BILL NUMBER: AB 1659 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 28, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Huber
JANUARY 19, 2010
An act to add Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 9147.7) to
Chapter 1.5 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government
Code, relating to state government.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1659, as amended, Huber. State government: agency repeals.
Existing law establishes the Joint Committee on Boards,
Commissions, and Consumer Protection and, until January 1, 2012,
requires the committee to hold public hearings at specified times and
to evaluate whether a board or regulatory program has demonstrated a
need for its continued existence. Existing law states the intent of
the Legislature that all existing and proposed state boards be
subject to review every 4 years to evaluate and determine whether
each has demonstrated a public need for its continued existence, as
specified.
This bill would create the Joint Sunset Review Committee to
identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in
government agencies , as defined, and to conduct a
comprehensive analysis of every agency
"eligible agency," as defined, to determine if the agency is
still necessary and cost effective. The bill would define an
"eligible agency" as an entity of state government, however
denominated, for which a date for repeal has been established by
statute on or after January 1, 2011. The bill would require
each eligible agency scheduled for repeal to submit a
report to the committee containing specified information. The bill
would require the committee to take public testimony and evaluate the
eligible agency prior to the date the agency is scheduled
to be repealed, and would require that an eligible agency
be eliminated unless the Legislature enacts a law to extend,
consolidate, or reorganize the agency. The bill would specify the
composition of the committee, which would be appointed by the
President pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly,
and certain aspects of its operating procedure. The bill
would also make a statement of legislative intent to enact
legislation that provides for the repeal of every entity of state
government, excluding an agency that is constitutionally created or
an agency related to higher education.
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. (a) It is the intent of the
Legislature to enact legislation that provides for the repeal of
every entity of state government, excluding an agency that is
constitutionally created or an agency related to higher education, in
order to eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in state
government, subject to a review and a subsequent affirmative act of
the Legislature to extend, consolidate, or reorganize the entity.
(b) It is further the intent of the Legislature to create a
special committee specifically composed to conduct a periodic review
and evaluation of every entity described in subdivision (a), which
would make recommendations, after appropriate factfinding and
evaluation, regarding the continued existence of state governmental
agencies or their consolidation or reorganization.
SEC. 2. SECTION 1. Article 7.5
(commencing with Section 9147.7) is added to Chapter 1.5 of Part 1 of
Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:
Article 7.5. Sunset Review
9147.7. (a) For the purpose of this section, "agency"
"eligible agency" means any agency, authority,
board, bureau, commission, conservancy, council, department,
division, or office of state government, however denominated,
excluding an agency that is constitutionally created or an agency
related to postsecondary education , for which a date for repeal
has been established by statute on or after January 1, 2011 .
(b) The Joint Sunset Review Committee is hereby created to
identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in
government agencies. The purpose of the committee is to conduct a
comprehensive analysis over 15 years, and on a periodic basis
thereafter, of every eligible agency to determine if
the agency is still necessary and cost effective.
(c) Each eligible agency scheduled for repeal shall
submit to the committee, on or before December 1 prior to the year it
is set to be repealed, a complete agency report covering the entire
period since last reviewed, including, but not limited to, the
following:
(1) The purpose and necessity of the agency.
(2) A description of the agency budget, priorities, and job
descriptions of employees of the agency.
(3) All programs and projects under the direction of the agency.
(4) Measures of the success or failures of the agency and
justifications for the metrics used to evaluate successes and
failures.
(5) Any recommendations of the agency for changes or
reorganization in order to better fulfill its purpose.
(d) The committee shall take public testimony and evaluate the
eligible agency prior to the date the agency is scheduled
to be repealed. An eligible agency shall be eliminated
unless the Legislature enacts a law to extend, consolidate, or
reorganize the eligible agency. No eligible
agency shall be extended in perpetuity unless specifically exempted
from the provisions of this section. The committee may recommend that
the Legislature extend the statutory sunset date for no more than
one year to allow the committee more time to evaluate the
eligible agency.
(e) The committee shall be comprised of 10 members of the
Legislature. The President pro Tempore of the Senate shall appoint
five members of the Senate to the committee, not more than three of
whom shall be members of the same political party. The Speaker of the
Assembly shall appoint five members of the Assembly to the
committee, not more than three of whom shall be members of the same
political party. Members shall be appointed within 15 days after the
commencement of the regular session. Each member of the committee who
is appointed by the President pro Tempore of the Senate or the
Speaker of the Assembly shall serve during that committee member's
term of office or until that committee member no longer is a Member
of the Senate or the Assembly, whichever is applicable. A vacancy on
the committee shall be filled in the same manner as the original
appointment. Six Three Assembly
Members and three Senators who are members of the committee
shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of committee business.
Members of the committee shall receive no compensation for their work
with the committee.
(f) The committee shall meet not later than 30 days after the
first day of the regular session to choose a chairperson and to
establish the schedule for eligible agency review provided
for in the statutes governing the eligible agencies. The
chairperson of the committee shall alternate every two years between
a Member of the Senate and a Member of the Assembly, and the vice
chairperson of the committee shall be a member of the opposite house
as the chairperson.
(g) This section shall not be construed to change the existing
jurisdiction of the budget or policy committees of the Legislature.