BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1711
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Date of Hearing: April 9, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 1711 (Cooley) - As Amended: April 3, 2014
Policy Committee: Accountability
and Administrative Review Vote: 11-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires an economic impact assessment (EIA) to be
included in the initial statement of reasons (ISOR) that a state
agency submits to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) when
adopting, amending, or repealing a non-major regulation.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires a state agency to include an EIA in the ISOR that is
submitted to OAL when adopting, amending, or repealing a
non-major regulation.
2)Directs the Department of Finance (DOF) to adopt and update,
as necessary, instructions prescribing the methods that an
agency must use in preparing the EIA, and include those
instructions in the State Administrative Manual.
FISCAL EFFECT
Negligible.
Existing law requires state agencies proposing non-major
regulations to prepare and submit EIAs. Negligible costs to
state agencies to submit an EIA as part of the ISOR. Minor and
absorbable costs to the Department of Finance (DOF) to include
updated instructions in the State Administrative Manual.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . Under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), a
state agency proposing a non-major regulation is required to
prepare an EIA for purposes of assessing the potential adverse
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economic impact of the proposed regulation. However, the APA
does not currently require the EIA to be included in the ISOR.
This bill, sponsored by the Office of Administrative Law
(OAL), is intended to clarify that the EIA must be submitted
as a part of the ISOR so that it is made available to the
public for comment at the onset of the rulemaking process.
In addition, this bill includes requirements specifically
instructing state agencies when to prepare the EIA and how to
make it available to the public for comment.
2)Consistency . The OAL is responsible for reviewing
administrative regulations proposed by over 200 state agencies
for compliance with the standards set forth in the APA. Among
other
things, the APA requires a state agency to prepare a
standardized regulatory impact analysis for a proposed major
regulation, defined as having an economic impact of $50
million or more, and include that in the ISOR which is made
available to the public for comment.
The APA also requires a state agency proposing a non-major
regulation to prepare an EIA to assess the potential adverse
economic impact of the proposed regulation. However, the APA
does not currently require the EIA to be included in the ISOR,
yet it is required to be available for public comment.
This bill would conform the submission requirements for
non-major regulations to those of major regulations regarding
EIAs to improve and streamline the administrative process for
making these documents available for public comment.
3)State Administrative Manual . This manual is a reference guide
for statewide policies, procedures, requirements and
information jointly published by the DOF and the Department of
General Services.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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