BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 410
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 410 (Swanson)
As Amended May 27, 2011
Majority vote
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 9-0APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Hayashi, Bill Berryhill, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Allen, Butler, Eng, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Hagman, Hill, Ma, Smyth | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Solorio, Wagner |
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| | |
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SUMMARY : Requires specified state agencies to provide a
narrative description of proposed regulations to persons with
visual disabilities upon request, and to provide the requester
with an extended public comment period, as specified.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires an agency when submitting a notice of proposed
adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation to the Office
of Administrative Law (OAL) to include a statement that the
agency shall provide, upon request, a description of the
proposed changes included in the proposed action, in a manner
to accommodate a person with a visual or other disability for
which effective communication is required under state or
federal law and that in doing so may require extending the
period of public comment for the proposed action.
2)Requires an agency, upon request from a person with a visual
disability or other disability for which effective
communication is required under state or federal law, to
provide that person a narrative description of the additions
to and deletions from the California Code of Regulations (CCR)
or other publication. This requirement is limited to the
following proposed regulations:
a) Regulations adopted by the Department of Rehabilitation;
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b) Regulations that must be submitted to the California
Building Standards Commission that pertain to disability
access compliance, as specified;
c) Regulations adopted by the State Department of Education
that pertain to special education; and,
d) Regulations that pertain to the Medi-Cal program.
3)Provides that the narrative description:
a) Identify each addition to or deletion from CCR by
reference to the subdivision, paragraph, subparagraph,
clause or subclause within the proposed regulation
containing the addition or deletion; and,
b) Provide the express language proposed to be added to or
deleted from CCR or other publication and any portion of
the surrounding language necessary to understand the change
in a manner that allows for accurate translation by reading
software used by the visually impaired.
4)Requires the agency to provide the narrative description
within 10 days, unless the agency determines that it would be
impractical and notifies the requester of the date on which
the narrative description will be provided.
5)Requires an agency to provide the requester at least 45 days
from the date upon which the narrative description was
provided to submit a public comment regarding the proposed
regulation, regardless of any other existing law.
6)Prohibits the agency from taking final action to adopt the
regulation until the requester has submitted a public comment
or the extended 45-day comment has period expired, whichever
occurs first.
7)Requires an agency that adopts a proposed regulation subject
to the requirements of 2) through 6), above, to submit a
report for calendar years 2012 and 2013 to the Governor and
the Legislature that specifies the number of requests
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submitted for a narrative description of a proposed regulation
and the number actually provided. This reporting requirement
becomes inoperative on February 1, 2018.
8)Provides legislative intent to evaluate reports required by
7), above, to determine whether the requirements of 2) through
6), above, should be applied to all regulations adopted by all
agencies.
9)Provides that nothing in this bill shall be construed to limit
the duty of a state agency to meet its obligations pursuant to
federal and state law to take appropriate steps to ensure
communications with participants and members of the public
with disabilities are as effective as communications with
others.
10)Makes legislative findings and declarations.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits the exclusion of a qualified individual with a
disability, by reason of that disability, from participation
in or equal access to the benefits of the services, programs,
or activities of a public entity, or to be subjected to
discrimination by a public entity, under state and federal
law.
2)Requires a public entity to take appropriate steps to ensure
that communications with participants and members of the
public with disabilities are as effective as communications
with others, under federal regulations, and also requires a
public entity to furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and
services where necessary to afford an individual with a
disability an equal opportunity to participate in, and enjoy
the benefits of, a service, program, or activity conducted by
a public entity.
3)Governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal
of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those
regulatory actions by OAL, under the Administrative Procedure
Act (APA).
4)Requires an agency to publish a notice of proposed action that
includes specified information, at least 45 days prior to a
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hearing and the close of the public comment period.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, costs associated with this legislation should be
minor and absorbable within existing resources.
COMMENTS : The APA governs the adoption of regulations by state
agencies for purposes of ensuring that they are clear,
necessary, legally valid, and available to the public. In
seeking adoption of a proposed regulation, state agencies must
comply with procedural requirements that include publishing the
proposed regulation along with supporting statement of reasons;
mailing and publishing a notice of the proposed action 45 days
before a hearing or before the close of the public comment
period; and, submitting a final statement to OAL that summarizes
and responds to all objections, recommendations and proposed
alternatives that were raised during the public comment period.
The OAL is then required to approve or reject the proposed
regulation within 30 days.
This bill is similar to AB 1787 (Swanson) of 2010, which also
required agencies to include a narrative description of
additions and deletions made to CCR for the visually impaired.
However, AB 410 (Swanson) is narrowed in focus by only requiring
agencies to comply with the new requirement upon request.
Analysis Prepared by : Rebecca May / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
FN: 0001123