California Department of Finance
Writing Style Guidelines
Legal Citations
Legislation
When citing enacted legislation and /or legislative changes, identify the
statutory authority (Chapter xx, Statutes of 20xx). If the legislation was
introduced in an extraordinary session, add the session after the statutes
(Chapter xx, Statutes of 20xx, First [Second, Third, etc.] Extraordinary Sessions).
After referencing the citation (i.e., Chapter xx, Statutes of 20xx), it is not
necessary to restate the full citation; simply refer to it as “Chapter.” If more
than one chapter is being cited, use a bill number citation as shown in the
second example below.
Ex
ample:
Chapter xx, Statutes of 20xx, provides for a general salary increase.
Specifically, this Chapter states that civil service employees
should receive a 1 percent cost-of-living adjustment.
When referring to a legislative bill, cite year of legislation (SB 120 of 20xx). Once
a bill has become a law, always use the statutory citation noted above rather
than the bill number. However, you may also use the following reference,
especially if more than one piece of chaptered legislation is being referenced.
Example:
Chapter 1145, Statutes of 1996 (SB 350), allows civil service employees
to have the day after Thanksgiving off.
When referring to a trailer bill, use the same statutory citation described
above (Chapter 13, Statutes of 2012). There is no need to separately identify
the legislation as a “budget trailer bill.”
California
Statutes
Use unabbreviated code names and spell out “section” before code
section number; use lowercase “s” in “section.”
Examples:
Government Code section 6250
Welfare and Institutions Code section 4514
Within parentheses, use code abbreviations followed by a comma and
section symbol before code section number. Use two section symbols
when citing more than one section.
Examples:
(Gov. Code, § 6250.)*
(Gov. Code, §§ 6250, 6251, 6253.)*
When citing subdivisions, use a comma after code section number and
spell out “subdivision.”
Example:
Penal Code section 13730, subdivision (b)
For subdivisions within parenthesis, use another comma after the code
section number and use the abbreviation “subd.”
Example:
(Pen. Code, § 13730, subd. (b).
)*
* Note: To make a section symbol, select “’Insert” at the top of the page, then
“Symbol,” and “More Symbols.” Select the “Special Characters” tab, then “§”
symbol, and press “Insert.”
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