Regulations: small businesses.

(1) The Administrative Procedure Act generally sets forth the requirements for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies. The act requires every state agency subject to the act to submit, with the notice of the proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation, an initial statement of reasons for proposing the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation, which is required to include, among other things, a description of any reasonable alternatives that would lessen any adverse impact on small business and the agency's reasons for rejecting those reasonable alternatives. This bill would clarify the nature of the reasonable alternatives an agency is required to include in its initial statement and would require an agency to include any reasonable alternative submitted by the public or the Office of the Small Business Advocate in the statement. This bill would require the initial statement to include an assessment of whether there are similar or related state regulations that have been adopted and require an agency to determine whether there are opportunities to coordinate and harmonize compliance activities to reduce regulatory burdens on small businesses, as provided. (2) Existing law requires various topics to be listed in the State Administrative Manual. This bill would require the Department of General Services to provide in the State Administrative Manual guidance on procedures that facilitate the review of existing regulations and the implementation of new and modified regulations, as specified. (3) Existing law creates the Office of Small Business Advocate to represent the views and interests of small businesses before state agencies. This bill would clarify the nature of this function by requiring the advocate to comment on, and gather input from small businesses on, reasonable alternatives to proposed and existing regulations.