BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 866
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
866 (Eduardo Garcia)
As Amended May 28, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
|----------------+------+--------------------+-----------------------|
|Jobs |9-0 |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Kim, Brough, Brown, | |
| | |Chau, Chu, Gipson, | |
| | |Irwin, Mathis | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+-----------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Expands the duties of the Small Business Advocate to
include the provision of known information to state rulemaking
agencies on small business stakeholder groups which the rulemaking
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agency may choose to include when disseminating public information
about a proposed new rule or amendment.
This bill also requires a state agency that develops a small
business compliance guide in partnership with federal agency,
under the federal Small Business Regulatory Fairness Act of 1996
(Public Law 104-121), to notify and provide specified information
to the Small Business Advocate within 45 days after the guide
becomes available to the public.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Finds and declares that it is in the public interest to aid,
counsel, assist, and protect the interests of small business
concerns in order to maintain a healthy state economy.
2)Finds and declares that the complexity and lack of clarity in
many regulations put small businesses, which do not have the
resources to hire experts to assist them, at a distinct
disadvantage.
3)Establishes the Office of the Small Business Advocate, within
the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, to
serve, among other things, as the principal advocate in the
state on behalf of small businesses, including, but not limited
to, advisory participation in the consideration of all
legislation and administrative regulations that affect small
businesses.
4)Establishes basic minimum procedural requirements for the
adoption, amendment, or repeal of administrative regulations,
including assessing the potential adverse impact of an action on
California businesses and individuals with the purpose of
avoiding the imposition of unreasonable and unnecessary
regulations, reporting, recordkeeping, or compliance
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requirements. Among other requirements, an agency is required
to:
a) Base decisions on adequate information;
b) Consider the impact of a proposed rule on an industry's
ability to compete with businesses in other states; and
c) Assess its impact on the creation or elimination of jobs
and new and expanding businesses.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor/absorbable costs to Governor's Office of Business
and Economic Development to share contact information for small
business organization with rulemaking agencies as specified.
COMMENTS: The state has a vigorous public process that is
designed to allow the rulemaking agency to fully consider the
comments, suggestions, and economic impacts of proposed
regulations on all size businesses - especially small businesses.
The process, however, is dependent on the abilities of the
potentially impacted parties to submit specific information to the
rulemaking agency on the rules' affect. This requirement
represents an intrinsic conflict within California's rulemaking
process. While research shows that small business are likely to
be the most affected, they also have the least ability to monitor
the broad range of state rulemaking entities, recommend
appropriate alternative implementation methods, or engage
meaningfully in the often complex and highly technical rulemaking
proceedings.
Given that nearly 3 million firms in California have no employees
and 90% of firms with employees have less than 20, having
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implementation methods that are appropriate for small businesses
in terms of time, money, and expertise are important state's
long-term economic growth.
In order to supplement small businesses' direct engagement in the
rulemaking process, the state could more effectively use small
business advocacy groups to help educate a rulemaking agency on
the compliance challenges of small businesses. This bill provides
a potential new resource for rulemaking agencies that are seeking
information on how proposed new and amended rules could affect
small businesses, including recommendations on how to mitigate
administrative burdens, while still meeting the same policy
standards.
Further, this bill expands the type of information and materials
the Small Business Advocate will have to serve small businesses
seeking help in meeting government regulations. Federal law, the
Small Business Regulatory Fairness Act of 1996, encourages federal
agencies to develop small business regulatory compliance guides
with their state counterparts. There is currently no single
source of information on which state agencies have developed or
are in the process of developing these materials.
Analysis Prepared by:
Toni Symonds / J., E.D., & E. / (916) 319-2090
FN: 0000838
AB 866
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