On June 15, the California Assembly passed SB 96 by 52-27. It makes it more difficult for recall petitions to succeed, by letting signers remove their names after the petition drive is over. Later the same day the Senate concurred in the Assembly amendments, by a vote of 26-11, so the bill now goes to Governor Jerry Brown.
There is currently a recall petition circulating in California against one particular Democratic State Senator. The bill takes effect immediately. However, there are court precedents that say it violates due process to make it more difficult for a petition to succeed, if the bill takes effect in the middle of a particular petition drive. One of those precedents, Hudler v Austin, was summarily affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. 419 F Supp 1002, 1013-14 (e.d. Michigan 1976); 430 U.S. 924 (1977). In that case, the Michigan legislature had made it more difficult for newly-qualifying parties to get on the ballot, and that bill had been passed in April 1976. A federal court upheld the new requirements but said due process demanded that the new law not be applied for the 1976 election.
SB 44 in Texas deliberately took effect immediately since it imposes a petition requirement for candidate filings in December. There is no starting date for collecting signatures for primary candidates (it is suggested that candidates verify that they are in compliance with campaign finance laws). Normal practice is for laws to be effective on September 1st, but that would have in effect reduced the petition period to two months.
It might violate the California Constitution. The constitution provides that the SOS keep a continuous count of signatures, and that when there are sufficient signatures, the recall election is triggered. If there happens to me another election within a few months, the recall election is delayed for a few months.
But under SB 96, after the SOS determines there are enough signatures, the legislature is given 30 days to determine how much a special recall election will cost. Along with a 6-week withdrawal period, and indeterminate length of time for other activities, this will delay certification by about 90 days, which could trigger another 1/2 year delay until the recall election actually happens.
The bill also requires a full signature check, removing the use of sampling.