BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 1520
                                                                  Page  1


          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 1520 (Ron Calderon)
          As Amended  August 20, 2012
          2/3 vote.  Urgency 

           SENATE VOTE  :38-0  
           
           BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS     9-0  APPROPRIATIONS      12-0        
           
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          |Ayes:|Hayashi, Bill Berryhill,  |Ayes:|Gatto, Blumenfield,       |
          |     |Allen, Butler, Eng,       |     |Bradford,                 |
          |     |Hagman, Hill, Ma, Smyth   |     |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
          |     |                          |     |Davis, Fuentes, Hall,     |
          |     |                          |     |Hill, Cedillo, Mitchell,  |
          |     |                          |     |Solorio                   |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Makes minor and technical changes to the procedures 
          for adopting regulations.  Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Requires a statement of reasons for the adoption, amendment or 
            repeal of a regulation to include a standardized impact 
            analysis for each major regulation proposed after November 1, 
            2013, instead of January 1, 2013, under existing law. 

          2)Requires agencies proposing to adopt, amend or repeal a 
            regulation prior to November 1, 2013, to prepare an economic 
            assessment. 

          3)Makes technical and clarifying changes.

          4)Contains an urgency clause. 

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Establishes the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which is 
            charged with rulemaking procedures and standards for the 
            adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state 
            agencies charged with the enforcement of state laws and for 
            the review of those regulations by the Office of 
            Administrative Law (OAL).

          2)Requires every agency to submit to OAL, a notice of proposed 








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            action and make a copy of the express terms of the regulation 
            available to the public upon request. 

          3)Requires for every major regulation proposed on or after 
            January 1, 2013, a standardized regulatory impact analysis.  

          4)Requires state agencies that are proposing to adopt, amend or 
            repeal any administrative regulation to assess the potential 
            for adverse economic impact on California business enterprises 
            and individuals. 

          5)Establishes the permit streamlining act. 

          6)Provides that the Legislature finds and declares that there is 
            a statewide need to ensure clear understanding of the specific 
            requirements which must be met in connection with the approval 
            of development projects and to expedite decisions on such 
            projects.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations 
          Committee, there are not significant costs associated with this 
          legislation. 

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "From a project review 
          standpoint, this bill is an attempt to encourage a quicker 
          review of applications for pending California development and 
          other projects to expedite review and processing under 
          applicable California law."

          The APA governs the adoption of regulations by state agencies 
          for purposes of ensuring that they are clear, necessary, legally 
          valid, and available to the public.  In seeking adoption of a 
          proposed regulation, state agencies must comply with procedural 
          requirements that include publishing the proposed regulation 
          along with supporting statement of reasons; mailing and 
          publishing a notice of the proposed action 45 days before a 
          hearing or before the close of the public comment period; and, 
          submitting a final statement to OAL that summarizes and responds 
          to all objections, recommendations and proposed alternatives 
          that were raised during the public comment period.  The OAL is 
          then required to approve or reject the proposed regulation 
          within 30 days.  

          OAL is responsible for reviewing administrative regulations 








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          proposed by over 200 state agencies for compliance with the 
          standards set forth in the APA, for transmitting these 
          regulations to Secretary of State (SOS) and for publishing 
          regulations in the California Code of Regulations.  Existing law 
          requires OAL to review all regulations for necessity and 
          non-duplication, and requires OAL to print a summary of all 
          regulations filed with SOS in the previous week in the 
          California Regulatory Notice Register.  


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916) 
          319-3301 


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