Senator Bob Huff (R – Diamond Bar) announced today that Senate Bill 988 was approved by the Senate Committee on Governmental Organization with unanimous support.
SB 988 requires the California Bureau of State Audits to review and report on the efficiency of all regulations that are adopted or amended by the State’s energy agencies. Furthermore, the bill requires the agencies to act on recommendations put forth by the State Auditor.
The review will take place every five years, and the agencies will have two years to initiate a plan to address the reported concerns.
“California’s energy agencies have been under fire for pursuing regulations that hurt businesses and extend beyond their authority,” said Senator Bob Huff. “A burdensome regulatory climate discourages job-creating business in California, and with a 12.6% unemployment rate, the Legislature ought to be doing all it can to ensure that any proposal implemented by a state agency is economically feasible and does not place unnecessary barriers in the creation of jobs.”
Through the Administrative Procedures Act, the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) is generally tasked with reviewing regulations to ensure they are clear, necessary, legally valid, and available to the public. There is no specific requirement, however, for an independent third party to assess the impact of specific regulations on the economy or job market. Moreover, individual agencies are not required to adjust or modify any of their regulations after an OAL review has been conducted.
“It should be standard operating procedure for any government that every law and regulation be subject to periodic review,” remarked Senator Huff. “By reviewing and reducing the regulatory burden on small business in particular, economic growth will result. A growing economy provides more jobs.”