Paul Mason (author)

Paul Mason (1898-1985) was an author, parliamentarian, historian, and assistant Secretary of the California State Senate in the first half of the 20th Century. Mason wrote the first edition of Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure in 1935.

Professional career

Paul Mason served for many years in California government: Chief Assistant Secretary of the California Senate (1929-1932); Chief, Division of Driver's Licenses (1937-1953); Director of Motor Vehicles (1954-1958); and Legislative Secretary to Governor Goddwin Knight (1954-1958). [Secretary of State-State Archives Oral History Program. See abstract (OH KB-15) at http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives ] Mason is known primarily for two published works: "The Constitutional History of California" and the "Manual of Legislative Procedure."

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), "Mason's Manual" has become the most widely used legislative procedure guide in the U.S., currently in use by 77 of the 99 state legislative bodies in the United States. [See NCSL web site http://www.ncsl.org ]

Before Mason's death in 1985, he assigned the copyright of his manual to the NCSL. The book is edited by an NCSL commission every few years to keep it up-to-date with the latest legal precedents.

Mason's other seminal work was his "Constitutional History of California". In this treatise, Mason examines the Spanish alcalde origins of California's legal system, through the Mexican era, up through the framing of the Constitutions of 1849 and 1879. [Published by the California Assembly and Senate, Office of State Publishing, (2006 ed), Sacramento.]

In the California Senate, Mason served for many years under longtime Secretary of the Senate Joseph Beek. [ "The California Legislature", by Joseph Beek, 1980 edition. California Sttae Senate, Office of State Printing, Sacramento. See page 251. ]

References