22949.70. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that every provision, section, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, and word in this chapter, and every application of the provisions in this chapter, are severable from each other.
(b) If any application of any provision in this chapter to any person, group of persons, or circumstances is found by a court to be invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining applications of that provision to all other persons and circumstances shall be severed and shall not be affected. All constitutionally valid applications of this chapter shall be severed from any applications that a court finds to be invalid, leaving the valid applications in force, because it is the Legislature’s intent and priority that the valid applications be allowed to stand alone. Even if a reviewing court finds a provision of this chapter to impose an unconstitutional burden in a large or substantial fraction of relevant cases, the applications that do not present an unconstitutional burden shall be severed from the remaining applications and shall remain in force, and shall be treated as if the Legislature had enacted a statute limited to the persons, group of persons, or circumstances for which the statute’s application does not present an unconstitutional burden. If any court declares or finds a provision of this chapter facially unconstitutional, when discrete applications of that provision can be enforced against a person, group of persons, or circumstances without violating the United States Constitution and the California Constitution, those applications shall be severed from all remaining applications of the provision, and the provision shall be interpreted as if the Legislature had enacted a provision limited to the persons, group of persons, or circumstances for which the provision’s application will not violate the United States Constitution and the California Constitution.
(c) The Legislature further declares that it would have enacted this chapter, and each provision, section, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, and word, and all constitutional applications of this chapter, irrespective of the fact that any provision, section, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or word, or application of this chapter, were to be declared unconstitutional or to represent an unconstitutional burden.
(d) If any provision of this chapter is found by any court to be unconstitutionally vague, then the applications of that provision that do not present constitutional vagueness problems shall be severed and remain in force.
(e) A court shall not decline to enforce the severability requirements of this section on the ground that severance would rewrite the statute or involve the court in legislative or lawmaking activity. A court that declines to enforce or enjoins a state official from enforcing a statutory provision of this chapter does not rewrite a statute, as the statute continues to contain the same words as before the court’s decision. Each of the following is true about a judicial injunction or declaration of unconstitutionality of a provision of this chapter:
(1) It is nothing more than an edict prohibiting enforcement that may subsequently be vacated by a later court if that court has a different understanding of the requirements of the California Constitution or the United States Constitution.
(2) It is not a formal amendment of the language in a statute.
(3) It no more rewrites a statute than a decision by the executive not to enforce a duly-enacted statute in a limited and defined set of circumstances.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 146, Sec. 1. (SB 1327) Effective January 1, 2023. Conditionally inoperative as prescribed by Section 22949.71. Repealed on January 1 following the inoperative date.)
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