Chris M Micheli

Chris Micheli is a founding partner of the Sacramento governmental relations and advocacy firm of Snodgrass & Micheli. Previously, he was a partner at Aprea & Micheli, as well as California Strategies, a prestigious statewide public affairs firm. He has substantial legislative and regulatory experience in the areas of state and local taxation, transportation, labor and employment, environmental, health care, civil liability, technology, and insurance. As a legislative advocate, Micheli regularly testifies before policy and fiscal committees of the California Legislature, as well as a number of administrative agencies, departments, boards, and commissions. He regularly drafts legislative and regulatory language and is considered a leading authority on state tax law developments, California's knife laws, and the state legislative process. The Wall Street Journal called him "one of the top three business tax lobbyists in the state" and the Los Angeles Times described him as an "elite lobbyist." Micheli became a contract lobbyist after serving as General Counsel to the California Manufacturers Association, an 800-member trade group. In addition to advising CMA and its Board of Directors on legal matters, he was a registered lobbyist representing CMA in the areas of taxation and civil liability reform. While at CMA, he was the chief lobbyist for SB 671, which was called "the most significant tax relief since Prop. 13.” He often served as a principal spokesperson for the California business community on important matters of tax policy. Over the last twenty years, he has published hundreds of articles and editorials in professional journals, newspapers, and trade magazines, whose diverse subjects range from tax incentives to transportation funding. He wrote a bi-monthly column on civil justice reform for five years for The Daily Recorder, Sacramento's daily legal newspaper. He has served on the editorial advisory board for CCH's State Income Tax Alert, a nationwide publication, as well as State Income Tax Monitor, another national newsletter, and Sacramento Lawyer, a monthly legal journal. Micheli has been an attorney of record in several key cases, having argued before the Supreme Court of California (just two years out of law school), as well as the Court of Appeal several times. He has filed more than fifteen amicus curiae briefs in California courts and is admitted to practice law before all of the state and federal courts in the state. Additionally, Micheli has been qualified as an expert witness on California's knife laws in superior court, and has appeared as an expert witness before the State Board of Equalization in several key tax cases. His writings and work have been cited in amicus curiae legal briefs, books, and several law review articles, as well as by the Congressional Research Service. He has published eight peer-reviewed law review articles and is the co-editor and co-author of the book “A Practitioner’s Guide to Lobbying and Advocacy in California,” as well as the author of “Understanding the California Legislative Process,” both published in 2020 by Kendall-Hunt Publishing Company. His early books include “Introduction to California Government” and “An Introduction to Legislative Drafting in California.” He is also the co-author of “Guide to Executive Branch Agency Rulemaking.” Micheli has also published five law school casebooks entitled “The California Legislature and Its Legislative Process – Cases and Materials," “Cases and Materials on Direct Democracy in California," "Cases and Materials on the California Executive Branch," "Cases and Materials on the California Rulemaking Process," and "Cases and Materials on California's Political and Election Laws." He is a graduate of the University of California, Davis with a B.A. in Political Science – Public Service and the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law with a J.D. degree. He currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at McGeorge where he co-teaches the course Lawmaking in California, as well as a Lecturer in Law at the University of California, Davis, King Hall School of Law where he co-teaches the course Legislative Drafting. He resides in Sacramento, California with his wife, Liza, two daughters, Morgan and Francesca, and son, Vincenzo.