BILL NUMBER: AB 1276	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Skinner
   (Coauthor: Senator Hancock)

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act to add Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 100000) to Title
20 of the Government Code, relating to international trade.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1276, as introduced, Skinner. International trade.
   Existing constitutional provisions authorize the Legislature to
provide for the selection of committees necessary for the conduct of
its business, including committees to ascertain facts and make
recommendations to the Legislature on a subject within the scope of
legislative control.
   This bill would prohibit a state official, including the Governor,
from binding the state, or giving consent to the federal government
to bind the state, to provisions of a Proposed International Trade
Agreement, including, the government procurement rules, unless a
statute is enacted that explicitly authorizes a state official,
including the Governor, to bind the state or to give consent to bind
the state to that trade agreement.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 100000) is added to
Title 20 of the Government Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 1.   CONSENT TO BIND CALIFORNIA TO PROVISIONS OF
PROPOSED INTERNATIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS


   100000.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) International trade agreements are being negotiated by the
federal government without providing for review by state officials
concerned with the implications for state laws and state lawmaking
authority.
   (b) The federal government has failed to consult with state
legislators when seeking the consent of states to be bound by
government procurement provisions of international trade agreements.
   (c) Government procurement and other provisions contained in
international trade agreements may affect the ability of the state to
enact common economic development and environmental policies, such
as buy local laws, recycled content laws, and renewable energy
purchasing requirements. Some measures to achieve important state
economic development or environmental objectives could conflict with
obligations in one or more international trade agreements and could
therefore be challenged as potential barriers to trade.
   (d) The Legislature and the Governor have historically worked
together to adopt and implement state procurement standards and other
public policies, and therefore, the decision to consent to the
coverage of California under procurement rules and other provisions
of international trade agreements should also be considered by the
Legislature and the Governor in the form of a statutory change in
law.
   100001.  (a) In this section, "Proposed International Trade
Agreement" means a trade agreement negotiated, or in the process of
being negotiated, between the federal government and a foreign
country.
   (b) A state official, including the Governor, may not bind the
state, or give consent to the federal government to bind the state,
to provisions of a Proposed International Trade Agreement, including,
but not limited to, the government procurement rules, unless a
statute is enacted that explicitly authorizes a state official,
including the Governor, to bind the state or give consent to bind the
state to the provisions of that trade agreement.