BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 260|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: SB 260
Author: Monning (D)
Introduced:2/18/15
Vote: 21
SENATE INSURANCE COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/8/15
AYES: Roth, Gaines, Berryhill, Hall, Liu, Mitchell, Wieckowski
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hernandez
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT: Insurance: reports: electronic submission
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill establishes standards and procedures
applicable to electronic copies of reports or studies required
under the Insurance Code that are submitted directly to
legislative committees.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Provides that any report required by law to be submitted to
the Legislature generally shall instead be submitted as a
printed copy to the Secretary of the Senate, as an electronic
copy to the Chief Clerk of the Assembly, and as an electronic
SB 260
Page 2
or printed copy to the Legislative Counsel.
2)Requires the Legislative Counsel to publish an electronic list
of all reports to be submitted to the Legislature, Governor,
or both. The list includes a description of the subject of
the report, the date on which the report is to be filed, the
date the report was filed with the Legislative Counsel, and a
hyperlink to any reports posted on the Internet.
3)Requires various entities to submit certain reports directly
to specified committees or officers of the Legislature, some
of which are authorized to be submitted electronically.
This bill:
1)Requires any report required to be submitted to a legislative
committee, rather than the Legislature generally, by the
Insurance Code to also be submitted to Legislative Counsel.
2)Provides that specified reports may be submitted
electronically.
3)Requires that if a report is submitted to a committee
electronically, it must be provided in one of the following
ways:
a) Directly to a person or an account designated by the
committee to receive reports.
b) On permanent media by first class mail.
c) By placing the report on the entity's Web site and
notifying the committee as provided.
4)Requires reports submitted electronically to be provided in a
standard format accessible by software that is provided
without charge.
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Background
California law requires a multitude of reports from various
agencies and entities. Standards for reports submitted to the
Legislature are established under Government Code Section 9795
and 10242.5. Legislative Counsel tracks those reports and posts
relevant information, including the submission date, on a
dedicated website at http://agencyreports.ca.gov/. The journals
of each house also note receipt, but these procedures do not
apply to a report submitted directly to a legislative committee;
there is no long-term or system-wide means of tracking reporting
requirement compliance. This bill establishes procedures
specific to some reports that usually bypass Government Code
procedures because they are submitted directly to a committee.
Additionally, those reporting requirements that allow or require
reports to be submitted electronically do not provide standards
or guidance related to how or to whom the report should be
submitted. For example, a report submitted by mail is
automatically processed by the appropriate committee staff
whether it is addressed to that staff person or not, but email
must be specifically and appropriately addressed. This bill
establishes minimum standards for the electronic submission of
reports.
Prior Legislation
AB 1365 (J. Perez, Chapter 192, Statutes of 2013) revised the
standards and procedures related to reports required by state
and local agencies that are directed to the Legislature when the
report is submitted to the Legislative Counsel in electronic
format.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified4/8/15)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
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OPPOSITION: (Verified4/8/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees supports this bill because it
facilitates the availability of reports and increases government
transparency.
Prepared by:Erin Ryan / INS. / (916) 651-4110
4/22/15 16:20:14
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