Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires the Office of Administrative Law to report a disapproval of an agency regulation to the Legislature within 60 days.

Highlights:

• Requires the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to report a regulation’s disapproval and the reasons for the decision to the Legislature within 60 days of returning it to the adopting agency (Sec. 1). 

• Requires the OAL to approve or disapprove a regulation submitted for review within 30 working days (Sec. 1). 

• Requires the OAL to provide an adopting agency within a written decision detailing the specific reasons for a regulation’s disapproval within 7 calendar days of the initial notice (Sec. 1). 

• Prohibits the OAL from disapproving a regulation unless it fails to comply with standards such as necessity, authority, clarity, consistency, and nonduplication (Sec. 1). 

• Authorizes an agency to request the return of its own regulation before the OAL completes its review (Sec. 1). 

• Prohibits the OAL from initiating the return of a regulation as a way to avoid a formal disapproval (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text