James D. Driscoll

Last updated
James D. Driscoll
James Driscoll.jpg
34th Chief Clerk of California Assembly
In office
5 October 1963 –30 December 1986
Preceded by Arthur Ohnimus
Succeeded by R. Brian Kidney
Personal details
DiedAugust 18, 2003 [1]
Political partyNonpartisan
ProfessionLegislative Officer

James Driscoll (1931-August 18, 2003) was the 34th Chief Clerk of California Assembly. Driscoll was the first Chief Clerk to serve the state's Assembly after the legislature became full-time in 1966. During his career as the nonpartisan clerk, he served under 4 Democratic and 1 Republican Speakers. [2]

California State Assembly lower house of the California State Legislature

The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.

California State Legislature state legislature of the U.S. state of California

The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislature convene at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The California state Legislature is one of just ten full-time state legislatures in the United States.

Contents

Biography

James Driscoll was born in Glendale, California in 1931. He received his B.A. from Fresno State College. He completed his M.A. at Claremont Graduate University. While he was Chief Clerk, he attended McGeorge School of Law, where he later earned his J.D. while in office. [3] Driscoll died in 2003.

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Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges which includes five undergraduate and two graduate institutions of higher education.

Driscoll served as Chief Clerk from 1963 to 1986. [4] He began his legislative career in 1957 in the first class of the Assembly Fellowship Program (at the time, it was simply called the "Legislative Internship Program" and was funded by the Ford Foundation). [5] Driscoll was placed in the office of the Chief Clerk as an intern.

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The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the mission of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death of the two founders, the foundation owned 90% of the non-voting shares of the Ford Motor Company. Between 1955 and 1974, the foundation sold its Ford Motor Company holdings and now plays no role in the automobile company.

The following year, longtime Chief Clerk Arthur Ohnimus hired him as First Assistant Clerk; and in 1961, Ohnimus appointed Driscoll to be Chief Assistant Clerk. [6]

Arthur Ohnimus American politician

Arthur Allen Ohnimus (1893–1965) was the longest serving Assembly Chief Clerk in California history (1923–1963). He was also the first Chief Administrative Officer of the Assembly Rules Committee (1957–1963). Ohnimus served under 8 Republican and 4 Democratic Speakers of the Assembly during his 37 cumulative years as Chief Clerk. The California Assembly honored the legacy of Arthur Ohnimus on April 1, 2008 when it adopted House Resolution 28. A 10-minute video tribute to Ohnimus was also produced by the Assembly and is now posted online, along with historic documents and informational brochures

When Ohnimus retired in 1963, Driscoll was appointed Chief Clerk by the Rules Committee. Driscoll was subsequently elected by the Assembly for the 1964 session and every session thereafter, until his retirement in 1986.

The Chief Clerk of the California Assembly is a nonpartisan elected officer of the California State Assembly. The Chief Clerk serves as the chief parliamentarian of the 80-member house. The clerk is also charged with maintaining the records and votes of the Assembly, engrossing and enrolling bills, providing members with analyses of bills on third reading, amending legislation, and publishing the bills, journals, files, and histories of the lower house.

After California voters made the legislature full-time in November 1966, Driscoll published the book, California's Legislature, under the auspices of the Chief Clerk's office.

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References

  1. ↑ Unknown (Spring 2004). "University of the Pacific newsletter, Spring 2004 edition" (PDF). University of the Pacific. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 26, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  2. ↑ California's Legislature, 2006 edition, Appendix E, p. 266.
  3. ↑ Legislative Handbook, 1965 Session, Office of State Printing, Sacramento.
  4. ↑ California's Legislature, 2006 edition, Appendix E, p. 266.
  5. ↑ California's Legislature, 2006 edition, p. 331.
  6. ↑ Legislative Handbook, 1965 Session, Office of State Printing, Sacramento.

Further reading

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