Consumer Federation of California

Bill Update: AB 1537 (Cook) is scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee on March 27th, 2012.

CFC Position: Oppose

The Consumer Federation of California opposes Assembly Bill 1537 (Cook). This bill, titled the Government Accountability Act of 2012, requires that any regulation having an estimated adverse economic impact of more than $1 million on businesses or individuals include a provision repealing the regulation after two years.

Ostensibly, AB 1537 provides greater legislative oversight of the California Code of Regulations; however, in reality the bill accomplishes very little other than to establish a problematic, broad restriction on new regulations. Under this bill, all regulations would need a separate statute enacted by the Legislature in order to reverse the automatic repeal.

This requirement wastes the time of the Legislature as well as the money of Californian taxpayers by creating an unnecessary extra step in the establishment of new regulations. Sufficient oversight for regulations is in place without Legislative approval, and its addition would frustrate rather than further the ability of the Office of Administrative Law to perform that oversight.

For these reasons, the Consumer Federation of California opposes AB 1537 (Cook).