BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2130
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REPLACE - 06/02/2010 Technical change (Member name)
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2130 (Huber)
As Introduced February 18, 2010
Majority vote
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 11-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Hayashi, Emmerson, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, Ammiano, |
| |Conway, Eng, Hernandez, | | |
| |Hill, Ma, Nava, Niello, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Ruskin, Smyth | |Calderon, Coto, |
| | | |Davis, Monning, Ruskin, |
| | | |Harkey, |
| | | |Miller, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Torlakson, |
| | | |Torrico |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Makes specified boards subject to review by the new
Joint Sunset Review Committee (JSRC) created by the companion
measure AB 1659 (Huber). Specifically, this bill :
1)Eliminates the Joint Committee on Boards, Commissions, and
Consumer Protection (Joint Committee) and replaces it with the
JSRC.
2)Requires boards and bureaus within the Department of Consumer
Affairs (DCA) that already contain a sunset date to be
reviewed by the JSRC, rather than the Joint Committee.
3)Double-joints this bill to AB 1659 (Huber).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes sunset dates on boards under DCA.
2)Establishes the Joint Committee to hold public hearings at
specified times and to evaluate whether a board or regulatory
program has demonstrated a need for its continued existence.
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3)States legislative intent that all existing and proposed state
boards are subject to review every four years to evaluate and
determine whether each has demonstrated a public need for its
continued existence, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, if nine boards and bureaus are scheduled to sunset
each year, workload associated with DCA writing and submitting a
sunset review report to the JSRC would be in the range of
$900,000 per year (various special funds).
COMMENTS : According to the author's office, "AB 2130 serves as
the implementation bill for the JSRC created in AB 1659 (Huber)
by defining which government entities will be subject to the
JSRC's review.
"AB 2130 seeks to establish accountability and oversight for
government entities by requiring a systematic review and
evaluation of state entities. Under current law the Joint
Committee is granted the power to hold public hearings at
specified times and to evaluate whether a board or regulatory
program under DCA has demonstrated a need for its continued
existence. Committee members have not been appointed to this
committee since 2006 and the jurisdiction is limited to the
boards and commissions that fall under the Business and
Professions code.
"This bill would abolish the Joint Committee and move the
functions of [the Joint] Committee to the JSRC created by AB
1659. Furthermore, AB 2130 defines which government entities
will be subject to the Committee established by AB 1659 and sets
the timetable for sunset pursuant to the policy set forth in AB
1659.
"The purpose of AB 1659 and AB 2130 is to establish a long term
process through which the state can conduct routine reviews of
entities and determine if they are still necessary. It is not
the intention of AB 1659 or AB 2130 to prohibit standing
committees from conducting their own periodic reviews of boards
and commissions under their jurisdiction."
In 1994, the Legislature established the Joint Committee and a
process for routinely reviewing the performance of the
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semiautonomous boards. The Joint Committee begins its review
process by sending a board a questionnaire and a request for
information covering every aspect of the board's operation for a
specified period. Although Joint Committee staff and the board
meet to discuss the information and to seek input from consumer
groups, all the information supplied to the Joint Committee
comes from the board itself. The basic issue for the Joint
Committee to consider during its deliberations is whether the
board should continue to regulate the profession in question or
be terminated. The Joint Committee gives the board an
opportunity to respond to its recommendations before presenting
them to the Legislature. As a result of its review, the Joint
Committee might recommend that the Legislature terminate, or
"sunset," a board. The 1994 law provides only for the
elimination of a board, not for the actual deregulation of the
profession. Upon a board's sunset, the board then becomes a
bureau under DCA. The Joint Committee has not been staffed, nor
has conducted any hearings in the past few years.
This bill is consistent with provisions of existing law
governing the sunset review process for boards and bureaus under
DCA.
AB 1659 (Huber), the companion measure to this bill, repeals the
Joint Committee and instead creates the JSRC. All DCA boards
that contain a sunset date would be reviewed by the JSRC rather
than the Joint Committee. AB 1659 is double-jointed to this
bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Rebecca May / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301
FN: 0004632