Amended in Assembly June 18, 2013

Amended in Senate May 28, 2013

Amended in Senate April 24, 2013

Senate Bill No. 176

Introduced by Senator Galgiani

(Coauthors: Senators Cannella and Correa)

February 6, 2013

An act to amend begin delete Section end delete begin insert Sections 11344.1, 11346, and end insert 11346.45 of the Government Code, relating to administrative procedures.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 176, as amended, Galgiani. Administrative procedures.

Existing law governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law, including procedures relating to increased public participation in the adoption, amendment, and repeal of these regulations. Existing law specifically requires a state agency proposing to adopt regulations, prior to publication of a notice of proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation, to involve parties who would be subject to the proposed regulations in public discussions regarding those proposed regulations, when the proposed regulations involve complex proposals or a large number of proposals that cannot easily be reviewed during the comment period. begin insert Existing law requires the office to provide for the publication of the California Regulatory Notice Register and to include specified information in the register, including notices of proposed action prepared by regulatory agencies, a summary of regulations filed with the Secretary of State, and a summary of regulation decisions issued, as specified. end insert

This bill would begin insert require the office to allow electronic submission to the office by a state agency of notices required to be published and information required to be submitted pursuant to specified provisions of existing law. The bill would also end insert expand begin delete that end delete begin insert the end insert public discussion requirement begin insert described above end insert to require a state agency proposing to adopt regulations, prior to publication of a notice of proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation, to involve parties that would be subject to the proposed regulations in public discussions regarding those proposed regulations, without regard to the complexity or number of proposals.

begin insert

Existing law authorizes an agency that is considering adopting, amending, or repealing a regulation to consult with interested persons before initiating regulatory action.

end insert begin insert

This bill would instead require such an agency to consult with interested persons before initiating regulatory action.

end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 11344.1 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

11344.1.  

The office shall do all of the following:

(a) Provide for the publication of the California Regulatory
Notice Register, which shall be an official publication of the State
of California and which shall contain the following:

(1) Notices of proposed action prepared by regulatory agencies,
subject to the notice requirements of this chapter, and which have
been approved by the office.

(2) A summary of all regulations filed with the Secretary of
State in the previous week.

(3) Summaries of all regulation decisions issued in the previous
week detailing the reasons for disapproval of a regulation, the
reasons for not filing an emergency regulation, and the reasons for
repealing an emergency regulation. The California Regulatory
Notice Register shall also include a quarterly index of regulation
decisions.

(4) Material that is required to be published under Sections
11349.5, 11349.7, and 11349.9.

(5) Determinations issued pursuant to Section 11340.5.

(b) Establish the publication dates and manner and form in
which the California Regulatory Notice Register shall be prepared
and published and ensure that it is published and distributed in a
timely manner to the presiding officer and rules committee of each
house of the Legislature and to all subscribers.

(c) Post on its begin delete website, end delete begin insert Internet Web site, end insert on a weekly basis:

(1) The California Regulatory Notice Register. Each issue of
the California Regulatory Notice Register on the office’s begin delete website end delete
begin insert Internet Web site end insert shall remain posted for a minimum of 18 months.

(2) One or more Internet links to assist the public to gain access
to the text of regulations proposed by state agencies.

begin insert

(d) Permit a state agency to submit to the office as an electronic
communication, as defined in Section 11340.85, a notice required
to be published pursuant to subdivision (a) and Section 11346.4,
and the information required to be submitted to the office pursuant
to Sections 11346.2, 11346.9, and 11347.3.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 11346 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

11346.  

(a) It is the purpose of this chapter to establish basic
minimum procedural requirements for the adoption, amendment,
or repeal of administrative regulations. Except as provided in
Section 11346.1, the provisions of this chapter are applicable to
the exercise of any quasi-legislative power conferred by any statute
heretofore or hereafter enacted, but nothing in this chapter repeals
or diminishes additional requirements imposed by any statute. This
chapter shall not be superseded or modified by any subsequent
legislation except to the extent that the legislation shall do so
expressly.

(b) An agency that is considering adopting, amending, or
repealing a regulation begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert consult with interested persons
before initiating regulatory action pursuant to this article.

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

Section 11346.45 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

11346.45.  

(a) In order to increase public participation and
improve the quality of regulations, a state agency proposing to
adopt regulations, prior to publication of the notice required by
Section 11346.5, shall involve parties that would be subject to the
proposed regulations in public discussions regarding those
proposed regulations.

(b) This section does not apply to a state agency in any instance
where that state agency is required to implement federal law and
regulations for which there is little or no discretion on the part of
the state to vary.

(c) If the agency does not or cannot comply with subdivision
(a), it shall state the reasons for noncompliance with reasonable
specificity in the rulemaking record.

(d)  begin delete The provisions of this end delete begin insert This end insert begin insert end insert section shall not be subject to
judicial review or to Section 11349.1.