Plain English Breakdown
The official text does not define 'cost of living' or set specific numbers for what counts as a significant impact; these will be determined later by the Office of Administrative Law.
AB-1232: Checking How New Rules Affect Cost of Living
This law requires state agencies to check how new rules change the cost of living for residents and gives the Office of Administrative Law more power to review those costs.
What This Bill Does
- Requires state agencies to include cost of living impacts in their economic reports for both major and nonmajor regulations.
- Directs the Office of Administrative Law to create a standard method for measuring how rules affect residents' daily expenses.
- Allows the office to select contractors if an agency needs outside help with these new analyses.
- Adds cost of living as a specific standard that the office must use when reviewing proposed regulations.
- Requires the office to conduct its own analysis on cost of living impacts and identify ways to reduce costs if they are significant.
- Requires the office to return a regulation to the agency if it finds significant negative impacts on residents' costs after independent evaluation.
- Extends the review time for major rules from 30 working days to 60 working days.
Who It Names or Affects
- State agencies that create, change, or remove regulations
- The Office of Administrative Law (OAL)
- Residents of California who may face changes in their cost of living
Terms To Know
- Major regulation
- A rule that requires a standardized regulatory impact analysis.
- Nonmajor regulation
- A rule that is not classified as major but still requires an economic impact assessment.
- Cost of living impacts
- How a new rule might change the amount of money residents need for daily expenses, as defined by the bill.
Limits and Unknowns
- The office must establish its own methodology and threshold to decide when a cost increase is considered 'significant'.
- If costs are significant, agencies can explain why cheaper alternatives do not work instead of always choosing them.
- The specific effective date for these changes is not listed in the provided text.