Bill Text: CA AB2196 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Small business advocate: report on costly regulations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-03-04 - Referred to Com. on J.,E.D., & E. [AB2196 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB2196-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2196 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Smyth
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
An act to add Section 65054.7 to the Government Code, relating to
small business.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2196, as introduced, Smyth. Small business advocate: report on
costly regulations.
Existing law creates the Office of Small Business Advocate in the
Office of Planning and Research in the Governor's office, and
requires the advocate to, among other things, receive and respond to
complaints from small businesses concerning the actions of state
agencies and the operative effects of state laws and regulations
adversely affecting those businesses.
This bill would require the advocate to commission a study of the
costs of specific state regulations on small businesses and identify
the 10 costliest regulations on California small businesses. The bill
would require the advocate to make recommendations on how California'
s regulatory process can more effectively assess the impact of these
regulations on small businesses and methods for developing
policy-appropriate alternatives, while avoiding recommendations that
could diminish wage and hour, social insurance, or health and safety
protections for workers. The bill would require the advocate to
convene a small business advisory committee, as specified, to provide
advice on the study. The bill would require the advocate, no later
than October 1, 2011, to submit the completed study, including
recommendations, to the Department of Finance and specified members
of the Legislature.
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 65054.7 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
65054.7. The Office of Small Business Advocate shall do all of
the following:
(a) Commission a study of the costs of specific state regulations
on small businesses, which shall identify the 10 costliest
regulations on California small businesses and, among other things,
do all of the following:
(1) Parallel, to the extent feasible and practical, the scope and
study on the impact of regulatory costs on small firms conducted by
the federal Small Business Administration, with particular focus on
the 10 costliest regulations for California small businesses.
(2) Examine successful models from other states on identifying
regulatory costs and developing potential alternative approaches that
meet the same regulatory objectives for the 10 costliest regulations
on California small businesses, but are less burdensome on small
businesses.
(3) Make recommendations on how California's regulatory process
can more effectively assess the impact on small businesses of the 10
costliest regulations on California small businesses, including its
cumulative impact, and methods for developing policy-appropriate
alternatives.
(4) Avoid recommendations that could diminish wage and hour,
social insurance, or health and safety protections for California
workers.
(b) Convene a small business advisory committee to provide advice
on the study required pursuant to subdivision (a). The committee
shall include, but not be limited to, representatives from small
business associations representing a cross section of the small
business community.
(c) No later than October 1, 2011, submit the completed study
required pursuant to subdivision (a), including recommendations, to
the Department of Finance, the Speaker of the Assembly, the President
pro Tempore of the Senate, and the chairs of the Assembly Committee
on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy, and the Senate
Committee on Governmental Organization.
