Article 9. Special Procedures of California Government Code >> Division 3. >> Title 2. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 3.5. >> Article 9.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), Article 5 (commencing with Section 11346), Article 6 (commencing with Section 11349), Article 7 (commencing with Section 11349.7), and Article 8 (commencing with Section 11350) shall not apply to the Public Utilities Commission or the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, and Article 3 (commencing with Section 11343) and Article 4 (commencing with Section 11344) shall apply only to the rules of procedure of these state agencies.
  (b) The Public Utilities Commission and the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board shall comply with paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 11346.4 with respect to regulations that are required to be filed with the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 11343.
  (c) Article 8 (commencing with Section 11350) shall not apply to the Division of Workers' Compensation.

The following actions are not subject to this chapter:
  (a) The issuance, denial, or waiver of any water quality certification as authorized under Section 13160 of the Water Code.
  (b) The issuance, denial, or revocation of waste discharge requirements and permits pursuant to Sections 13263 and 13377 of the Water Code and waivers issued pursuant to Section 13269 of the Water Code.
  (c) The development, issuance, and use of the guidance document pursuant to Section 13383.7 of the Water Code.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), this chapter does not apply to the adoption or revision of state policy for water quality control and the adoption or revision of water quality control plans and guidelines pursuant to Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code.
  (b) (1) Any policy, plan, or guideline, or any revision thereof, that the State Water Resources Control Board has adopted or that a court determines is subject to this part, after June 1, 1992, shall be submitted to the office.
  (2) The State Water Resources Control Board shall include in its submittal to the office all of the following:
  (A) A clear and concise summary of any regulatory provisions adopted or approved as part of that action, for publication in the California Code of Regulations.
  (B) The administrative record for the proceeding. Proposed additions to a policy, plan, or guideline shall be indicated by underlined text and proposed deletions shall be indicated by strike-through text in documents submitted as part of the administrative record for the proceeding.
  (C) A summary of the necessity for the regulatory provision.
  (D) A certification by the chief legal officer of the State Water Resources Control Board that the action was taken in compliance with all applicable procedural requirements of Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code.
  (3) Paragraph (2) does not limit the authority of the office to review any regulatory provision which is part of the policy, plan, or guideline submitted by the State Water Resources Control Board.
  (4) The office shall review the regulatory provisions to determine compliance with the standards of necessity, authority, clarity, consistency, reference, and nonduplication set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 11349.1. The office shall also review the responses to public comments prepared by the State Water Resources Control Board or the appropriate regional water quality control board to determine compliance with the public participation requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.). The office shall restrict its review to the regulatory provisions and the administrative record of the proceeding. Sections 11349.3, 11349.4, 11349.5, and 11350.3 shall apply to the review by the office to the extent that those sections are consistent with this section.
  (5) The policy, plan, guideline, or revision shall not become effective unless and until the regulatory provisions are approved by the office in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 11349.3.
  (6) Upon approval of the regulatory provisions, the office shall transmit to the Secretary of State for filing the clear and concise summary of the regulatory provisions submitted by the State Water Resources Control Board.
  (7) Any proceedings before the State Water Resources Control Board or a California regional water quality control board to take any action subject to this subdivision shall be conducted in accordance with the procedural requirements of Division 7 (commencing with Section 13000) of the Water Code, together with any applicable requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.), and the requirements of this chapter, other than the requirement for review by the office in accordance with this subdivision, shall not apply.
  (8) This subdivision shall not provide a basis for review by the office under this subdivision or Article 6 (commencing with Section 11349) of any such policy, plan, or guideline adopted or revised prior to June 1, 1992.
  (c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to a provision of any policy, plan, guideline, or revision, as applied to any person who, as of June 1, 1992, was a party to a civil action challenging that provision on the grounds that it has not been adopted as a regulation pursuant to this chapter.
  (d) Copies of the policies, plans, and guidelines to which subdivision (a) applies shall be maintained at central locations for inspection by the public. The State Water Resources Control Board shall maintain, at its headquarters in Sacramento, a current copy of each policy, plan, or guideline in effect. Each regional water quality control board shall maintain at its headquarters a current copy of each policy, plan, or guideline in effect in its respective region. Any revision of a policy, plan, or guideline shall be made available for inspection by the public within 30 days of its effective date.

Sections 11352 and 11353 do not affect any court's determination, relating to the applicability of this chapter to any provision of a policy, plan, or guideline, in a civil action which was pending on June 1, 1992, and on that date included a challenge to a provision of a policy, plan, or guideline on the grounds that it has not been adopted in accordance with this chapter.

(a) For purposes of this section, "commission" means the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission.
  (b) This chapter does not apply to any policy, plan, or guideline adopted by the commission prior to January 1, 1996, pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 66650) of Title 7.2 of this code or Division 19 (commencing with Section 29000) of the Public Resources Code.
  (c) The issuance or denial by the commission of any permit pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 66632, and the issuance or denial by, or appeal to, the commission of any permit pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 29500) of Division 19 of the Public Resources Code, are not subject to this chapter.
  (d) (1) Any amendments or other changes to the San Francisco Bay Plan or to a special area plan pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 66650) of Title 7.2, adopted by the commission on or after January 1, 1996, and any amendments or other changes to the Suisun Marsh Protection Plan, as defined in Section 29113 of the Public Resources Code, or in the Suisun Marsh local protection program, as defined in Section 29111 of the Public Resources Code, adopted by the commission on and after January 1, 1996, shall be submitted to the office but are not subject to this chapter except as provided in this subdivision.
  (2) The commission shall include in its submittal to the office pursuant to paragraph (1) both of the following documents:
  (A) A clear and concise summary of any regulatory provision adopted or approved by the commission as part of the proposed change for publication in the California Code of Regulations.
  (B) The administrative record for the proceeding, and a list of the documents relied upon in making the change. Proposed additions to the plans shall be indicated by underlined text, and proposed deletions shall be indicated by strike-through text in documents submitted as part of the administrative record for the proceeding.
  (3) The office shall review the regulatory provisions to determine compliance with the standards of necessity, authority, clarity, consistency, reference, and nonduplication set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 11349.1. The office shall also review the responses to public comments prepared by the commission to determine compliance with the public participation requirements of Sections 11000 to 11007, inclusive, of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, and to ensure that the commission considers all relevant matters presented to it before adopting, amending, or repealing any regulatory provision, and that the commission explains the reasons for not modifying a proposed plan change to accommodate an objection or recommendation. The office shall restrict its review to the regulatory provisions and the administrative record of the proceeding. Sections 11349.3, 11349.4, 11349.5, and 11350.3 shall apply to the review by the office to the extent that those sections are consistent with this section.
  (4) In reviewing proposed changes to the commission's plans for the criteria specified in subdivision (a) of Section 11349.1, the office shall consider the clarity of the proposed plan change in the context of the commission's existing plans.
  (5) The proposed plan or program change subject to this subdivision shall not become effective unless and until the regulatory provisions are approved by the office in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 11349.3.
  (6) Upon approval of the regulatory provisions, the office shall transmit to the Secretary of State for filing the clear and concise summary of the regulatory provisions submitted by the commission.
  (e) Except as provided in subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), the adoption of any regulation by the commission shall be subject to this chapter in all respects.

(a) Article 6 (commencing with Section 11349) is not applicable to a building standard.
  (b) Article 5 (commencing with Section 11346) is applicable to those building standards, except that the office shall not disapprove those building standards nor refuse to publish any notice of proposed building standards if either has been approved by, and submitted to, the office by the California Building Standards Commission pursuant to Section 18935 of the Health and Safety Code.

(a) The Department of Finance shall adopt and update, as necessary, instructions for inclusion in the State Administrative Manual prescribing the methods that an agency subject to this chapter shall use in making the determinations and the estimates of fiscal or economic impact required by Sections 11346.2, 11346.3, and 11346.5. The instructions shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:
  (1) Guidelines governing the types of data or assumptions, or both, that may be used, and the methods that shall be used, to calculate the estimate of the cost or savings to public agencies mandated by the regulation for which the estimate is being prepared.
  (2) The types of direct or indirect costs and savings that should be taken into account in preparing the estimate.
  (3) The criteria that shall be used in determining whether the cost of a regulation must be funded by the state pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution and Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4.
  (4) The format the agency preparing the estimate shall follow in summarizing and reporting its estimate of the cost or savings to state and local agencies, school districts, and in federal funding of state programs that will result from the regulation and its estimate of the economic impact that will result from the regulation.
  (b) An action by the Department of Finance to adopt and update, as necessary, instructions to any state or local agency for the preparation, development, or administration of the state budget, or instructions to a state agency on the preparation of an economic impact estimate or assessment of a proposed regulation, including any instructions included in the State Administrative Manual, shall be exempt from this chapter.
  (c) The Department of Finance may review an estimate prepared pursuant to this section for content including, but not limited to, the data and assumptions used in its preparation.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), on and after January 1, 1982, no new regulation, or the amendment or repeal of any regulation, which regulation is intended to promote fire and panic safety or provide fire protection and prevention, including fire suppression systems, equipment, or alarm regulation, is valid or effective unless it is submitted by, or approved in writing by, the State Fire Marshal before transmittal to the Secretary of State or the Office of Administrative Law.
  (b) Approval of the State Fire Marshal is not required if the regulation is expressly required to be at least as effective as federal standards published in the Federal Register pursuant to Section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-596) within the time period specified by federal law and as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 142.4 of the Labor Code, and as approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States Department of Labor as meeting the requirements of subdivision (a) of Section 142.3 of the Labor Code, unless the regulation is determined by the State Fire Marshal to be less effective in promoting fire and panic safety than regulations adopted by the State Fire Marshal.

This chapter does not apply to the adoption or revision of regulations, guidelines, or criteria to implement the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2000 (the Villaraigosa-Keeley Act) (Chapter 1.692 (commencing with Section 5096.300) of Division 5 of the Public Resources Code), the California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Act of 2002 (Chapter 1.696 (commencing with Section 5096.600) of Division 5 of the Public Resources Code), or the Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002 (Division 26.5 (commencing with Section 79500) of the Water Code). The adoption or revision of regulations, guidelines, or criteria, if necessary to implement those respective acts, shall instead be accomplished by means of a public process reasonably calculated to give those persons interested in their adoption or revision an opportunity to be heard.