Amended
IN
Assembly
April 12, 2011 |
Introduced by
Assembly Member
Nielsen |
February 18, 2011 |
Existing law, the
This bill would adopt the regulatory philosophy and the principles of regulation, as outlined in Presidential Executive Order 12866 and Presidential Executive Order 13563, in order to achieve the same regulatory benefits within the state by directing agencies, among other things, to improve public participation in the rulemaking process, to reduce redundant, inconsistent, or overlapping regulations through increased agency coordination to improve flexibility, and to develop and submit to the office a preliminary plan under which the agency will periodically review its existing significant regulations to determine whether any regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed.
(a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1)An efficient regulatory planning and review process is vital to ensure that the state’s regulatory system best serves the people of this state.
(2)In 1993, President Clinton reviewed and revised the federal government’s program for regulatory review and issued Executive Order 12866, titled “Regulatory Planning and Review,” establishing the general principle that the benefits of intended regulations should justify the costs.
(3)In 2011, President Obama issued Executive Order 13563, titled “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,” to reaffirm and
expand upon the principles and structures of regulatory review established in Executive Order 12866.
(b)In order to achieve the benefits associated with Executive Order 12866 and the anticipated benefits associated with Executive Order 13563, this state adopts the following regulatory philosophy, as outlined in Section 1 of Executive Order 13563:
(1)Our regulatory system must protect public health, welfare, safety, and our environment while promoting economic growth, innovation, competitiveness, and job creation. It must be based on the best available science. It must allow for public participation and an open exchange of ideas. It must promote predictability and reduce uncertainty. It must identify and use the best, most innovative, and least burdensome tools for achieving regulatory ends. It must take into account benefits and costs, both quantitative and qualitative. It must
ensure that regulations are accessible, consistent, written in plain language, and easy to understand. It must measure, and seek to improve, the actual results of regulatory requirements.
(c)(1)In order to achieve the benefits associated with Executive Order 12866 and the anticipated benefits of Executive Order 13563, this state adopts the expanded principles of regulation contained in this subdivision, as reaffirmed in Section 1 of Executive Order 13563. Specifically, each agency shall, to the extent not inconsistent with the existing provisions of this chapter, do each of the following:
(A)Propose or adopt a regulation only upon a reasoned determination that its benefits justify its costs, recognizing that some benefits and costs are difficult to quantify.
(B)Tailor its regulations to
impose the least burden on society, consistent with obtaining regulatory objectives, taking into account, among other things, and to the extent practicable, the costs of cumulative regulations.
(C)Select, in choosing among alternative regulatory approaches, those approaches that maximize net benefits, including but not limited to, potential economic, environmental, public health and safety, and other advantages.
(D)To the extent feasible, specify performance objectives, rather than specifying the behavior or manner of compliance that regulated entities must adopt.
(E)Identify and assess available alternatives to direct regulation, including providing economic incentives to encourage the desired behavior, such as user fees or marketable permits, or providing information upon which choices can be made by the
public.
(2)In applying the principles of this subdivision, each agency should use the best available techniques to quantify anticipated present and future benefits and costs as accurately as possible. Where appropriate and permitted by law, each agency may consider values that are difficult or impossible to quantify, including equity, human dignity, fairness, and distributive impacts.
(d)(1)In order to achieve the benefits associated with Executive Order 12866 and the anticipated benefits associated with Executive Order 13563, this state adopts the expanded principles of regulation contained in this subdivision, as outlined in Sections 2 to 6, inclusive, of Executive Order 13563.
(2)(A)Regulations shall be adopted through a process that involves public participation.
To that end, regulations shall be based, to the extent feasible and consistent with law, on the open exchange of information and perspectives among state, local, and tribal officials, experts in relevant disciplines, affected stakeholders in the private sector, and the public as a whole.
(B)To promote an open exchange, each agency, consistent with other applicable legal requirements, shall endeavor to provide the public with an opportunity to participate in the regulatory process. To the extent feasible and permitted by law, each agency shall afford the public a meaningful opportunity to comment through the Internet on any proposed regulation, with a comment period that should generally be at least 60 days. To the extent feasible and permitted by law, each agency shall also provide, for both proposed and final rules, timely Internet access to the rulemaking record on the Internet Web site of the agency, including relevant scientific and
technical findings, in an open format that can be easily searched and downloaded. For proposed rules, access shall include, to the extent feasible and permitted by law, an opportunity for public comment on all pertinent parts of the rulemaking record, including relevant scientific and technical findings.
(C)Before issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking, each agency, where feasible and appropriate, shall seek the views of those who are likely to be affected, including those who are likely to benefit from and those who are potentially subject to the rulemaking.
(3)Some sectors and industries face a significant number of regulatory requirements, some of which may be redundant, inconsistent, or overlapping. Greater coordination across agencies could reduce these requirements, thus reducing costs and simplifying and harmonizing rules. In developing regulatory actions and identifying
appropriate approaches, each agency shall attempt to promote such coordination, simplification, and harmonization. Each agency shall also seek to identify, as appropriate, means to achieve regulatory goals that are designed to promote innovation.
(4)Where relevant, feasible, and consistent with regulatory objectives, and to the extent permitted by law, each agency shall identify and consider regulatory approaches that reduce burdens and maintain flexibility and freedom of choice for the public. These approaches include warnings, appropriate default rules, and disclosure requirements as well as provision of information to the public in a form that is clear and intelligible.
(5)Each agency shall ensure the objectivity of any scientific and technological information and processes used to support the agency’s regulatory actions.
(6)(A)To facilitate the periodic review of existing significant regulations, agencies shall consider how best to promote retrospective analysis of rules that may be outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome, and to modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them in accordance with what has been learned. Such retrospective analyses, including supporting data, should be released online whenever possible.
(B)Prior to July 1, 2012, each agency shall develop and submit to the office a preliminary plan, consistent with law and its resources and regulatory priorities, under which the agency will periodically review its existing significant regulations to determine whether any regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed so as to make the agency’s regulatory program more effective or less burdensome in achieving the regulatory
objectives.