Article 9 - Amendments, Construction, Standing

California Welfare and Institutions Code — §§ 14199.134-14199.136

Sections (3)

Amendment of Chapter

(a)The Legislature may amend this chapter by a statute passed in each house of the Legislature by rollcall vote entered into the journal, three-fourths of the membership concurring, provided that the statute is consistent with, and furthers the purpose of, this chapter.

(b)A bill seeking to amend this chapter after the effective date of this chapter shall not be passed or ultimately become a statute unless the bill has been printed and distributed to members, and published on the Internet, in its final form, for at least 10 business days before its passage in either house of the Legislature.

§ 14199.135

Construction of Chapter

(a)Severability. The provisions of this chapter are severable. If any portion, section, subdivision, paragraph, subparagraph, clause, subclause, sentence, phrase, word, or application of this chapter is for any reason held to be invalid by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, that decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. The people of the State of California hereby declare that they would have adopted this chapter and each and every portion, section, subdivision, paragraph, subparagraph, clause, subclause, sentence, phrase, word, and application not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any part of this chapter or application thereof would be subsequently

declared invalid.

(b)Liberal Construction. This chapter is an exercise of the initiative power of the people of the State of California pursuant to Article II and Article IV of the Constitution, and shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes set forth in this chapter.

(c)Statutory References. Unless otherwise stated, all references contained in this chapter to statutes codified outside of this chapter refer to those statutes as they existed on July 1, 2023.

(d)Effective Date. This chapter shall take effect on the next January 1 following its approval by the voters of California.

§ 14199.136

Standing to Defend Chapter

Notwithstanding any other law, if the State of California or any of its officers or officials fail to defend the constitutionality of this chapter, following its approval by the voters, any other state or local government agency of this state shall have the authority to intervene on behalf of the State of California or the department in a court action challenging the constitutionality of this chapter for the purpose of defending its constitutionality, whether that action is in state or federal trial court, on appeal, or on discretionary review by the Supreme Court of California or the Supreme Court of the United States. The reasonable fees and costs of defending the action by the other state or local government agency shall be a charge on funds

appropriated to the Department of Justice, which shall be satisfied promptly.