BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 176|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 176
Author: Galgiani (D)
Amended: 5/28/13
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE : 11-0, 4/9/13
AYES: Wright, Nielsen, Berryhill, Calderon, Cannella, Correa,
De León, Galgiani, Hernandez, Lieu, Padilla
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/13
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Administrative procedures
SOURCE : California Association of Realtors
DIGEST : This bill requires a state agency proposing to adopt
regulations to involve parties that would be subject to those
regulations in public discussions prior to publishing the notice
without regard to the complexity or number of proposals.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal
of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those
regulatory actions by Office of Administrative Law (OAL).
2.Specifies that, in order to increase public participation and
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improve the quality of regulations, state agencies proposing
to adopt complex or numerous regulations shall involve parties
who would be subject to the proposed regulations in public
discussions prior to publishing the official notice of
proposed regulations.
This bill requires a state agency proposing to adopt regulations
to involve parties that would be subject to those regulations in
public discussions prior to publishing the notice without regard
to the complexity or number of proposals.
Background
In a comprehensive review of the state's rulemaking process, the
Little Hoover Commission recently noted that "California's
process lacks any requirement to bring in the affected public
before a rule is released for public comment. This prevents
parties who stand to be impacted by the regulation, regulated
and unregulated, from offering their expertise about real world
conditions or suggesting better approaches before a proposed
regulation is released for public comment."
The Commission also noted that no section of the Administrative
Procedure Act specifically requires a department or agency to
consult with parties who may be affected by a proposed
regulation prior to issuing the official public notice, which is
published in the Register.
California Regulatory Notice Register (Register) . The OAL
maintains and publishes the Register. It is published every
Friday in PDF format. The Register contains all notices of
proposed regulatory actions by state regulatory agencies to
adopt, amend, or repeal regulations. In addition, OAL publishes
an index to the Register that covers all state agency regulatory
actions taken over the past 12 months, sorted according to
agency name.
Comments
The author's office notes that, although state agencies must
publish notices of proposed adoption of regulations in the
Register, they are not required to publish notices of
informational hearings, workshops, reports and the like in the
Register. Consequently, the affected public is not typically
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involved in the regulatory process until the rule is released
for public comment. The author's office suggests that
California should adopt practices that more closely approximate
the federal rulemaking process, which requires federal agencies
to additionally publish all public notices of hearings,
workshops and the like in the Federal Register, not just notices
of proposed regulations.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, likely minor
ongoing costs to over 200 state agencies to involve interested
parties in discussions prior to proposing regulations. (General
Fund and Various Special Funds).
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/28/13)
California Association of Realtors (source)
American Council of Engineering Companies
Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
California Apartment Association
California Building Industry Association
California Business Properties Association
California Cement Manufactures Environmental Coalition
California Chamber of Commerce
California Independent Oil Marketers Association
California Land and Title Association
California Manufactures and Technology Association
California New Car Dealers Association
California Restaurant Association
California Retailers Association
California Service Station and Auto Repair Association
National Federation of Independent Business
San Diego County Apartment Association
Santa Barbara Rental Property Association
USANA Health Sciences, Inc.
Western States Petroleum Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The supporters and sponsor of the bill
note that since the adoption of the Administrative Procedure Act
in 1945, the process for developing regulations has evolved
substantially, and today a majority of regulations are developed
during the pre-rulemaking process. They believe that this bill
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will greatly benefit state agencies when developing regulations
by encouraging citizen participation, and that this bill will
simplify the state's regulatory notice procedures by providing a
single source of information to state agencies' pre-rule making
process.
MW:nl 5/29/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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