BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1520
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 26, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
SB 1520 (Calderon) - As Amended: May 30, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 38-0
SUBJECT : State government: administrative efficiency.
SUMMARY : Requires the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to
provide information to a permit applicant regarding the permit
process for a proposed development project, revises an
implementation date, and makes other conforming changes.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires OPR to provide information to an applicant for a
permit explaining the permit approval process, as specified.
2)Authorizes OPR to call a conference of parties, at the state
level, to resolve questions or mediate disputes arising from a
permit application for a development project.
3)Allows OPR to charge a permit applicant for a proposed
development project, a fee that does not exceed estimated
reasonable costs of providing the service.
4)Requires a statement of reasons for the adoption, amendment or
repeal of a regulation to include a standardized impact
analysis for each major regulation proposed after November 1,
2013, instead of January 1, 2013, under existing law.
5)Requires agencies proposing to adopt, amend or repeal a
regulation prior to November 1, 2013, to prepare an economic
assessment.
6)Contains an urgency clause.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which is
charged with rulemaking procedures and standards for the
adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state
agencies charged with the enforcement of state laws and for
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the review of those regulations by the Office of
Administrative Law (OAL).
2)Requires every agency to submit to OAL, a notice of proposed
action and make a copy of the express terms of the regulation
available to the public upon request.
3)Requires for every major regulation proposed on or after
January 1, 2013, a standardized regulatory impact analysis.
4)Requires state agencies that are proposing to adopt, amend or
repeal any administrative regulation to assess the potential
for adverse economic impact on California business enterprises
and individuals.
5)Establishes the permit streamlining act.
6)Provides that the Legislature finds and declares that there is
a statewide need to ensure clear understanding of the specific
requirements which must be met in connection with the approval
of development projects and to expedite decisions on such
projects.
7)Requires any state agency, which is the lead agency for a
development project, to inform the permit applicant that the
Office of Permit assistance has been created in OPR to assist
and inform developers relating to the permit approval process.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author, "from a project
review standpoint, this bill is an attempt to encourage a
quicker review of applications for pending California
development and other projects to expedite review and processing
under applicable California law.
Background . 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
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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.
OAL is responsible for reviewing administrative regulations
proposed by over 200 state agencies for compliance with the
standards set forth in the APA, for transmitting these
regulations to Secretary of State and for publishing regulations
in the California Code of Regulations. Existing law requires
OAL to review all regulations for necessity and non-duplication,
and requires OAL to print a summary of all regulations filed
with SOS in the previous week in the California Regulatory
Notice Register.
The state previously had a unit for permit assistance. The
Office of Permit Assistance was located within OPR and
subsequently, the Department of Permit Assistance was located
within the Trade and Commerce Agency. In 2003, the Technology,
Trade, and Commerce Agency was abolished, and the state's permit
assistance responsibilities were repealed, AB 1757 (Committee on
Budget), Chapter 229, statues of 2003.
OPR is designated in statute as the state comprehensive planning
agency. It is responsible for a number of programs and
activities including, formulating long-range goals and policies
for land use, population growth and distribution, urban
expansion, land development, resource preservation, and other
factors affecting statewide development patterns. It further
develops and adopts guidelines for the preparation of city and
county general plans, provides general planning assistance to
local governments, and serves as the state's "single point of
contact" for evaluation of federal funding proposals.
Previous Legislation . AB 29 (John A. P�rez), Chapter 475,
Statutes of 2011, created the Governor's Office of Business and
Economic Development within the Governor's office, with various
responsibilities.
SB 617 (Calderon and Pavley), Chapter 496, Statutes of 2011,
revised various provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act
(APA) and required each state agency to prepare a standardized
regulatory impact analysis, as specified, with respect to the
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adoption, amendment, or repeal of a major regulation, proposed
on or after November 1, 2013.
AB 49 (Gatto) of 2011, reestablished the Office of Permit
Assistance (OPA) under the Governor's OPR to help facilitate
state and local review of commercial and industrial development
projects. This bill was held on the Assembly Appropriations
Committee suspense file.
AB 632 (Wagner) of 2011, required state agencies to submit to
the Legislature a notice of a proposed action to adopt, amend or
repeal a regulation, if the notice identifies an economic
impact, cost impact, statement or finding related to the
proposed regulation, as specified. This bill was held in the
Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection
Committee.
SB 366 (Calderon) of 2011, among other things, created a
Streamlined Permit Review Team charged with improving the
efficiency of the state permitting process for development
projects. This bill died in the Senate Governmental
Organization Committee.
AB 2529 (Fuentes) of 2010, established, until January 1, 2016, a
process for peer review of economic impacts analyses for a
proposed regulation and required OAL to send specified
regulations to the fiscal committees in both houses of the
Legislature if they meet certain criteria. This bill was held
in the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development
Committee.
SB 959 (Ducheny) of 2010, recreated the Office of Permit
Assistance under the Governor's OPR in order to help facilitate
state and local level review of commercial and industrial
development projects. This bill was vetoed by the Governor.
AB 2351 (Committee on Ways and Means), Chapter 56, Statutes of
1993, merged or abolished 63 advisory boards to various state
agencies, boards and commissions, and crested a department of
permit assistance under the Trade and Commerce Agency.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
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None on File.
Opposition
None on File.
Analysis Prepared by : Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301