California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 12

Introduced by Assembly Member Cooley

December 1, 2014

An act to amend Section 11349.1.5 of, and to add and repeal Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 11366) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of, the Government Code, relating to state agency regulations.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 12, as introduced, Cooley. State government: administrative regulations: review.

(1) Existing law authorizes various state entities to adopt, amend, or repeal regulations for various specified purposes. The Administrative Procedure Act requires the Office of Administrative Law and a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal a regulation to review the proposed changes for, among other things, consistency with existing state regulations.

This bill would, until January 1, 2019, require each state agency to, on or before January 1, 2018, and after a noticed public hearing, review and revise that agency’s regulations to eliminate any inconsistencies, overlaps, or outdated provisions in the regulations, adopt the revisions as emergency regulations, and report to the Legislature and Governor, as specified. The bill would further require each agency to, on or before January 1, 2017, compile an overview of the statutory law that agency administers.

(2) The act requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal a major regulation, as defined, to prepare a standardized regulatory impact analysis of the proposed change. The act requires the office and the Department of Finance to, from time to time, review the analyses for compliance with specific department regulations. The act further requires the office to, on or before November 1, 2015, submit a report on the analyses to the Senate and Assembly Committees on Governmental Organization, as specified.

This bill would instead require the office and department to annually review the analyses. The bill would also require the office to annually submit a report on the analyses to the Senate Committee on Governmental Organization and the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 11349.1.5 of the Government Code is
amended to read:

11349.1.5.  

(a) The Department of Finance and the office begin delete shall,
from time to time, end delete begin insert shall annually end insert review the standardized
regulatory impact analyses required by subdivision (c) of Section
11346.3 and submitted to the office pursuant to Section 11347.3,
for adherence to the regulations adopted by the department pursuant
to Section 11346.36.

(b) begin insert (1) end insert  On or before November 1, 2015, begin insert and annually thereafter, end insert
the office shall submit to the Senate begin delete and Assembly Committees end delete
begin insert Committee end insert on Governmental Organization begin insert and the Assembly
Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review end insert a report
describing the extent to which submitted standardized regulatory
impact analyses for proposed major regulations begin insert for the fiscal year
ending in June 30, of that year end insert adhere to the regulations adopted
pursuant to Section 11346.36. The report shall include a discussion
of agency adherence to the regulations as well as a comparison
between various state agencies on the question of adherence. The
report begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert also include any recommendations from the office
for actions the Legislature might consider for improving state
agency begin delete performance. end delete begin insert performance and compliance in the creation
of the standardized regulatory impact analyses as described in
Section 11346.3. end insert

begin insert

(2) The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section
9795 of the Government Code.

end insert

(c) In addition to the begin insert annual end insert report required by subdivision (b),
the office begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert notify the Legislature of noncompliance by a
state agency with the regulations adopted pursuant to Section
11346.36, in any manner or form determined by the begin delete office. end delete begin insert office
and shall post the report and notice of noncompliance on the
office’s Internet Web site. end insert

SEC. 2.  

Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 11366) is added
to Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:

 

Chapter  3.6. Regulatory Reform

 

Article 1.  Findings and Declarations

 

11366.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 11340), Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 11370),
Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 11400), and Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 11500)) requires agencies and the
Office of Administrative Law to review regulations to ensure their
consistency with law and to consider impacts on the state’s
economy and businesses, including small businesses.

(b) However, the act does not require agencies to individually
review their regulations to identify overlapping, inconsistent,
duplicative, or out-of-date regulations that may exist.

(c) At a time when the state’s economy is slowly recovering,
unemployment and underemployment continue to affect all
Californians, especially older workers and younger workers who
received college degrees in the last seven years but are still awaiting
their first great job, and with state government improving but in
need of continued fiscal discipline, it is important that state
agencies systematically undertake to identify, publicly review, and
eliminate overlapping, inconsistent, duplicative, or out-of-date
regulations, both to ensure they more efficiently implement and
enforce laws and to reduce unnecessary and outdated rules and
regulations.

(d) The purpose of this chapter is to require each agency to
compile an overview of the statutory law that agency oversees or
administers in its regulatory activity that includes a synopsis of
key programs, when each key program was authorized or instituted,
and any emerging challenges the agency is encountering with
respect to those programs.

 

Article 2.  Definitions

 

11366.1.  

For the purpose of this chapter, the following
definitions shall apply:

(a) “State agency” means a state agency, as defined in Section
11000, except those state agencies or activities described in Section
11340.9.

(b) “Regulation” has the same meaning as provided in Section
11342.600.

 

Article 3.  State Agency Duties

 

11366.2.  

On or before January 1, 2018, each state agency shall
do all of the following:

(a) Review all provisions of the California Code of Regulations
applicable to, or adopted by, that state agency.

(b) Identify any regulations that are duplicative, overlapping,
inconsistent, or out of date.

(c) Adopt, amend, or repeal regulations to reconcile or eliminate
any duplication, overlap, inconsistencies, or out-of-date provisions.

(d) Hold at least one noticed public hearing, that shall be noticed
on the Internet Web site of the state agency, for the purposes of
accepting public comment on proposed revisions to its regulations.

(e) Notify the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of each
house of the Legislature of the revisions to regulations that the
state agency proposes to make at least 90 days prior to a noticed
public hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) and at least 90 days
prior to the proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of the
regulations pursuant to subdivision (f), for the purpose of allowing
those committees to review, and hold hearings on, the proposed
revisions to the regulations.

(f) Adopt as emergency regulations, consistent with Section
11346.1, those changes, as provided for in subdivision (c), to a
regulation identified by the state agency as duplicative,
overlapping, inconsistent, or out of date.

(g) (1) Report to the Governor and the Legislature on the state
agency’s compliance with this chapter, including the number and
content of regulations the state agency identifies as duplicative,
overlapping, inconsistent, or out of date, and the state agency’s
actions to address those regulations.

(2) The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section
9795 of the Government Code.

11366.3.  

(a) On or before January 1, 2018, each agency listed
in Section 12800 shall notify a department, board, or other unit
within that agency of any existing regulations adopted by that
department, board, or other unit that the agency has determined
may be duplicative, overlapping, or inconsistent with a regulation
adopted by another department, board, or other unit within that
agency.

(b) A department, board, or other unit within an agency shall
notify that agency of revisions to regulations that it proposes to
make at least 90 days prior to a noticed public hearing pursuant to
subdivision (d) of Section 11366.2 and at least 90 days prior to
adoption, amendment, or repeal of the regulations pursuant to
subdivision (f) of Section 11366.2. The agency shall review the
proposed regulations and make recommendations to the
department, board, or other unit within 30 days of receiving the
notification regarding any duplicative, overlapping, or inconsistent
regulation of another department, board, or other unit within the
agency.

11366.4.  

An agency listed in Section 12800 shall notify a state
agency of any existing regulations adopted by that agency that
may duplicate, overlap, or be inconsistent with the state agency’s
regulations.

11366.43.  

On or before January 1, 2017, each state agency
shall compile an overview of the statutory law that state agency
oversees or administers. The overview shall include a synopsis of
the state agency’s key programs, when each program was
authorized or instituted, when any statute authorizing a program
was significantly revised to alter, redirect, or extend the original
program and the reason for the revision, if known, and an
identification of any emerging challenges the state agency is
encountering with respect to the programs.

11366.45.  

This chapter shall not be construed to weaken or
undermine in any manner any human health, public or worker
rights, public welfare, environmental, or other protection
established under statute. This chapter shall not be construed to
affect the authority or requirement for an agency to adopt
regulations as provided by statute. Rather, it is the intent of the
Legislature to ensure that state agencies focus more efficiently and
directly on their duties as prescribed by law so as to use scarce
public dollars more efficiently to implement the law, while
achieving equal or improved economic and public benefits.

 

Article 4.  Chapter Repeal

 

11366.5.  

This chapter shall remain in effect only until January
1, 2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends
that date.