California Senate Bill SB1091 Latest Draft

 BILL NUMBER: SB 1091INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Galgiani FEBRUARY 19, 2014 An act to amend Section 11344.1 of, and to add Section 11344.15 to, the Government Code, relating to administrative procedures. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1091, as introduced, Galgiani. Administrative procedures: California Regulatory Notice Register: proposed rulemaking activities. Existing law 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, including procedures relating to increased public participation in the adoption, amendment, and repeal of these regulations. Existing law requires that an agency 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. Existing law requires the office to provide for the publication of the California Regulatory Notice Register and to include specified information in the register, including notices of proposed action prepared by regulatory agencies. This bill would require each state agency to submit a notice to the office for publication in the California Regulatory Notice Register of any meeting or hearing that occurs prior to the mailing or posting of the notice of proposed action, for which the agency posts on its Internet Web site a public notice of a meeting or hearing, as provided. This bill would also require the office, before January 1, 2017, to make the California Regulatory Notice Register available in an electronically searchable Internet Web-based format, and to include the ability for interested parties to subscribe to an electronic mail notification subscription to the California Regulatory Notice Register or other specific notices contained within the California Regulatory Notice Register. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 11344.1 of the Government Code is amended to read: 11344.1. The office shall do all of the following: (a) Provide for the publication of the California Regulatory Notice Register, which shall be an official publication of the State of California and which shall contain the following: (1) Notices of proposed action prepared by regulatory agencies, subject to the notice requirements of this chapter, and which have been approved by the office. (2) A summary of all regulations filed with the Secretary of State in the previous week. (3) Summaries of all regulation decisions issued in the previous week detailing the reasons for disapproval of a regulation, the reasons for not filing an emergency regulation, and the reasons for repealing an emergency regulation. The California Regulatory Notice Register shall also include a quarterly index of regulation decisions. (4) Material that is required to be published under Sections 11349.5, 11349.7, and 11349.9. (5) Determinations issued pursuant to Section 11340.5.  (6) Materials and notices required to be published under Section 11344.15.  (b) Establish the publication dates and manner and form in which the California Regulatory Notice Register shall be prepared and published and ensure that it is published and distributed in a timely manner to the presiding officer and rules committee of each house of the Legislature and to all subscribers. (c) Post on its  website   Internet Web site  , on a weekly basis: (1) The California Regulatory Notice Register. Each issue of the California Regulatory Notice Register on the office's  website   Internet Web site  shall remain posted for a minimum of 18 months. (2) One or more Internet links to assist the public to gain access to the text of regulations proposed by state agencies.  (d) Before January 1, 2017, the office shall make the California Regulatory Notice Register available in an electronically searchable Internet-Web based format, and shall include the ability for interested parties to subscribe to an electronic mail notification subscription to the California Regulatory Notice Register or other specific notices contained within the California Regulatory Notice Register.  SEC. 2. Section 11344.15 is added to the Government Code, to read: 11344.15. (a) Each state agency shall submit a notice to the office for publication in the California Regulatory Notice Register of proposed rulemaking activity. For purposes of this section, "proposed rulemaking activity" means any meeting or hearing that occurs prior to the mailing or posting of the notice required pursuant to Sections 11346.4 and 11346.5, for which the agency posts on its Internet Web site a public notice of a meeting or hearing. The notice required pursuant to this section shall appear in the California Regulatory Notice Register at least 15 days prior to the meeting or hearing date. (b) The notice required by subdivision (a) shall include all of the following: (1) The name of the state agency organizing the meeting. (2) The date, time, place, location, and nature of the meeting. (3) A brief statement identifying each topic under consideration or discussion. (4) An Internet Web site address for the public meeting notice. (5) An Internet Web site address to any other information prepared in connection with the meeting. (c) Proposed rulemaking activity subject to the notice requirement of subdivision (a) shall include the following: (1) Informational hearings. (2) Workshops. (3) Scoping hearings. (4) Preliminary meetings. (5) Public and stakeholder outreach meetings. (d) Failure to publish proposed rulemaking activity shall not invalidate an action taken by a state agency pursuant to Section 11346.4 or 11346.5 if upon the agency's discovery or notification of failure to publish the agency submits the required notice to the office for publication in the California Regulatory Notice Register that notifies the public of the publication error. If an agency is required to republish a notice pursuant to this subdivision, the agency shall permit public comments related to the unnoticed meeting to be submitted for an additional 15 days, once the agency has posted all relevant meeting materials, presentations, studies, recordings, or minutes of the meeting to its Internet Web site. The notice required by this subdivision shall include the requirements specified in subdivision (b) and include an Internet Web site address for transcript, recording, or minutes of the improperly noticed meeting or hearing. (e) An intentional failure of the public to delay notice to an agency regarding a known publication oversight constitutes a waiver of the right to object and shall not invalidate a state agency's ability to enact a regulation if both of the following apply: (1) The public comment period as prescribed in Section 11346.4 has been published in the California Regulatory Notice Register. (2) The agency has made every reasonable attempt to comply with the procedures set forth in subdivision (d) which would remedy any publication oversight that may have occurred. (f) Agencies shall not condition consideration of comments received during the period described in Section 11346.4 on attendance of proposed rulemaking activities as described in subdivision (a), and shall consider all issues pertinent to the regulation that may not have been raised during proposed rulemaking activities.