AB 79

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency, or a board, department, or office within the agency, to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences, the University of California, the California State University, or any similar scientific institution of higher learning, or any combination of those entities, or with a scientist or group of scientists of comparable stature and qualifications that are recommended by the President of the University of California, to conduct an external scientific peer review of the scientific basis for any rule, as defined to include specified regulations and policies, proposed by any board, department, or office within the agency, and prescribes procedures for conducting that scientific peer review. This bill would, at or before the time a rule proposed for adoption is made available to the public at a public workshop or for purposes of public comment, require the California Environmental Protection Agency, or a board, department, or office within the agency, to complete and place into the rulemaking record an economic analysis, as defined, of the rule. The bill would also require the agency to solicit public comment on the economic analysis in the same manner as on the proposed rule. The bill would allow any interested person, within 15 calendar days of the date of the public workshop or public hearing, to request the agency to submit the economic analysis to external peer review, and would prescribe procedures for conducting the external peer review. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 19, 2009. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on December 19, 2009, pursuant to the California Constitution.