BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1365
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1365 (John A. Pérez)
As Amended April 24, 2013
Majority vote
ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW 12-1
APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Frazier, Achadjian, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Buchanan, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Ian Calderon, Cooley, | |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Gorell, Hagman, | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| |Lowenthal, Medina, Olsen, | |Hall, Rendon, Linder, |
| |Quirk-Silva, Salas | |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Allen | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Makes various changes to the law related to reports
filed by state and local agencies with the Legislative Counsel
and makes additional changes to the Internet Web site for those
reports maintained by the Legislative Counsel. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Authorizes state and local agencies to file these reports with
the Legislative Counsel electronically.
2)Clarifies the information provided by the Legislative Counsel
for reports filed by state and local agencies will be based on
the "date on which the report was completed and filed with the
Legislative Counsel."
3)Allows the Legislative Counsel to maintain the Internet Web
site for public access and notification via a hyperlink to
Members of the Legislature annually rather than providing hard
copies of the information compiled by the Legislative Counsel
on reports filed by state and local agencies.
4)Directs state and local agencies filing electronic copies of
reports with the Legislative Counsel to also include a
hyperlink whereby the report may be accessed if posted online.
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5)Directs the Legislative Counsel to post the hyperlink to the
report by state and local agencies.
6)Deletes the definition and references to "obsolete report."
EXISTING LAW requires the Legislative Counsel to annually
prepare, publish, and maintain an electronic list of all reports
that state and local agencies are required or requested by law
to prepare and file with the Governor or the Legislature.
Existing law requires state and local agencies to file a printed
copy of these reports with the Legislative Counsel.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, costs associated with this legislation should be
minor and absorbable within existing resources.
COMMENTS : This bill provides greater government transparency
and accountability.
According to the author's office, the Legislative Counsel is
required to maintain a list of reports filed by state and local
agencies. The reflection of a report on this list or not on
this list has no force or effect of law. This list was intended
to be a repository for information. Recent legislation allows
for tracking of a completed report more effectively.
In 2010, AB 1585 (Huber), Chapter 7, Statutes of 2010, required
state and local agencies to file reports with the Legislative
Counsel. Throughout the years since, the list converted from a
paper copy to an online list.
With advances in technology and movements to "green" government
practices, allowing those state and local agencies and the
Legislative Counsel to provide electronic copies and links to
the completed reports saves time, money and resources.
In 2010, AB 1585 also directed the Legislative Counsel to update
the list by removing obsolete or duplicate reports and defined
"obsolete report" to mean "a report that has not been completed
and filed and for which the date that the report was required to
be completed and filed was four or more years after the initial
report is submitted."
The definition of "obsolete report" has created confusion and
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raised several questions that the author has raised with the
Legislative Counsel.
1)Does this definition apply to annual or one-time reports or
both?
2)Are reports deemed "obsolete" no longer required by statute?
3)Would it be possible for an entity that is required to submit
an annual report and submits the first report, but chooses not
to submit subsequent reports, and four years has passed, that
they are no longer required to submit the originally requested
annual report?
4)There is general concern that entities required to submit a
report can wait four years and has it deemed obsolete and
never be required to complete the report. Would this section
allow this type of scenario to occur?
Reports deemed "obsolete" are still required if no sunset date
was included in the originating statute that established the
requirement for the report or unless that statute was repealed.
Additionally, if an entity required to complete annual reports
chose not to submit subsequent reports and four years passed,
the subsequent reports would still be required unless the
originating statute that established the requirement for the
report was repealed. The only result would be that the
Legislative Counsel Web site would not be up-to-date reflecting
those reports still required in statute.
Since the application of the term "obsolete report" has no force
or effect on the requirement for the report, it makes no sense
to eliminate them from the Legislative Counsel Web site, which
serves as a repository for information and a means to track
completed reports. If anything, one could argue that the
current process for removing "obsolete reports" from the
Legislative Counsel Web site results in less transparency by
limiting the public's access to the report information and may
impede government accountability, as the reports are still
required by statute unless the originating statute is repealed.
To eliminate this confusion, this bill deletes the definition of
"obsolete report."
Additionally, concerns have been expressed by at least two
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Administrations that the appearance of no information provided
for the "date on which the report was completed and filed" on
the Legislative Counsel Web site gives the appearance that the
report has not been completed when in many instances the report
has in fact been completed. Again, up until 2010, reports were
not required to be filed with the Legislative Counsel and they
did not track completed reports. This bill clarifies that the
information maintained on those reports by the Legislative
Counsel will be based on the "date on which the report was
completed and filed" with the Legislative Counsel. The
Legislative Counsel Web site on reports is an important tool to
provide greater government transparency and accountability.
This bill makes changes to enhance this tool.
Analysis Prepared by : William Herms / A. & A.R. / (916)
319-3600
FN: 0000664