arrange an interview with your legislator to express your opinions in person.
All legislation starts off as an idea.
The Member then sends the idea and the language for the bill to the Legislative Counsel's Office where it is drafted into the actual bill. The drafted bill is returned to the legislator for his or her review. Persons or groups that originated the idea for the bill may also review it to ensure that the provisions they desire are in the bill in the correct form. The bill then goes to the Senate or Assembly Rules committee where it is assigned to a policy committee. You can find out where your bill is assigned by calling the author.