AB 2221, as amended, Campos. Business Filing Coordination Council.
Existing law requires certain business entities, including, but not limited to, a corporation, a limited partnership, and a limited liability partnership, to make various business filings with the Secretary of State. Existing law authorizes the Secretary of State to promulgate regulations and rules related to business filings and to refuse a filing based on a reasonable belief that the filing is unlawful, false, or has a fraudulent purpose.
This bill would establish, within the Secretary of State’s office, the Business Filing Coordination Council composed of 7 members, as specified. The bill would require the council to, among other things, provide businesses with additional points of contact for concerns or suggested innovations for improving the state business climate through streamlined business filings and annually report to the Governor and Legislature on the progress of meeting its requirements.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) Filing business formation documents with the Secretary of
4State is often the first official step that most new businesses take
5when becoming a part of the California business community.
6(b) More than two million business documents of various kinds
7are processed by the Secretary of State’s Business Programs
8Division.
9(c) Efficientbegin insert and timelyend insert processing of business
document filings
10is instrumental to helping businessesbegin delete efficientlyend delete establish within
11the state.
12(d) Currently, the Secretary of State’s business document filing
13process is manual, paper-based, andbegin delete labor-intensiveend deletebegin insert labor-intensive,end insert
14 and many paper copies kept on file are not duplicated, do not have
15a backup system, and could easily be lost in an accident or disaster.
16(e) While some automated workflow improvements have been
17made, the large majority of the 1.7 million business entities that
18file annually with the Secretary of State are forced to
interface
19with antiquated processes.
20(f) To improve efficiency and security in document filing, the
21Secretary of State has created the California Business Connect
22Project.
23(g) The California Business Connect Project will benefit
24
businesses by doing all of the following:
25(1) Ensuring a more secure processing of payments.
26(2) Providing online help in completing forms.
27(3) Reducing the cost and time required to establish and maintain
28a business.
29(4) Providing services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
30(5) Allowing users to see all filing activities related to a business
31over the long term.
32(6) Processing business filings faster.
33(7) Helping businesses create jobs sooner.
34(8) Bringing revenue to the state sooner.
35(9) Reducing the use of paper.
P3 1(10) Providing reliable online research of entities doing business
2in California.
3(11) Providing online debtor information.
4(h) Due to the critical role played by businesses of all sizes in
5supporting the state by stimulating job creation and expanding the
6economy, there are numerous state agencies that assist in business
7formation and development.
8(i) To ensure that California businesses receive the benefits
9intended from the California Business Connect Project, the state
10must
facilitate coordination and cooperation between the Secretary
11of State’s office and state agencies that serve the millions of
12California businesses that file documents with the Secretary of
13State.
Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 12217) is added
15to Chapter 3 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
16Code, to read:
17
(a) There is established, within the Secretary of State’s
21office, the Business Filing Coordination Council.
22(b) The Business Filing Coordination Council shall review and
23collect data concerning the needs of businesses required to file
24documents with the Secretary of State’s office. The council shall
25support, maintain, and improve the efficiency of business filings
26and provide businesses with additional points of contact for
27concerns or suggested innovations for improving the state business
28climate through streamlined business filings.
29(c) On or before December 31 of each year, the Business Filing
30Coordination
Council shall report to the Governor and the
31Legislature on the progress of meeting the requirements in
32subdivision (b) in compliance with Section 9795. The report shall
33be made available on the Internet Web site of the Secretary of
34State.
The council shall be composed of the following
36seven members:
37(a) The Commissioner of Business Oversight, or his or her
38designee.
39(b) The Director of Consumer Affairs, or his or her designee.
40(c) The Secretary of State, or his or her designee.
P4 1(d) The Director of Technology, or his or her designee.
2(e) One member appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
3(f) One member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
4(g) One member appointed by the Governor.
Members of the Business Filing Coordination
6Council shall serve without compensation, and state funds shall
7not be used to compensate a member for his or her expenses.
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