BILL NUMBER: AB 19AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 6, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 16, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chang (Coauthor: Assembly Member Olsen) (Coauthor: Senator Huff) DECEMBER 1, 2014 An act to add and repeal Section 12098.2 of the Government Code, relating to economic development. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 19, as amended, Chang. Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development: small business: regulations. Existing law creates the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to exercise various powers, including, among others, making recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature regarding policies, programs, and actions to advance statewide economic goals. Existing law establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate, within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, that is headed by the Director of the Office of Small Business Advocate who is also referred to as the Small Business Advocate. This bill would require the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development,under the direction ofin consultation with the advocate, to establish a process for the ongoing review of existing regulations . The bill would require the review to be primarily focused on regulations affecting small businesses adopted prior to January 1, 2016, to determine whether the regulationsneed to be amended in order to become more effective,could be lessburdensome, or to decrease the cost impactadministratively burdensome or costly to affected sectors. The bill would require the office to submit the results of its review, including its conclusions and recommendations, to the agency with jurisdiction over the reviewed regulations and toprovide public access to thispost the same information on its Internet Web site. The bill would also require the office to report to the Legislature and the Governor prior to January 1, 2021, and would repeal all of these requirements on January 1, 2021. 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 12098.2 is added to the Government Code, to read: 12098.2. (a) The Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development,under the direction ofin consultation with the advocate, shall establish a process for the ongoing review of existingregulationsregulations. The review shall focus on regulations primarily affecting small businesses adopted prior to January 1, 2016, to determine whether the regulationsneed to be amended in order to become more effective,could be lessburdensome, or to decrease the cost impactadministratively burdensome or costly to affected sectors. (b) The office shall establish a processthrough which stakeholders may request that a regulation be reviewed by the office. The office shall establish a priority review process and shall determine whether a regulation identified pursuant to this subdivision is suitable for priority review.that includes all of the following: (1) An annual calendar of reviews, which shall be no less than two per year. (2) A means by which stakeholders may request that a regulation be reviewed by the office. (3) A means by which the office can set priorities for undertaking reviews. (4) A means by which the public, including small business, can provide input on current costs and challenges in implementing the regulation under review. (5) A means by which the public, including small business, can make recommendations for an alternative implementation method or methods that would be less burdensome and costly. (c) Theofficeoffice, following a public comment period, shall determine whether the regulationpresents problems, as set forth in subdivision (a), and shall identify proposed remediescould be implemented through an alternative method or methods that are less administratively burdensome or costly . Upon completion of the review, the office shall submit the results of its review, including its conclusions and recommendations, to the agency with jurisdiction over the reviewed regulations and shallprovide public access to thispost the same information on its Internet Web site. (d) Notwithstanding any law, the office shall report to the Legislature and the Governor prior to January 1, 2021. The report shall include a listing of all regulations reviewed, the results of each review including theremediesalternative implementation method or methods the office proposed, and a description of the actions taken by the responsible agency. The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795. (e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends that date.