BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1711
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 9, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                    AB 1711 (Cooley) - As Amended:  April 3, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              Accountability  
          and Administrative Review                     Vote: 11-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires an economic impact assessment (EIA) to be  
          included in the initial statement of reasons (ISOR) that a state  
          agency submits to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) when  
          adopting, amending, or repealing a non-major regulation.   
          Specifically, this bill: 

          1)Requires a state agency to include an EIA in the ISOR that is  
            submitted to OAL when adopting, amending, or repealing a  
            non-major regulation.

          2)Directs the Department of Finance (DOF) to adopt and update,  
            as necessary, instructions prescribing the methods that an  
            agency must use in preparing the EIA, and include those  
            instructions in the State Administrative Manual.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible. 

          Existing law requires state agencies proposing non-major  
          regulations to prepare and submit EIAs. Negligible costs to  
          state agencies to submit an EIA as part of the ISOR. Minor and  
          absorbable costs to the Department of Finance (DOF) to include  
          updated instructions in the State Administrative Manual.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  .  Under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), a  
            state agency proposing a non-major regulation is required to  
            prepare an EIA for purposes of assessing the potential adverse  








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            economic impact of the proposed regulation.  However, the APA  
            does not currently require the EIA to be included in the ISOR.

            This bill, sponsored by the Office of Administrative Law  
            (OAL), is intended to clarify that the EIA must be submitted  
            as a part of the ISOR so that it is made available to the  
            public for comment at the onset of the rulemaking process.  

            In addition, this bill includes requirements specifically  
            instructing state agencies when to prepare the EIA and how to  
            make it available to the public for comment.

           2)Consistency  .  The OAL is responsible for reviewing  
            administrative regulations proposed by over 200 state agencies  
            for compliance with the standards set forth in the APA.  Among  
            other
            things, the APA requires a state agency to prepare a  
            standardized regulatory impact analysis for a proposed major  
            regulation, defined as having an economic impact of $50  
            million or more, and include that in the ISOR which is made  
            available to the public for comment.  

            The APA also requires a state agency proposing a non-major  
            regulation to prepare an EIA to assess the potential adverse  
            economic impact of the proposed regulation.  However, the APA  
            does not currently require the EIA to be included in the ISOR,  
            yet it is required to be available for public comment.

            This bill would conform the submission requirements for  
            non-major regulations to those of major regulations regarding  
            EIAs to improve and streamline the administrative process for  
            making these documents available for public comment.

           3)State Administrative Manual  . This manual is a reference guide  
            for statewide policies, procedures, requirements and  
            information jointly published by the DOF and the Department of  
            General Services.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081 












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