Economic impact assessment: small business definition.

Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, governs, among other things, the procedures for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. Existing law requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal specific administrative regulations to assess the potential for adverse economic impact on California business enterprises and individuals and to prepare an economic impact assessment, as specified, that addresses, among other things, the creation or elimination of jobs within the state. This bill would, with certain exceptions, authorize a state agency, when preparing the economic impact assessment, to use a consolidated definition of small business to determine the number of small businesses within the economy, a specific industry sector, or geographic region, and would define "small business" for that purpose as a business that is independently owned and operated, not dominant in its field of operation, and has fewer than 100 employees.