BILL NUMBER: AB 12 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
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inconsistencies, overlaps, or outdated provisions in the regulations,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
shall, from time to time, shall annually 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) (1) On or before November 1, 2015, and
annually thereafter, the office shall submit to the
Senate and Assembly Committees Committee
on Governmental Organization and the Assembly Committee on
Accountability and Administrative Review a report describing
the extent to which submitted standardized regulatory impact analyses
for proposed major regulations for the fiscal year ending in
June 30, of that year 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 may shall also include any
recommendations from the office for actions the Legislature might
consider for improving state agency performance.
performance and compliance in the creation of the standardized
regulatory impact analyses as described in Section 11346.3.
(2) The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795
of the Government Code.
(c) In addition to the annual report required by
subdivision (b), the office may shall
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 office. office and
shall post the report and notice of noncompliance on the office's
Internet Web site.
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.