114986.
(a) (1) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:(A) “Agreement state” means a state with which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has entered into an effective agreement under Section 274b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec. 2021(b)).
(B) “Plain English” has the same meaning as that term is described in Section 11342.580 of the Government Code and, for this purpose, meets the standards for clarity specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 16 of Title 1 of the California Code of Regulations, as that section read on January 1, 2014.
(2) This section shall not be construed to exempt the department from complying with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
(b) Except as provided in subdivisions (g) and (i), the department may adopt a regulation, or an amendment of a regulation, adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and in effect on or after January 1, 2015, either pursuant to the procedures specified in this section or pursuant to Section 114975. A regulation, or an amendment of a regulation, adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for which the department takes action pursuant to the procedures specified in this section shall be deemed to be an adopted regulation of the state.
(1) On or before
January 1, 2016, with regard to a regulation adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that went into effect before January 1, 2015, and is in effect on that date, or on or before six months after the effective date a regulation adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that would go into effect on or after January 1, 2015, the department shall do all of the following with regard to providing a notice containing the information specified in paragraph (2):
(A) Provide the initial notice of proposed action containing the information specified in paragraph (2) to interested persons and licensees.
(B) Post the initial notice on the department’s Internet Web site.
(C) Submit the initial notice to the Office of Administrative Law, which shall
publish the initial notice, in the California Regulatory Notice Register.
(2) Except as provided in subparagraph (F), the department shall include all of the following information in the initial notice required by paragraph (1):
(A) An informative digest drafted in plain English, which shall include all of the following:
(i) A concise and clear summary of existing laws and regulations, if any, related directly to the proposed action and the effect of the proposed action.
(ii) If the proposed action differs substantially from an existing comparable federal regulation or statute, a brief description of the significant differences and the full citation of the
federal regulations or statutes.
(iii) A policy statement overview explaining the broad objectives of the regulation adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the specific benefits anticipated by the proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of the regulation by the state, including, to the extent applicable, nonmonetary benefits, including, but not limited to, the protection of public health and safety, worker safety, or the environment, the prevention of discrimination, the promotion of fairness or social equity, and the increase in openness and transparency in business and government.
(iv) An evaluation of whether the regulation adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that is proposed to be deemed the regulation of the state is inconsistent or incompatible with existing state regulations.
(B) A copy of the express terms of the proposed state regulation that would result if the regulation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is adopted pursuant to this section. The text shall be written in the same manner as required by subdivision (a) of Section 11346.2 of the Government Code. If the regulation adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission uses the term “byproduct material,” as defined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the department’s proposed regulation shall instead use the term “byproduct material” as defined in Section 114985, or an equivalent term deemed appropriate by the department.
(C) An identification of the specific regulation adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under consideration, with a citation to the federal register publication in which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission published its final rule, including instructions regarding how to
obtain a copy of the specific federal register.
(D) A description of reasonable alternatives to the regulation adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the department’s reasons for rejecting those alternatives. The reasonable alternatives that the department shall consider shall include, but are not limited to, alternatives that are proposed as less burdensome and equally effective in achieving the purposes of the regulation in a manner that ensures full compliance with the authorizing statute, federal regulation, or other law being implemented or made specific by the proposed regulation.
(E) A description of reasonable alternatives to the regulation that would lessen any adverse impact on small business and the department’s reasons for rejecting those alternatives.
(F) Notwithstanding subparagraph (D) or (E), the department is not required to artificially construct alternatives or describe unreasonable alternatives.
(G) A request for public comments on the proposed action.
(H) The name and telephone number of the department’s representative and designated backup contact person for whom comments on the initial finding and inquiries concerning the notice may be directed.
(I) The date by which comments submitted in writing are required to be received.
(c) (1) The department shall provide the initial notice described in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) in the manner required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) for public comment for no less than 45 calendar days after publication of the notice in the California Regulatory Notice Register. If a member of the public requests a public hearing during the first 30 days of the public comment period, the department shall conduct a hearing and consider comments received before the department adopts the regulation pursuant to this section.
(2) If, during the comment period, the department receives a formal request, submitted in accordance with paragraph (3), to comply with Section 114975, the regulation shall not be adopted pursuant to this section and the department shall adopt the regulation in compliance with Section 114975.
(3) For purposes of this subdivision, a formal request means a request received by the
department in writing.
(4) The department is required to accept a formal request submitted pursuant to paragraph (2) only if the request meets both of the following conditions:
(A) It is substantially related to the proposed action.
(B) It includes reasons for the request and supporting justifications as to why the proposed action should not be taken pursuant to this section.
(d) (1) The department may adopt, amend, or repeal a regulation that has been changed from that which was originally made available to the public pursuant to subdivision (c) if the change meets either of the following conditions:
(A) The change is nonsubstantial or solely
grammatical in nature.
(B) The change is sufficiently related to the original text that the public was adequately placed on notice that the change could result from the originally proposed regulatory action.
(2) If the department makes a change to a regulation that meets the conditions of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), the department shall make available to the public, for no less than 15 days before the department adopts, amends, or repeals the resulting regulation, the full text of the resulting adoption, amendment, or repeal, with the changes clearly indicated. The department shall respond to any written comments received regarding the changes in the same manner as specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (f).
(e) The department may add any material to the record of a proposed action taken pursuant to this
section after the close of the public hearing or comment period, as provided in Section 11347.1 of the Government Code, except that the department shall do the following:
(1) Summarize and respond to written comments on the document or information received by the department during the availability period in the same manner as specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (f), instead of as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 11347.1.
(2) Include in the rulemaking file a statement confirming that the department complied with the requirements of this paragraph, instead of Section 11347.1, and stating the date on which the notice was mailed.
(f) On or before January 1, 2016, with regard to a regulation adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that went into effect before January 1, 2015, and within one year after
the effective date of the federal regulation adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on or after January 1, 2015, for which the department has taken the actions required by this section, the department shall publish a notice containing all of the following information:
(1) An updated informative digest containing a clear and concise summary of the immediately preceding laws and regulations, if any, relating directly to the adopted, amended, or repealed regulation that is deemed adopted pursuant to this section, and the effect of the adopted, amended, or repealed regulation. The updated informative digest shall include the changes in the information provided in the initial notice made pursuant to subdivision (d).
(2) A summary of each objection or recommendation received pursuant to subdivisions (c), (d), and (e) and an
explanation of how the proposed action has been changed to accommodate each objection or recommendation, or the reasons for making no changes.
(A) This paragraph applies only to objections or recommendations specifically directed at the department’s proposed action or to the procedures followed by the department in proposing or adopting the action.
(B) The department may aggregate and summarize repetitive or irrelevant comments as a group, and may respond to repetitive comments or summarily dismiss irrelevant comments as a group. For these purposes, a comment is irrelevant if it is not specifically directed at the department’s proposed action or to the procedures followed by the department in proposing or adopting the action.
(3) The effective date of the regulation deemed adopted by the state pursuant to this
section.
(4) The text of the adopted regulation, which shall be published in the California Code of Regulations.
(5) If a formal request was submitted pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), and the department did not accept the formal request, the reason why the request was not accepted.
(g) (1) This section does not apply to a regulation adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under either of the following circumstances:
(A) The regulation conflicts with existing state law.
(B) The regulation requires the operation of those regulations found in Subpart E
(commencing with Section 20.1401) of Part 20 of Chapter I of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(2) The department may adopt a regulation that meets the conditions specified in paragraph (1) only pursuant to Section 114975. Subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) does not prohibit the department from adopting equivalent regulations in accordance with Section 114975.
(h) A regulation that the department has adopted pursuant to this section is exempt from Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The department shall submit the text of the adopted regulation, as specified in paragraph (4) of subdivision (f), to the Office of Administrative Law, and the office shall publish, in the California Code of Regulations, the adopted regulation.
(i) The department shall not adopt regulations pursuant to this section or Section 114975 determined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to address areas of regulation that cannot be relinquished to agreement states pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, or the regulations adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
(j) The department may adopt a regulation that is more restrictive than a regulation adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission designates its regulation as one the essential objectives of which an agreement state should adopt.
(k) Any person may obtain a judicial declaration as to the validity of a regulation adopted pursuant to this section by bringing an action for declaratory relief in a superior
court.
(l) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.