CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

99

Introduced by Senator Wiener

February 17, 2026

An act to amend Section 11342.548 of the Government Code, relating to state government administration.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

The Administrative Procedure Act requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal an administrative regulation to assess the potential for adverse economic impact on California business enterprises and individuals and avoid the imposition of unnecessary or unreasonable regulations or reporting, recordkeeping, or compliance requirements. The act requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal a major regulation to satisfy additional requirements, including by requiring the state agency to prepare a standardized regulatory impact analysis in the manner prescribed by the Department of Finance, as specified, and requires the analysis to address certain items, including the creation or elimination of jobs within the state and the competitive advantages or disadvantages for businesses currently doing business within the state. The act defines “major regulation” to mean a proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation subject to review by the Office of Administrative Law, as specified, that will have an economic impact on California business enterprises and individuals in an amount exceeding $50,000,000, as estimated by the agency.

This bill would require an agency, in estimating the economic impact of adopting, amending, or repealing a regulation, to identify and calculate any offsetting benefits, impacts, or savings that might result directly or indirectly from that adoption, amendment, or repeal and factor those benefits, impacts, or savings into its economic impact estimate.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 11342.548 of the Government Code is amended to read:

11342.548.

(a) “Major regulation” means any proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation subject to review by the Office of Administrative Law pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 11349) that will have an economic impact on California business enterprises and individuals in an amount exceeding fifty million dollars ($50,000,000), as estimated by the agency.