Frequently Asked Questions about Agency Rulemaking Notification

Are executive branch state agencies required to notify state legislators about certain rulemaking projects? Yes. California’s Government Code contains the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and imposes many duties and responsibilities on state agencies.

Does a legislator have to be notified about a rulemaking related to their legislation? Yes, Government Code Section 11017.5 provides that, when a statute is enacted establishing a new program or requiring interpretation pursuant to the APA, the state agency responsible for the program or regulatory action is required, six months after the operative date or the effective date of the statute, whichever is later, to issue a clear and concise summary of actions taken to implement the statute to the author of the statute.

Does the state agency have to make any other notifications? Yes, in addition to the bill’s author, the state agency must issue the same summary to the policy committees in each house of the Legislature that considered the statute and, if the statute was considered by the fiscal committee of either house of the Legislature, to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and to the fiscal committee of each house of the Legislature that considered the statute.

What other notification is required by the state agency? Government Code Section 11017.5 requires the state agency responsible for the program or regulatory action to send copies of all regulations proposed to implement the statute, and notice of any hearings held on those regulations before those hearings are held, to the author of the statute, so long as the author is a current Member of the Legislature.

Are these notifications reflected in the annual rulemaking calendar for a state agency? Yes, Government Code Section 11017.6 requires every state agency responsible for implementing a statute which requires interpretation pursuant to the APA to prepare by January 30 of each year, a rulemaking calendar for that year. In addition, state agencies are required to send the calendar to the author of each statute enacted during the previous year for which the agency has responsibility, together with an explanation of the priority the agency has given the statute in the rulemaking calendar.

When were these notification requirements imposed on state agencies? These provisions have been in California statute since 1981.