BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2221|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2221
Author: Campos (D), et al.
Amended: 8/7/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/24/14
AYES: Correa, Berryhill, Cannella, De Le�n, Galgiani,
Hernandez, Lieu, Padilla, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Torres, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/4/14
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/27/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Business Filing Coordination Council
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill establishes the Business Filing
Coordination Council (BFCC) within the Secretary of States (SOS)
Office.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires business entities to file
various documents with SOS when they form, have major changes,
or dissolve.
This bill:
1. Establishes the seven-member BFCC and specifies it is
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composed of one appointee each by the Governor, Senate Rules
Committee, and Speaker of the Assembly, as well as specified
state executives or their designees, including the
Commissioner of the Department of Business Oversight, the
Director of the Department of Consumer Affairs, the SOS, and
the Director of the Department of Technology.
2. Requires the BFCC to review and collect data concerning the
needs of businesses required to file documents with the SOS.
3. Directs the BFCC to support, maintain, and improve the
efficiency of business filings and provide businesses with
additional points of contact for concerns or suggested
innovations for improving the state business climate through
streamlined business filings.
4. Requires the BFCC to annually report to the Governor and
Legislature on or before December 31 and post the report on
the SOS Web site.
5. Makes legislative findings and declarations about the
importance of efficient and timely business filings.
Background
SOS processes more than two million business filings each year.
Processing these documents relies largely on paper files and
historically backlogs have occurred. The Assembly Budget
Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration (Sub #4) has held
hearings regarding the long wait to process business filings.
As of the middle of March 2013, SOS reported a business filing
processing time of 55 days. This far exceeded some other
states' business filings process times of less than a week.
Long waits to file documents could delay businesses from
opening, hiring employees, and paying taxes.
The Legislature passed a trailer bill (AB 113, Assembly Budget
Committee, Chapter 3, Statutes of 2013) that provided SOS with
$1.6 million to begin hiring staff to address the business
filing backlog. Later, the Legislature adopted a proposal in
the Governor's May Revision for the 2013-14 Budget to allocate
$5.7 million and 56 three-year limited-term positions to bring
the filing time in line with Sub #4's goal. According to SOS,
this goal has been achieved.
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While the funding of limited-term positions has addressed
immediate concerns about processing times, SOS is working to
automate the business filing system through the California
Business Connect Project. This project will allow businesses to
submit business filings, make payments, and request information
online. Business Connect is scheduled to be completed in 2016.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, first-year
costs of approximately $50,000 for the SOS to make Web site
modifications and provide staff support to the BFCC. Ongoing
SOS staffing costs of approximately $46,000 annually (1/2
personnel year equivalent) to support the BFCC and generate
reports. (Business Fees Fund)
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/5/14)
California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce
California Business Roundtable
California Chamber of Commerce
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
National Federation of Independent Business
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this
bill is designed to provide greater scrutiny of SOS' business
filing processes. While the extent of the usefulness and role
of the BFCC is unknown, this bill could provide additional
oversight for an issue that has been problematic in the past.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/27/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, John A. P�rez, V.
Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
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Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski,
Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Patterson, Quirk-Silva, Vacancy
MW:d 8/11/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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