BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                AB 393
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        ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
        AB 393 (Cooley)
        As Amended  May 24, 2013
        Majority vote 

         GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION 17-0  APPROPRIATIONS      17-0        
         
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        |Ayes:|Hall, Nestande, Bigelow,  |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow,   |
        |     |Chesbro, Cooley, Gray,    |     |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian  |
        |     |Hagman,                   |     |Calderon, Campos,         |
        |     |Roger Hernández, Jones,   |     |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez,  |
        |     |Jones-Sawyer, Levine,     |     |Hall, Ammiano, Linder,    |
        |     |Medina, Perea,            |     |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber |
        |     |V. Manuel Pérez, Salas,   |     |                          |
        |     |Torres, Waldron           |     |                          |
        |     |                          |     |                          |
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         SUMMARY :  Requires the Director of the Governor's Office of Business  
        and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to ensure that the office's  
        Internet Web site contains information on the fee requirements and  
        fee schedules of state agencies.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

        1)Requires a state agency that has licensing, permitting, or  
          registration authority to provide direct links to information  
          about its fee schedule to GO-Biz, as follows:

           a)   Assists individuals with identifying the types of fees and  
             their due dates.

           b)   Provides direct links to the fee requirements and fee  
             schedules for all state agencies, where available for download.

           c)   Instructs individuals on how and where to submit payments.

           d)   Makes legislative findings. 

           e)   Makes technical and clarifying changes. 

         EXISTING LAW  : 

        1)Establishes the GO-Biz within the Governor's Office, under the  
          control of a director who is appointed by the Governor, for the  
          purpose of serving as the lead entity for economic strategy and  








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          marketing of California on issues relating to business  
          development, private sector investment and economic growth.

        2)Requires the Director of the GO-Biz to ensure that the office's  
          Internet Web site contains information to assist an individual  
          with the licensing, permitting, and registration requirements  
          necessary to start a business.

        3)Requires a state agency that the Governor determines has licensing  
          authority to provide accurate updated information about its  
          licensing requirements, as provided.

         FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,  
        costs should be minor and absorbable within existing GO-Biz  
        resources.

         COMMENTS  :   

         Purpose of the bill :  According to the Author, small business is a  
        cornerstone of California's economy.  There are approximately 3.5  
        million small businesses in California, accounting for over 99% of  
        the state's employers and roughly 50% of California's private sector  
        employment.  That said, during the recent economic downturn,  
        California lost more than 20,000 small businesses in 2009.   
        Additionally, Forbes recently placed California 41st in their 2012  
        "Best States for Business" ranking.

        Small businesses are responsible for paying a variety of fees to  
        numerous state agencies throughout the year, depending on the nature  
        of their business.  Monitoring the various fee requirements and fee  
        schedules is an additional burden to small businesses, which already  
        have limited capital and time, and can lead to unpaid fees, late  
        charges, and mismanagement of their finances.

        This bill will help California small businesses plan their yearly  
        operations by making the fee requirements and fee schedules of state  
        agencies readily available online via the GO-Biz Internet Web site.

         Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development  :  GO-Biz was  
        created by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in 2011 to serve as  
        California's single point of contact for economic development and  
        job creation efforts.  The GO-Biz offers a range of services to  
        business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion  
        services, site election, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory  








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        hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development,  
        assistance with state government, and much more.  

         Arguments in support  :  According to the California Small Business  
        Association, providing small business with an online location where  
        they are provided with information on the fee requirements and fee  
        schedules will help small businesses ensure they pay state fees and  
        avoid penalties.  By providing small businesses with an efficient  
        method to research and pay their state fees, they are able to focus  
        on increasing revenue and providing more jobs to Californians. 

        The California Taxpayers Association states that California is  
        considered by businesses to be among the most heavily regulated  
        states in the nation.  Businesses are subjected to countless state  
        and local permitting and licensing requirements, yet much of these  
        requirements are widely segregated among the numerous agencies -  
        making it difficult for new businesses to obtain the required  
        approvals.  The state attempted to consolidate this information on  
        the GO-Biz Web site by identifying links to the various regulatory  
        agencies.  However, the Web site does not provide a direct link to  
        the agency's fee requirements or schedules, nor does it identify the  
        agency to whom the fees are to be remitted.  This renders the Web  
        site less useful, because individuals must still navigate through  
        another agency's Web site in order to determine the appropriate fee  
        and remittance information.

        This bill would increase compliance with regulatory requirements,  
        simplify the compliance burden on businesses, and reduce the  
        administrative workload for state agencies.  This measure is a  
        win-win for taxpayers and the state. 

         
        Analysis Prepared by  :    Felipe Lopez / G. O. / (916) 319-2531 

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