Senator Tony Strickland proposed a bill giving Legislature final say on major state regulations.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Republican lawmaker has introduced a bill he says would help rein in state regulators and lower costs for Californians, particularly at the gas pump and on energy bills.
Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) is the author of Senate Bill 885, also known as the Restoring Accountability Act. He argues that powerful state regulatory boards are making decisions that drive up costs for residents without direct accountability to voters.
Strickland said agencies such as the California Air Resources Board, known as CARB, create rules that can have wide-ranging economic impacts across the state.
“We have these unaccountable boards and agencies at a time where Democrats and Republicans say the biggest problem that we have here is the affordability crisis in California,” Strickland said.
CARB is one of the boards Strickland has pointed to as an example. The board’s governor-appointed members oversee climate change programs and air pollution control efforts throughout California.
“They don’t have to face the voters. They don’t have representative government,” Strickland said.
Because of that structure, Strickland said, boards like CARB are able to implement programs and initiatives that could end up costing Californians more money. His bill would require additional oversight from elected officials.
“Anything that’s $50 million or more in terms of economic impact has to come back to the Legislature for a simple up or down vote,” Strickland said. “So, therefore, we bring accountability back to state government.”
ABC10 initially scheduled an interview with CARB board member Dr. John Balmes. About an hour before the interview, Balmes told ABC10 that CARB had asked him not to speak about the pending bill.
ABC10 asked CARB’s director of communications, Lindsay Buckley, why board members were not allowed to speak with the press. Buckley said board members were not prohibited from talking.
In an email sent to board members and other CARB leaders, the agency wrote, “If you receive this request, or already have, please feel free to either ignore or let the reporter know that you are unable to comment.”
CARB later clarified that board members are not prohibited from speaking to the media.
The agency provided a written statement about SB 885:
“We’re unable to comment on pending legislation however the news release you’ve linked uses a cherry-picked statement made during a nearly four-hour long hearing to make false claims about how the regulatory process works. To be clear, CARB does analyze the overall costs to California’s economy, businesses and consumers as required by law. Former Chair Randolph specified and clarified again later in the hearing that CARB follows the full letter of the law and develops a Standardized Regulatory Impact Assessment (SRIA) for all major regulations with an economic impact exceeding $50 million. This includes overall economic and fiscal impact assessments to ensure benefits outweigh costs. In addition to the state’s weekly public tracking of gas prices, costs of compliance – and benefits achieved – are transparently reported as part of regular evaluation.”
Strickland said passing the bill would give Californians clearer insight into who is responsible for costly regulations.
“All my bill does is it brings back the Legislature,” Strickland said. “If the Legislature agrees with those regs, they can vote for those regs, but then there’s accountability for the people of California.”
Senate Bill 885 still must move through the legislative process and has not yet been scheduled for its next hearing.
California Air Resources Board (CARB) could raise gas prices
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