Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. Existing law requires an agency to mail a notice of proposed action to specified entities at least 45 days prior to the hearing and close of the public comment period on the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation. regulation, and to publish the notice of proposed action in the California Regulatory Notice Register as proposed by the Office of Administrative Law.

This bill would require that the notice of proposed action also be submitted to the Legislature if it the Office of Administrative Law to send a link to an Internet Web site, where this published information is posted, to the appropriate Senate and Assembly policy committee secretaries via electronic mail, if the notice includes particular information relating to economic and cost impacts of the regulation on businesses and private persons.

Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. Existing law requires an agency to mail a notice of proposed action to specified entities at least 45 days prior to the hearing and close of the public comment period on the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation.

This bill would require that the notice of proposed action also be submitted to the Legislature if it includes particular information relating to economic and cost impacts of the regulation on businesses and private persons.

Date of Hearing: May 11, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1868

Author:(Wagner) – As Amended Ver:May 3, 2016

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to email a link to an Internet website of proposed regulatory action (proposed action) to appropriate Senate and Assembly policy committee secretaries, at least 45 days prior to the hearing and close of the public comment period if the proposed action includes an economic impact, cost impact, statement or finding, as specified.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Ongoing costs to OAL of at least $85,000 (GF) for one staff services analyst to perform the requirements of the bill. This includes transmitting a copy of each weekly Notice Register to the appropriate committee secretary concerning each notice of proposed action published in the Notice Register, and making the determination as to the "appropriate" Senate and Assembly policy committee, sending the information to the correct secretaries' electronic email and responding to questions/concerns regarding the information in the Notice Register. In 2015, OAL received over 400 notices of proposed actions.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author, "This bill would ensure that the executive branch is kept in check, as it enforces the laws that the Legislature creates, and would bring the Legislature into its proper role of oversight of the executive branch."
2. Background. The Administrative Procedures Act (APA) requires the Office of Administrative Law to ensure that state agency regulations 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 a supporting statement of reasons, mailing and publishing a notice of the proposed action 45 days before a hearing and 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 raised during the public comment period. The OAL is then required to approve or reject the proposed regulation within 30 days.

This bill, in addition to the existing notification requirements, requires OAL to submit notices to Senate and Assembly policy committee secretaries. As noted above, in 2015, OAL received over 400 notices of proposed actions.

1. Necessary? Proposed actions are already available publicly and mechanisms exist for those interested in receiving them to do so under current law. Individuals, including Legislators, with an interest in a particular area can sign up to receive proposed actions in one or more programs of a state agency. Additionally, agencies are required to provide these documents to representatives of affected groups and publish them in the California Regulatory Notice Register (Register). The OAL publishes the Register on its website every Friday. The Committee may wish to consider whether another avenue of communication is necessary and justified.
2. Prior Legislation.
3. AB 797 (Steinorth), 2015, would have required a copy of each major regulation submitted to the Secretary of State (SOS) by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to also be submitted to the appropriate Legislative policy committees responsible for the subject matter of the regulation for review. It passed off the Assembly Floor but was never heard in the Senate.
4. AB 12 (Cooley), 2015, would have required state agencies and departments to review, adopt, amend or repeal any applicable regulations that are duplicative, overlapping, inconsistent, or out of date by January 1, 2018. As part of this process, state agencies and departments would have been required to notify the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature of the proposed revisions and report to the Governor and the Legislature. It was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee's Suspense file.

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 27, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1868

Author:(Wagner) – As Introduced Ver:February 10, 2016

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill would additionally require state agencies to submit a notice of proposed regulatory action (proposed action) to the Legislature at least 45 days prior to the hearing and close of the public comment period if the proposed action includes an economic impact, cost impact, statement or finding, as specified.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. Unknown, but likely minor costs to state agencies (various funds) to submit copies of notices of proposed actions to the Legislature. There are currently over 200 state agencies and departments with nearly 53,000 active regulations. As written, the bill would require notices to be sent on all or nearly all proposed actions. In 2015, Office of Administrative Law (OAL) received over 400 notices of proposed actions.
2. Minor and absorbable costs to OAL to amend regulations to include the new requirements in the self-certification document.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author, "This bill would ensure that the executive branch is kept in check, as it enforces the laws that the Legislature creates, and would bring the Legislature into its proper role of oversight of the executive branch."
2. Background. The Administrative Procedures Act (APA) requires the Office of Administrative Law to ensure that state agency regulations 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 a supporting statement of reasons, mailing and publishing a notice of the proposed action 45 days before a hearing and 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 raised during the public comment period. The OAL is then required to approve or reject the proposed regulation within 30 days.

This bill, in addition to the existing notification requirements, requires state agencies to submit notices to the Legislature in the same manner they are required to submit reports to the Legislature - a printed copy to the Secretary of the Senate, an electronic copy to the Chief Clerk of the Assembly and either an electronic or printed copy to the Legislative Counsel. In addition, an electronic copy of a summary of each document must be submitted directly to each member of the Legislature. As noted above, in 2015, OAL received over 400 notices of proposed actions.

1. Need for the bill. Proposed actions are already available publicly and mechanisms exist for those interested in receiving them to do so under current law. Individuals, including Legislators, with an interest in a particular area can sign up to receive proposed actions in one or more programs of a state agency. Additionally, agencies are required to provide these documents to representatives of affected groups and publish them in the California Regulatory Notice Register (CRNR). The OAL publishes the CRNR on its website every Friday. The Committee may wish to consider whether another avenue of communication is necessary and justified.
2. Prior Legislation.
3. AB 797 (Steinorth), 2015, would have required a copy of each major regulation submitted to the Secretary of State (SOS) by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to also be submitted to the appropriate Legislative policy committees responsible for the subject matter of the regulation for review. It passed off the Assembly Floor but was never heard in the Senate.
4. AB 12 (Cooley), 2015, would have required state agencies and departments to review, adopt, amend or repeal any applicable regulations that are duplicative, overlapping, inconsistent, or out of date by January 1, 2018. As part of this process, state agencies and departments would have been required to notify the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature of the proposed revisions and report to the Governor and the Legislature. It was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee's suspense file.

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ACCOUNTABILITY AND ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW

Cristina Garcia, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1868 (

Author:Wagner) – As Introduced Ver:February 10, 2016

SUBJECT: Regulations: legislative notice

SUMMARY: Requires state agencies to submit a proposed regulatory action (proposed action) to the Legislature if the proposed action includes an economic or cost impact.

EXISTING LAW: Requires public participation opportunities in the process to adopt regulations, specifying that at least 45 days prior to the hearing and close of the public comment period on the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation, notice of the proposed action shall be:

1. Mailed to every person who has filed a request for notice of proposed actions with a specific agency.
2. Mailed to a representative number of small business enterprises or other representatives that are likely to be affected by the proposed actions.
3. At the judgment of the state agency, mailed to any person or groups that the agency believes to be interested in the proposed actions.
4. Published in the California Regulatory Notice Register (CRNR).

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS: This bill requires state agencies to submit proposed actions to the Legislature 45 days prior to the hearing and close of the public comment period if the proposed actions have an economic or cost impact. Proposed actions when adopted become regulations, which state agencies adopt to implement laws. These regulations, when properly adopted and filed, have the force of law. Generally, the regulation adoption process is overseen by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) and involves opportunities for public comment.

This bill specifies that the proposed action will be reported in the manner identified in Government Code section 9795, related to reports to the Legislature. That section requires the submission of reports in printed copies to the Secretary of the Senate, electronic copies to the Chief Clerk of the Assembly and either electronic or printed copies to the Legislative Counsel.

Currently, individuals with an interest in an area can sign up to receive proposed actions in one or more programs of the state agency. Additionally, agencies are required to provide these documents to representatives of affected groups and publish them in the CRNR. These notifications target those who have expressed interest or likely have an interest in proposed actions in specific areas.

This bill will instead require departments to provide proposed actions in various areas to the Legislature, without specifying how the Legislature would use this information. Additionally, proposed actions are already required to be published in the CRNR. The OAL publishes the CRNR on its website weekly and includes postings of CRNR documents since 2002.

According to the author, "This bill would ensure that the executive branch is kept in check, as it enforces the laws that the Legislature creates, and would bring the Legislature into its proper role of oversight of the executive branch."

As proposed actions are available publicly and mechanisms exist for those interested in receiving them under current law, it is unclear what benefit, if any, would be gained by sending proposed actions to the Legislature in electronic format or in thousands of pages of paper documents. Moreover, this bill does not have any requirement directing the Legislature to review or act on the information.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Almond Hullers And Processors Association

American Chemistry Council
American Wood Council

Associated Builders And Contractors Of California
Automotive Specialty Products Alliance

Calasian Chamber Of Commerce
California Apartment Association
California Building Industry Association

California Business Properties Association
California Chamber Of Commerce

California Construction & Industrial Materials Association
California Grain & Feed Association
California Grocers Association
California Manufacturers And Technology Association
Chemical Industry Council Of California
Consumer Specialty Products Association

Family Business Association
Industrial Environmental Association
National Elevator Industry, Inc.

National Federation Of Independent Business
Small Business California

Southwest California Legislative Council 

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
Western Electrical Contractors Association
Western States Petroleum Association
Western Wood Preservers Institute

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Scott Herbstman / A. & A.R. / (916) 319-3600