California Libertarian Council

When the Libertarian Party became a "qualified political party" under the California election code in 1980, the existing Libertarian Party of California in effect split into two organizations, because the rules and procedures prescribed for political parties by the election code were very different from the way the LPC had been operating up until that time.

The name "Libertarian Party of California" was used for the functions prescribed by the election code, while other functions continued under the name California Libertarian Council. During this time, each organization had its own officers, elected at its own conventions, according to their respective rules (the LPC based on the election code, and the CLC following rules like the ones in the pre-1980 LPC bylaws).

The two organizations were re-combined in 1983, through implementation of bylaws changes designed to allow features required by the election code to co-exist with features of the pre-1980 LPC as part of a single organization. From that time onward, all state LP functions were again conducted under the name "Libertarian Party of California", and the name "California Libertarian Council" was no longer used.