Automatic Repeal of State Agency Reports

Automatic Repeal of State Agency Reports By Chris Micheli

            Are you aware that California law requires the automatic repeal of certain state agency reports? In the California Government Code, Title 2, Division 2, Part 2, Chapter 1, Article 2, there are specified duties on the Legislative Counsel. These provisions were added to state law in 2010 by AB 1585 and effective on February 26, 2010.

            Government Code Section 10231.5(a) provides:

 

A bill that, as introduced or amended in either house of the Legislature, would require a state agency to submit a report on any subject to either house of the Legislature generally, a committee or office of either house of the Legislature, or the Legislative Counsel Bureau shall include a provision that repeals the reporting requirement, or makes the requirement inoperative, no later than a date four years following the date upon which the bill, as enacted, becomes operative or four years after the due date of any report required every four or more years. If the bill requires that the report be submitted to either house of the Legislature generally, it shall also include a provision that requires the report to be submitted pursuant to Section 9795.

            This subdivision sets forth the requirement of an automatic four-year sunset date on a state agency reporting requirement. This applies to any report submitted to a legislative branch entity.

            In addition, Government Code Section 10231.5(b) specifies:

 

The Legislative Counsel, in drafting a bill for introduction or an amendment to a bill that would impose a reporting requirement described in subdivision (a), shall include a provision that repeals the reporting requirement, or makes the reporting requirement inoperative, four years after the date on which the requirement becomes operative, unless the person requesting the bill or amendment directs the Legislative Counsel to do otherwise. If the bill requires that the report be submitted to either house of the Legislature generally, the Legislative Counsel shall also include a provision that requires the report to be submitted pursuant to Section 9795.

            This subdivision provides specified drafting instructions to the attorneys in the Office of Legislative Counsel. The main drafting requirement is that the reporting requirement will be repealed after four years.

            As a result of this subdivision’s requirement, a reader will see language similar to the following provision in a bill:

 

Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 1, 2031.

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