AB 326

This bill creates a legislative Joint Committee on State Mandates (committee).

The committee consists of three majority party and two minority party members

from each house. At least one member of the majority party of each house who is

appointed to the committee must also be a member of the Joint Committee on

Finance.

The bill states that any bill placing a statutory requirement on a local

governmental unit must be referred at once to the committee and the bill may not

be considered further until the committee submits a report or 30 days have lapsed.

If the committee's report concludes that the bill has a negative uncompensated fiscal

effect on local governmental units, and the mandate is a wholly state-imposed

mandate upon local governmental units, this bill states that the committee must

offer an amendment to the bill appropriating funds to offset the cost of the mandate.

The bill defines "mandate" to exclude certain provisions and those that have minimal

fiscal effect.

Additionally, the bill states that the legislature may not enact a bill that

imposes future state-imposed mandates unless they receive a hearing before the

committee or are funded. If an enacted mandate is not funded, either upon passage

or in the future, the mandate may not be enforced until it is funded. The bill also

states that a state agency may not promulgate a rule or take an action that imposes

a mandate and that a state agency shall not take an action required by law if the

action would impose a mandate, unless there is a sufficient amount to fund the

mandate. Under this bill, affected local governments are reimbursed annually for

the approximate costs attributable to state-imposed mandates.

The bill directs the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, by January 1, 2013, to identify

all mandates for the committee, other than ones having a minimal fiscal effect. The

committee is directed to submit legislation repealing all mandates to each house of

the legislature.

The bill also requires the committee to review and evaluate existing mandates.

To carry out its duties, the committee may make investigations and hold hearings.