Bill Text: CA AB1659 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Bill 1659 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: State government: agency repeals.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Passed) 2010-09-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 666, Statutes of 2010. [AB1659 Detail]

Download: California-2009-AB1659-Chaptered.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 1659	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER  666
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 30, 2010
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  SEPTEMBER 30, 2010
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 23, 2010
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 24, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 15, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 2, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 28, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 7, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Huber
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Niello)
   (Coauthor: Senator DeSaulnier)

                        JANUARY 19, 2010

   An act to add Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 9147.7) to
Chapter 1.5 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government
Code, relating to state government.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1659, Huber. State government: agency repeals.
   Existing law establishes the Joint Committee on Boards,
Commissions, and Consumer Protection and, until January 1, 2012,
requires the committee to hold public hearings at specified times and
to evaluate whether a board or regulatory program has demonstrated a
need for its continued existence. Existing law states the intent of
the Legislature that all existing and proposed state boards be
subject to review every 4 years to evaluate and determine whether
each has demonstrated a public need for its continued existence, as
specified.
   This bill would create the Joint Sunset Review Committee to
identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in
government agencies and to conduct a comprehensive analysis of every
"eligible agency," as defined, to determine if the agency is still
necessary and cost effective. The bill would define an "eligible
agency" as an entity of state government, however denominated, for
which a date for repeal has been established by statute on or after
January 1, 2011. The bill would require each eligible agency
scheduled for repeal to submit a report to the committee containing
specified information. The bill would require the committee to take
public testimony and evaluate the eligible agency prior to the date
the agency is scheduled to be repealed, and would require that an
eligible agency be eliminated unless the Legislature enacts a law to
extend, consolidate, or reorganize the agency. The bill would specify
the composition of the committee, which would be appointed by the
Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly, and
certain aspects of its operating procedure.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 9147.7) is added
to Chapter 1.5 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government
Code, to read:

      Article 7.5.  Sunset Review


   9147.7.  (a) For the purpose of this section, "eligible agency"
means any agency, authority, board, bureau, commission, conservancy,
council, department, division, or office of state government, however
denominated, excluding an agency that is constitutionally created or
an agency related to postsecondary education, for which a date for
repeal has been established by statute on or after January 1, 2011.
   (b) The Joint Sunset Review Committee is hereby created to
identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in
government agencies. The purpose of the committee is to conduct a
comprehensive analysis over 15 years, and on a periodic basis
thereafter, of every eligible agency to determine if the agency is
still necessary and cost effective.
   (c) Each eligible agency scheduled for repeal shall submit to the
committee, on or before December 1 prior to the year it is set to be
repealed, a complete agency report covering the entire period since
last reviewed, including, but not limited to, the following:
   (1) The purpose and necessity of the agency.
   (2) A description of the agency budget, priorities, and job
descriptions of employees of the agency.
   (3) Any programs and projects under the direction of the agency.
   (4) Measures of the success or failures of the agency and
justifications for the metrics used to evaluate successes and
failures.
   (5) Any recommendations of the agency for changes or
reorganization in order to better fulfill its purpose.
   (d) The committee shall take public testimony and evaluate the
eligible agency prior to the date the agency is scheduled to be
repealed. An eligible agency shall be eliminated unless the
Legislature enacts a law to extend, consolidate, or reorganize the
eligible agency. No eligible agency shall be extended in perpetuity
unless specifically exempted from the provisions of this section. The
committee may recommend that the Legislature extend the statutory
sunset date for no more than one year to allow the committee more
time to evaluate the eligible agency.
   (e) The committee shall be comprised of 10 members of the
Legislature. The Senate Committee on Rules shall appoint five members
of the Senate to the committee, not more than three of whom shall be
members of the same political party. The Speaker of the Assembly
shall appoint five members of the Assembly to the committee, not more
than three of whom shall be members of the same political party.
Members shall be appointed within 15 days after the commencement of
the regular session. Each member of the committee who is appointed by
the Senate Committee on Rules or the Speaker of the Assembly shall
serve during that committee member's term of office or until that
committee member no longer is a Member of the Senate or the Assembly,
whichever is applicable. A vacancy on the committee shall be filled
in the same manner as the original appointment. Three Assembly
Members and three Senators who are members of the committee shall
constitute a quorum for the conduct of committee business. Members of
the committee shall receive no compensation for their work with the
committee.
   (f) The committee shall meet not later than 30 days after the
first day of the regular session to choose a chairperson and to
establish the schedule for eligible agency review provided for in the
statutes governing the eligible agencies. The chairperson of the
committee shall alternate every two years between a Member of the
Senate and a Member of the Assembly, and the vice chairperson of the
committee shall be a member of the opposite house as the chairperson.

   (g) This section shall not be construed to change the existing
jurisdiction of the budget or policy committees of the Legislature.