BILL NUMBER: SB 942 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 24, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 5, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Senator Dutton
FEBRUARY 3, 2010
An act to amend Section 11349.3 of, to add Sections
11349.10 and 11349.11 to, and to add Article 5.5
(commencing with Section 11348.5) to Chapter 3.5 of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of, the Government Code, relating to
regulations.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 942, as amended, Dutton. Regulations: review process.
Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, governs the
procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by
state agencies, including a requirement that the notice of proposed
action contain prescribed cost estimates associated with the proposed
regulation. Existing law also provides for the review of these
regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law.
This bill would establish an Economic Analysis Unit within the
office. The bill would require agencies to make publicly available
and submit to the unit specified cost estimates that pertain to a
proposed regulation and specified information used to develop the
cost estimates, as prescribed. The bill would require the unit to
review final revised cost estimates for regulations that the agency
determines to have a cost estimate of $50,000,000 or more. The bill
also authorizes a stakeholder to petition the director of the office
to direct the unit to review a regulation that does not meet
the $50,000,000 cost estimate threshold the
stakeholder believes has an actual cost of $50,000,000 or more
. The bill requires the unit to develop an appropriate
methodology for reviewing agency cost estimates for proposed
regulations and to approve or reject the cost estimates
of regulations that it reviews , as specified.
This bill would require each agency to review each regulation
adopted prior to January 1, 1990, and to develop a report with
prescribed information that shall be submitted to the Legislature on
or before January 1, 2013. The bill would also require each agency,
on or before January 1, 2018, and at least every 5 years thereafter,
to conduct additional reviews of regulations that have been in effect
for at least 20 years, as specified, and to submit an annual report
to the Legislature that identifies the regulations reviewed during
that year and the associated findings.
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. Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 11348.5) is added
to Chapter 3.5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code, to read:
Article 5.5. Cost Estimate Analysis of Proposed Regulations
11348.5. (a) There is hereby established within the office an
Economic Analysis Unit that shall review cost estimates of proposed
regulations, as provided for in this article.
(b) For purposes of this article, "unit" means the Economic
Analysis Unit.
11348.51. (a) (1) Each agency shall, at the time it disseminates
the notice of proposed action as required by Section 11346.4, also
disclose to the public any cost estimate required pursuant to Section
11346.5 and the nonproprietary information used to develop those
cost estimates.
(2) Each agency shall, at the time when it disseminates the notice
of proposed action as required by Section 11346.4, also submit to
the unit any cost estimate required pursuant to Section 11346.5 and
all information used to develop those cost estimates, including any
proprietary information not disclosed to the public. The unit shall
treat as confidential any information identified as proprietary by
the submitting agency. The agency shall also submit to the unit any
information submitted to the agency from parties affected by the
proposed regulation.
(b) Each agency shall disclose to the public and submit to the
unit, in the same manner prescribed in subdivision (a), final revised
cost estimates for a proposed regulation 30 working days prior to
submitting the proposed regulation to the office for review pursuant
to Article 6 (commencing with Section 11349).
11348.52. (a) (1) The unit shall review final revised cost
estimates submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 11348.51
for a proposed regulation for which the agency has provided an
estimated cost of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) or more.
(2) The unit may review cost estimates submitted pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 11348.51 for a proposed regulation for
which the agency has provided an estimated cost of fifty million
dollars ($50,000,000) or more. If the unit reviews cost estimates for
a proposed regulation pursuant to this paragraph, it shall conduct
the review and make determinations in the manner provided pursuant to
subdivision (c) (d) .
(b) A stakeholder may petition the office to direct the unit to
review final revised cost estimates for a proposed regulation that
has an estimated cost that is less than fifty million
dollars ($50,000,000) the stakeholder believes to have
an actual cost of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) or more
. The director of the office shall be authorized, in his or her sole
discretion, to approve or deny the petition.
(c) The unit shall develop an appropriate methodology for
reviewing the cost estimates submitted by an agency.
(c)
(d) (1) The unit review of the cost estimates shall
determine if the submitting agency used an appropriate methodology to
develop those cost estimates and whether the submitted cost
estimates are a fair assessment of the estimated cost of the
regulation based on the information available to the agency to
develop the cost estimate.
(2) The unit shall approve or reject a cost estimate within 50
working days. If the unit rejects the cost estimate, the proposed
regulation shall be returned to the agency with a written statement
of reasons for the rejection, which shall also be made available to
the public. If the unit approves the cost estimate, then the unit
shall notify the agency and the office that the proposed regulation
is eligible for final approval by the office pursuant to Article 6
(commencing with Section 11349).
11348.53. Subject to the requirements of subdivision (b) of
Section 11348.51, the office may concurrently review a proposed
regulation as required pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section
11349), except that the office shall not approve a regulation
pursuant to Section 11349.3 that is being concurrently reviewed by
the unit until the EAU unit approves
the cost estimates for that regulation.
SEC. 2. Section 11349.3 of the Government Code is amended to read:
11349.3. (a) Subject to Section 11348.53, the office shall either
approve a regulation submitted to it for review and transmit it to
the Secretary of State for filing or disapprove it within 30 working
days after the regulation has been submitted to the office for
review. If the office fails to act within 30 days, the regulation
shall be deemed to have been approved and the office shall transmit
it to the Secretary of State for filing.
(b) If the office disapproves a regulation, it shall return it to
the adopting agency within the 30-day period specified in subdivision
(a) accompanied by a notice specifying the reasons for disapproval.
Within seven calendar days of the issuance of the notice, the office
shall provide the adopting agency with a written decision detailing
the reasons for disapproval. No regulation shall be disapproved
except for failure to comply with the standards set forth in Section
11349.1 or for failure to comply with this chapter.
(c) If an agency determines, on its own initiative, that a
regulation submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) should be returned
by the office prior to completion of the office's review, it may
request the return of the regulation. All requests for the return of
a regulation shall be memorialized in writing by the submitting
agency no later than one week following the request. Any regulation
returned pursuant to this subdivision shall be resubmitted to the
office for review within the one-year period specified in subdivision
(b) of Section 11346.4 or shall comply with Article 5 (commencing
with Section 11346) prior to resubmission.
(d) The office shall not initiate the return of a regulation
pursuant to subdivision (c) as an alternative to disapproval pursuant
to subdivision (b).
SEC. 2. Section 11349.10 is added to the
Government Code, to read:
11349.10. (a) Each agency shall review each regulation adopted
prior to January 1, 1990. The review shall be developed into a report
that includes, but is not limited to, the following information for
each regulation:
(1) The date that the office approved the regulation.
(2) The purpose.
(3) The statutory authority.
(4) The identification of impacted sectors.
(5) The direct costs by sector.
(6) Whether the regulation is duplicative of other regulations.
(7) Whether the regulation is still relevant.
(8) Whether the regulation needs to be updated in order to become
more effective or less burdensome.
(b) The agency shall consult with parties affected by the
regulation in developing the report.
(c) The agency shall submit the report to the Legislature on or
before January 1, 2013.
(d) To the extent that an agency is a component member of another
agency, the member agency shall submit a copy of its report to the
highest ranking agency head prior to submitting the report to the
Legislature as required by this section. The agency head shall review
the reports for each component agency for the purpose of identifying
duplicative or conflicting regulations between departments.
SEC. 3. Section 11349.11 is added to the
Government Code, to read:
11349.11. (a) On or before January 1, 2018, and at least every
five years thereafter, each agency shall review each regulation that
is at least 20 years old and has not been reviewed within the last 10
years. The review shall be developed into a report that shall be
submitted to the Legislature and includes, but is not limited to, the
following information for each regulation:
(1) The date that the office approved the regulation.
(2) The purpose.
(3) The statutory authority.
(4) The identification of impacted sectors.
(5) The direct costs by sector.
(6) Whether the regulation is duplicative of other regulations.
(7) Whether the regulation is still relevant.
(8) Whether the regulation needs to be updated in order to become
more effective or less burdensome.
(b) Each agency shall submit an annual report to the Legislature
that identifies the regulations reviewed during the previous year and
the associated findings.