BILL ANALYSIS AB 2130 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 2130 (Huber) As Amended June 2, 2010 Majority vote BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 11-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Hayashi, Emmerson, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, Ammiano, | | |Conway, Eng, Hernandez, | | | | |Hill, Ma, Nava, Niello, | |Bradford, Charles | | |Ruskin, Smyth | |Calderon, Coto, | | | | |Davis, Monning, Ruskin, | | | | |Harkey, | | | | |Miller, Nielsen, Norby, | | | | |Skinner, | | | | |Solorio, Torlakson, | | | | |Torrico | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Makes specified boards subject to review by the new Joint Sunset Review Committee (JSRC) created by the companion measure AB 1659 (Huber). Specifically, this bill : 1)Eliminates the Joint Committee on Boards, Commissions, and Consumer Protection (Joint Committee) and replaces it with the JSRC. 2)Requires boards and bureaus within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) that already contain a sunset date to be reviewed by the JSRC, rather than the Joint Committee. 3)Double-joints this bill to AB 1659 (Huber). EXISTING LAW : 1)Establishes sunset dates on boards under DCA. 2)Establishes the Joint 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. 3)States legislative intent that all existing and proposed state boards are subject to review every four years to evaluate and AB 2130 Page 2 determine whether each has demonstrated a public need for its continued existence, as specified. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, if nine boards and bureaus are scheduled to sunset each year, workload associated with DCA writing and submitting a sunset review report to the JSRC would be in the range of $900,000 per year (various special funds). COMMENTS : According to the author's office, "AB 2130 serves as the implementation bill for the JSRC created in AB 1659 (Huber) by defining which government entities will be subject to the JSRC's review. "AB 2130 seeks to establish accountability and oversight for government entities by requiring a systematic review and evaluation of state entities. Under current law the Joint Committee is granted the power to hold public hearings at specified times and to evaluate whether a board or regulatory program under DCA has demonstrated a need for its continued existence. Committee members have not been appointed to this committee since 2006 and the jurisdiction is limited to the boards and commissions that fall under the Business and Professions code. "This bill would abolish the Joint Committee and move the functions of [the Joint] Committee to the JSRC created by AB 1659. Furthermore, AB 2130 defines which government entities will be subject to the Committee established by AB 1659 and sets the timetable for sunset pursuant to the policy set forth in AB 1659. "The purpose of AB 1659 and AB 2130 is to establish a long term process through which the state can conduct routine reviews of entities and determine if they are still necessary. It is not the intention of AB 1659 or AB 2130 to prohibit standing committees from conducting their own periodic reviews of boards and commissions under their jurisdiction." In 1994, the Legislature established the Joint Committee and a process for routinely reviewing the performance of the semiautonomous boards. The Joint Committee begins its review process by sending a board a questionnaire and a request for information covering every aspect of the board's operation for a specified period. Although Joint Committee staff and the board AB 2130 Page 3 meet to discuss the information and to seek input from consumer groups, all the information supplied to the Joint Committee comes from the board itself. The basic issue for the Joint Committee to consider during its deliberations is whether the board should continue to regulate the profession in question or be terminated. The Joint Committee gives the board an opportunity to respond to its recommendations before presenting them to the Legislature. As a result of its review, the Joint Committee might recommend that the Legislature terminate, or "sunset," a board. The 1994 law provides only for the elimination of a board, not for the actual deregulation of the profession. Upon a board's sunset, the board then becomes a bureau under DCA. The Joint Committee has not been staffed, nor has conducted any hearings in the past few years. This bill is consistent with provisions of existing law governing the sunset review process for boards and bureaus under DCA. AB 1659 (Huber), the companion measure to this bill, repeals the Joint Committee and instead creates the JSRC. All DCA boards that contain a sunset date would be reviewed by the JSRC rather than the Joint Committee. AB 1659 is double-jointed to this bill. Analysis Prepared by : Rebecca May / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301 FN: 0004762