Two Bills Heading for the Governor's Desk in California

Yesterday marked a big day in California.  

As reported here, Assembly Bill 361 (the Benefit Corporation legislation sponsored by Assembly member Jared Huffman) passed the concurrence vote Tuesday in the Assembly and began the enrolling and engrossing process to end up on Governor Brown's desk this week. (No, it is not technically on the Governor's desk, but probably will be by the end of the week.)  Actually, the bill ended up on the Governor Brown's desk today, having completed the engrossing and enrolling process late yesterday.

Yesterday, Senate Bill 201 (the Flexible Purpose Corporation legislation sponsored by Senator Mark DeSaulnier) passed out of the Assembly and headed for its concurrence vote in the Senate (possibly as soon as today).  It will also end up on Governor Brown's desk by the end of the week.

And just in case folks were still curious about whether this type of legislation is necessary or not, the news stories about CouchSurfing switching from a non-profit to a "for-benefit" corporation should help to dispel the disbelief.  (How long would it have taken them to raise $7.6 million in charitable contributions to scale?)

Now, the question that exists is whether Governor Brown will sign both bills. Or might he choose one?  And that really begs the two questions that I'm asked most frequently as I speak around the state:

Why are there two bills in California?

What are the differences in these two pieces of legislation?

I will answer these two questions over the coming days.

Stay tuned!

*Todd is a partner at the law firm of Jones Day, where he founded their Silicon Valley Office and runs their Renewable Energy and Sustainability Practice. The views expressed in this column are solely Todd’s personal views, not the views of Jones Day or its clients, and the information provided as to his affiliation with Jones Day is solely for purposes of identification and may not and should not be construed to imply endorsement or even support by Jones Day of the views expressed herein.

 © R. Todd Johnson, 2011. 

Business for Good.^SM is a service mark of R. Todd Johnson. The thoughts, ideas and words expressed in this column are the property of R. Todd Johnson and may not be otherwise used or reprinted without express permission from Todd.