Bill Text: CA SB953 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Government reorganization: realignment or closure.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 7-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-05-24 - Held in committee and under submission. [SB953 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SB953-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 953	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 21, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Strickland
    (   Coauthors:   Senators  
Cannella,   Dutton,   Harman,   and La
Malfa   ) 
    (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members 
 Harkey,   Nestande,   and Portantino 
 ) 

                        JANUARY 5, 2012

   An act to add and repeal Chapter 8.2 (commencing with Section
11820) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code,
relating to government reorganization.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 953, as amended, Strickland. Government reorganization:
realignment or closure.
   The State Government Strategic Planning and Performance and Review
Act requires each state agency, department, office, and commission
for which strategic planning efforts are recommended to develop a
strategic plan, as specified, that identifies, among other things,
the steps being taken to develop performance measures to implement a
performance budgeting system or a performance review. The act also
requires that these entities report to the Governor and the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee by April 1 of each year on the steps
being taken to develop and adopt a strategic plan.
   Existing law sets forth specified procedures for the preparation,
submission, and implementation of the Governor's reorganization
plans.
   This bill would enact the Bureaucracy Realignment and Closure Act
of 2013. It would establish the Bureaucracy Realignment and Closure
Commission in state government with a specified membership. Beginning
on January 1, 2013, the Controller, the Director of Finance, the
Legislative Analyst, the Legislative Counsel, the Milton Marks
"Little Hoover" Commission on California State Government
Organization and Economy, and the State Auditor would be required to
develop recommendations for the closure or realignment of state
bureaucracies for consideration by the commission. It would require
the commission to independently evaluate the recommendations, conduct
3 public hearings, and, by January 1, 2014, have at least one member
of the commission visit each state bureaucracy considered for
realignment or closure.
   This bill would require the commission,  not later than
July 15,   before July 16,  2014, to submit a
report of its final recommendations to the Governor and the
Legislature that establishes a list of state bureaucracies that are
proposed to be realigned or abolished. It would require the Governor,
upon approval of the list of recommendations, to prepare the list as
a reorganization plan and to submit the plan to the Legislature
under the provisions relating to the Governor's reorganization plans.

   This bill would repeal the act on June 30, 2015.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Chapter 8.2 (commencing with Section 11820) is added to
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 8.2.  BUREAUCRACY REALIGNMENT AND CLOSURE ACT OF 2013


   11820.  It is the intent of the Legislature that this chapter
ensure that a timely, independent, and fair process for realigning or
closing outdated or ineffective and inefficient governmental
agencies, bureaucracies, boards, and commissions is initiated.
   11821.  This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
Bureaucracy Realignment and Closure Act of 2013.
   11822.  For the purposes of this chapter, the following
definitions shall apply:
   (a) "Commission" means the Bureaucracy Realignment and Closure
Commission established pursuant to Section 11823.
   (b) "State bureaucracy" means every state agency, office, officer,
department, division, bureau, board, or commission. Notwithstanding
subdivision (a) of Section 11000, "state bureaucracy" and "state
agency" include the California State University.
   11823.  (a) The Bureaucracy Realignment and Closure Commission is
hereby established in state government. By April 1, 2013, the
Governor shall appoint the members of the commission, as follows:
   (1) One member who shall be appointed upon consultation with the
Speaker of the Assembly.
   (2) One member who shall be appointed upon consultation with the
minority leader of the Assembly.
   (3) One member who shall be appointed upon consultation with the
President pro Tempore of the Senate.
   (4) One member who shall be appointed upon consultation with the
minority leader of the Senate.
   (5) Four members, at the Governor's discretion, subject to
confirmation by the Senate Committee on Rules.
   (b) (1) Each member of the commission shall have had management
experience  prior to  before  his or her
appointment to the commission.
   (2) For purposes of this subdivision, "management experience"
means at least a master's degree or its equivalent, or equivalent
experience, in the field of business management or public
administration.
   (c) The Governor shall designate one of the members to be
chairperson of the commission.
   (d) Each member of the commission shall be a United States citizen
and a resident of this state.
   (e) The commission may employ, pursuant to laws and regulations
governing state civil service, an executive secretary and any
clerical, professional, and technical assistants it deems necessary.
   11824.  A person shall not be appointed to the commission if that
person is any of the following:
   (a) A party to an ongoing contract with a federal, local, or state
governmental agency.
   (b) Employed by an entity that is a party to an ongoing contract
with a federal, local, or state governmental agency.
   (c) Employed by a federal, local, or state governmental agency.
   (d) A person who, at the time of his or her appointment or during
his or her term of service, qualifies as a lobbyist, as specified in
Section 82039.
   11825.  The members of the commission shall serve without
compensation.
   11826.  The commission shall do all of the following:
   (a) Examine state bureaucracies in this state primarily to
determine if the jurisdictions of various bureaucracies overlap, or
if a bureaucracy's mission has become obsolete.
   (b) Submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature that sets
forth findings that recommend needed reforms and establishes a list
of state bureaucracies to be realigned or abolished.
   (c) Propose realignment and closure of state bureaucracies within
this state in order to reduce duplication of services, increase
productivity, and reestablish the proper role of government.
   (d) Examine the current configuration of state bureaucracies and
investigate their duties and responsibilities.
   11827.  The commission may do any of the following:
   (a) Meet at times and places that it may deem proper.
   (b) Issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the
production of books, records, papers, accounts, reports, and
documents.
   (c) Administer oaths.
   (d) Contract, as it deems necessary, for the rendition of
services, facilities, studies, and reports that will best assist the
commission in carrying out its duties and responsibilities.
   11828.  Beginning on January 1, 2013, the Controller, the Director
of Finance, the Legislative Analyst, the Legislative Counsel, the
Milton Marks "Little Hoover" Commission on California State
Government Organization and Economy, and the State Auditor shall
develop recommendations for the closure or realignment of state
bureaucracies for consideration by the commission. These
recommendations shall be reported to the commission by July 15, 2013.

   11829.  Upon receiving the recommendations reported under Section
11828, the commission shall independently evaluate these reports. In
addition, the commission may add other state bureaucracies to study
for realignment or closure, which may include proposals submitted by
residents outside of state government.
   11830.  (a) By January 1, 2014, at least one member of the
commission shall visit each state bureaucracy considered for
realignment or closure. In addition, as part of its review process,
the commission shall conduct three public hearings in the state with
the final hearing occurring on or before March 15, 2014, at
Sacramento. The final hearing shall include testimony from the
Legislature, other expert witnesses, and the agencies specified in
Section 11828.
   (b) Upon completion of its evaluation and  not later than
July 15,   before July   16,  2014, the
commission shall submit its final recommendations to the Governor and
the Legislature and transmit a copy of these recommendations to the
Director of Finance who shall prepare and issue a public report that
displays the forecasted savings in state expenditures that would
result from these recommendations.
   (c) By August 15, 2014, the Governor shall act on the commission's
recommendations. The Governor may approve the recommendations or
return the recommendations to the commission for revision along with
a statement explaining the decision. If the Governor returns the
recommendations, the commission shall have one month to revise and
transmit to the Governor, the Director of Finance, and the
Legislature an updated list. The commission shall not be required to
incorporate recommendations of the Governor in its list. The director
shall prepare a revised public forecast from this list. If the
Governor rejects the revised list, that action shall end the
realignment and closure process.
   11831.  (a) If the Governor approves the list as submitted by the
commission pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 11830, the Governor
shall prepare the list, without alteration or amendment, as a
reorganization plan and submit the plan to the Legislature pursuant
to Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 12080) of Chapter 1 of Part
2. Upon being transmitted to the Legislature, the plan shall be
considered and subject to all applicable provisions of that article.
To that end, it is the intent of the Legislature that this chapter be
deemed a part of the statutory authority for the Governor to
reorganize executive officers and agencies, as specified in Section 6
of Article V of the California Constitution.
   (b) The plan shall become effective the first day after 60
calendar days of continuous session of the Legislature, as defined in
Section 12080.5, after the date on which the plan is transmitted to
each house of the Legislature or at a later date as may be provided
by the plan, unless,  prior to   before 
the end of the 60-calendar-day period, either house of the
Legislature adopts, by a majority vote of the duly elected and
qualified members thereof, a resolution as defined in subdivision (c)
of Section 12080.
   (c) The plan shall specify that the state bureaucracies
recommended for closure or realignment be closed or realigned
beginning one year after the effective date of the plan and completed
within three years of the effective date.
   11832.  Upon the reorganization plan becoming effective, the
Director of Finance shall compute the savings in state governmental
expenses that are forecast to occur due to the closure or realignment
of the state bureaucracies included in the plan and transmit this
information to the Governor and the Legislature. It is the intent of
the Legislature that these savings be reflected in reduced taxation
or state expenditures.
   11833.  This chapter is repealed as of June 30, 2015.