ARTICLE 2. California Law Revision Commission [8280. - 8298.]

Cal. Government Code - GOV 2.

in effect

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8280. Section 8280.

(a) There is created in the State Government the California Law Revision Commission. (b) Commencing January 1, 2020, there exists within the California Law Revision Commission the Committee on Revision of the Penal Code. (c) For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Commission” means the California Law Revision Commission. (2) “Committee” means the Committee on Revision of the Penal Code, unless otherwise specified.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8281. Section 8281.

(a) The commission consists of one Member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, one Member of the Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, and seven members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Legislative Counsel is an ex officio member of the commission. (b) The Members of the Legislature appointed to the commission serve at the pleasure of the appointing power and shall participate in the activities of the commission to the extent that the participation is not incompatible with their respective public offices as Members of the Legislature. For the purposes of this article, those Members of the Legislature constitute a joint interim investigating committee on the subject of this article and, as a joint interim investigating committee, have the powers and duties imposed upon those committees by the Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly. (c) The members appointed by the Governor shall be appointed for a term of four years. The terms of the members first appointed shall not commence earlier than October 1, 1953, and shall expire as follows: four on October 1, 1955, and three on October 1, 1957. When a vacancy occurs in any office filled by appointment by the Governor, the Governor shall appoint a person to the office, who shall hold office for the balance of the unexpired term of the person’s predecessor.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8281.5. Section 8281.5.

(a) The Committee on Revision of the Penal Code consists of one Member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, one Member of the Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, and five members appointed by the Governor. (b) (1) The Members of the Legislature appointed to the committee serve at the pleasure of the appointing power and shall participate in the activities of the committee to the extent that the participation is not incompatible with their respective public offices as Members of the Legislature. (2) For purposes of this article, those Members of the Legislature constitute a joint interim investigating committee on the subject of Section 8290.5 and, as a joint interim investigating committee, have the powers and duties imposed on those committees by the Joint Rules of the Senate and Assembly. (c) (1) The members appointed by the Governor shall be appointed for a term of four years. The terms of the members first appointed expire as follows: (A) Three terms expire on January 1, 2022. (B) Two terms expire on January 1, 2024. (2) When a vacancy occurs in any office within the committee filled by appointment by the Governor, the Governor shall appoint a person to the office, who shall hold office for the balance of the unexpired term of the person’s predecessor. (d) Members of the committee shall not be members of the commission.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8282. Section 8282.

(a) The members of the commission and committee shall serve without compensation, except that each member appointed by the Governor shall receive one hundred dollars ($100) for each day’s attendance at a meeting of the commission or committee. (b) Each member of the commission and committee shall be allowed actual expenses incurred in the discharge of the member’s duties, including travel expenses.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8283. Section 8283.

(a) The commission shall select one of its members chairperson. Five members constitute a quorum of the commission. (b) The Governor shall select one of the committee members to serve as chairperson. Three members constitute a quorum of the committee.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8284. Section 8284.

The commission may appoint an executive director and fix the director’s compensation, in accordance with law.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8285. Section 8285.

The commission may employ and fix the compensation, in accordance with law, of such professional, clerical and other assistants as may be necessary.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8286. Section 8286.

The material of the State Library shall be made available to the commission and the committee. All state agencies, and other official state organizations, and all persons connected therewith shall give the commission and committee full information, and reasonable assistance in any matters of research requiring recourse to them, or to data within their knowledge or control.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8286.5. Section 8286.5.

A local governmental entity may give the committee full information and reasonable assistance in any matters of research requiring recourse to them, or data within their knowledge or control.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8287. Section 8287.

The Board of Trustees of the State Bar shall assist the commission and the committee in any manner the commission or committee may request within the scope of its powers or duties.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8288. Section 8288.

(a) No employee of the commission and no member appointed by the Governor shall, with respect to any proposed legislation concerning matters assigned to the commission for study pursuant to Section 8293, advocate the passage or defeat of the legislation by the Legislature or the approval or veto of the legislation by the Governor. An employee or member of the commission appointed by the Governor shall not advocate the passage or defeat of any legislation or the approval or veto of any legislation by the Governor, in that person’s official capacity as an employee or member. (b) An employee or member of the commission may appear and testify at any legislative committee hearing on legislation to implement a commission recommendation, for the purpose of explaining the recommendation and answering questions posed by the legislative committee members, if the employee or member of the commission does not violate the restrictions described in subdivision (a).

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8289. Section 8289.

The commission shall, within the limitations imposed by Section 8293: (a) Examine the common law and statutes of the state and judicial decisions for the purpose of discovering defects and anachronisms in the law and recommending needed reforms. (b) Receive and consider proposed changes in the law recommended by the American Law Institute, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, any bar association or other learned bodies. (c) Receive and consider suggestions from judges, justices, public officials, lawyers, and the public generally as to defects and anachronisms in the law. (d) Recommend, from time to time, such changes in the law as it deems necessary to modify or eliminate antiquated and inequitable rules of law, and to bring the law of this state into harmony with modern conditions.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8290. Section 8290.

The commission shall recommend the express repeal of all statutes repealed by implication, or held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the state or the Supreme Court of the United States.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8290.5. Section 8290.5.

(a) The committee shall study and make recommendations on revision of the Penal Code to achieve all of the following objectives: (1) Simplify and rationalize the substance of criminal law. (2) Simplify and rationalize criminal procedures. (3) Establish alternatives to incarceration that will aid in the rehabilitation of offenders. (4) Improve the system of parole and probation. (b) In making recommendations pursuant to subdivision (a), the committee may recommend adjustments to the length of sentence terms. In making that recommendation, the committee may consider any factors, including, but not limited to, any of the following: (1) The protection of the public. (2) The severity of the offense. (3) The rate of recidivism. (4) The availability and success of alternatives to incarceration. (5) Empirically significant disparities between individuals convicted of an offense and individuals convicted of other similar offenses. (c) The approval by the commission of any recommendations by the committee is not required.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8290.7. Section 8290.7.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) The terms “dependent adult” and “dependent person” are misleading because many of the people with disabilities that those terms cover live independently. These terms can mislead law enforcement officers, social workers, and even crime victims and their families to think that many people with disabilities are excluded from the law’s protections. (2) The term “dependent” demeans and insults people with disabilities who may need special support and services, but may also have the desire and ability to live independently. (3) It is a priority of this state to ensure that the language used to draft California laws, including the drafting guidelines for legislation, appropriately recognizes and represents people with disabilities. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act that the terms “dependent adult” and “dependent person” be replaced in code with updated terminology that describes these adults in a respectful way; and that the change in terminology is undertaken in a consistent and comprehensive manner that does not substantively alter existing law. (c) (1) The commission shall, with input from stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the state protection and advocacy agency designated pursuant to Division 4.7 (commencing with Section 4900) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, complete and submit to the Legislature a study on how to remove the terms “dependent adult” and “dependent person” from California code sections, including, but not limited to, code sections that use the term “dependent” in conjunction with the term “elder” to describe the physical or financial abuse of persons who are elders or persons with a disability, including, but not limited to, the Penal Code, Welfare and Institutions Code, and Civil Code. (2) As part of the study, the commission shall convene a working group that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following: (A) The state protection and advocacy agency. (B) The State Department of Social Services. (C) Groups representing persons who are described by the current definitions of “dependent adults” and “dependent persons.” (D) Persons who are described by the current definitions of “dependent adults” or “dependent persons.” (3) The study shall identify all existing California code sections regarding persons who meet the definition of “dependent adult” and “dependent person” that should be amended in accordance with this subdivision. (4) The study shall include recommendations on how to revise existing California code sections in order to remove “dependent adult” and “dependent person” and replace those terms with new terminology in a manner that would describe these adults in a respectful way and that would preserve the legal rights and protections of both of the following groups of persons in a comprehensive and consistent manner: (A) Persons who meet the definition of “dependent adult” and “dependent person” as currently recognized in statute, regulation, and case law. (B) Persons who do not meet the definition of “dependent adult” and “dependent person” but are described in conjunction with such persons, including elders who are protected by laws governing “elder and dependent adult abuse.” (d) (1) The requirement for submitting the study imposed under subdivision (c) is inoperative on January 1, 2029, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code. (2) The study to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8291. Section 8291.

(a) The commission and the committee shall submit their reports, and their recommendations as to revision of the laws, to the Governor and the Legislature. (b) Notwithstanding Section 9795, the commission and the committee may provide a copy of a recommendation to each member of a legislative committee that is hearing legislation that would implement the recommendation.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8292. Section 8292.

The commission and the committee may, within the limitations imposed by Section 8293, include in their reports the legislative measures proposed by them to effect the adoption or enactment of the proposed revision. The reports may be accompanied by exhibits of various changes, modifications, improvements, and suggested enactments prepared or proposed by the commission or the committee with a full and accurate index thereto.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8293. Section 8293.

(a) The commission shall file a report at each regular session of the Legislature that shall contain a calendar of topics selected by it for study, including a list of the studies in progress and a list of topics intended for future consideration. The commission shall confine its studies to those topics set forth in the calendar contained in its last preceding report that have been or are thereafter approved for its study by concurrent resolution of the Legislature. The commission shall also study any topic that the Legislature, by concurrent resolution or statute, refers to it for study. (b) The committee shall prepare an annual report that describes its work in the prior calendar year and its expected work for the subsequent calendar year.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8294. Section 8294.

The commission’s and committee’s reports, exhibits, and proposed legislative measures shall be printed by the State Printing Office under the supervision of the commission or committee, respectively. The exhibits shall be so printed as to show in the readiest manner the changes and repeals proposed by the commission or committee.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8295. Section 8295.

The commission and the committee shall confer and cooperate with any legislative committee on revision of the law and may contract with any other committee for the rendition of service, by either for the other, in the work of revision.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8296. Section 8296.

The commission and the committee may cooperate with any bar association or other learned, professional, or scientific association, institution, or foundation in any manner suitable for the fulfillment of the purposes of this article.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8297. Section 8297.

The commission may, with the approval of the Director of General Services, enter into, amend and terminate contracts with colleges, universities, schools of law or other research institutions, or with qualified individuals for the purposes of research.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 8298. Section 8298.

The commission may study and recommend revisions to correct technical or minor substantive defects in the statutes of the state without a prior concurrent resolution of the Legislature referring the matter to it for study.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026