CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 885

Introduced by Senator Strickland

January 13, 2026

An act to add Section 11355 to the Government Code, relating to administrative regulations.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 885, as introduced, Strickland. Major regulations.
Existing law, known as the Administrative Procedure Act, governs the procedures for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. Existing law requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal an administrative regulation to, among other things, assess the potential for adverse economic impact on California business enterprises and individuals, and requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal a major regulation on or after November 1, 2013, to prepare and submit to the Department of Finance for comment, a standardized regulatory impact analysis, as provided. Existing law defines “major regulation” for purposes of the act to mean any proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation subject to review by the office that will have an economic impact on California business enterprises and individuals in an amount exceeding $50,000,000, as provided.
Existing law establishes procedures for the adoption of emergency regulations, including requiring that the state agency make a finding that the adoption of a regulation or order of repeal is necessary to address an emergency, as defined. Under existing law, a regulation, amendment, or order of repeal adopted as an emergency regulatory action may only remain in effect for up to 180 days, unless the adopting agency complies with specified requirements.
This bill would prohibit a state agency from taking final action to adopt a major regulation until certain requirements are met, including that after the state agency prepares a standardized regulatory impact analysis and submits the analysis to the Department of Finance, as described above, the state agency submits a proposal to the Legislature recommending legislation to authorize the adoption of the major regulation and the Legislature enacts a law expressly authorizing the state agency to adopt that major regulation. The bill, notwithstanding that prohibition, would authorize a state agency to adopt an emergency regulation that is a major regulation if the state agency complies with specified requirements governing the adoption of emergency regulations. The bill would prohibit the emergency regulation from being in effect more than 180 days, except that the state agency may twice readopt an emergency regulation that is the same or substantially equivalent to the emergency regulation previously adopted for a period not to exceed 90 days, if the state agency prepares a standardized regulatory impact analysis and submits the analysis to the Department of Finance for comment, as described above, and the state agency submits a proposal to the Legislature recommending legislation to authorize the adoption of the major regulation.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The people of the State of California are best served when regulations with significant statewide economic or social impact are subject to clear legislative oversight. Regulations, known as major regulations, that impose substantial costs on California residents, businesses, and local governments require a level of democratic accountability that exceeds the current administrative process.
(b) While the Administrative Procedure Act provides important safeguards, including public comment and standardized regulatory impact analyses, the adoption of major regulations often results in significant policy decisions that are, in effect, legislative in nature. These decisions should not be made solely within the executive branch without explicit direction from the Legislature.
(c) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to ensure that no major regulation may be finally adopted unless the regulation has been reviewed by the Department of Finance, submitted to the Legislature with a complete analysis of its impacts, and expressly authorized by statute.
(d) This act is not intended to impede the state’s ability to respond to genuine and unforeseen emergencies. To that end, this act provides a limited and time-bound process for emergency adoption and readoption of major regulations, while preserving the requirement for legislative authorization for any long-term regulatory action.

SEC. 2.

 Section 11355 is added to the Government Code, to read:

11355.
 (a) Notwithstanding any other law, on or after January 1, 2027, a state agency shall not take final action to adopt a major regulation until all of the requirements of subdivision (b) have been met.
(b) (1) A state agency proposing to adopt a major regulation shall comply with the requirements of Article 5 (commencing with Section 11346).
(2) After the state agency prepares a standardized regulatory impact analysis and submits the analysis to the Department of Finance for comment as required by Section 11346.3, the state agency shall submit a proposal to the Legislature recommending legislation to authorize the adoption of the major regulation.
(3) The state agency shall not take final action to adopt the major regulation unless the Legislature has enacted a law expressly authorizing the state agency to adopt that major regulation.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), a state agency may adopt an emergency regulation that is a major regulation, subject to the following requirements:
(1) The state agency shall make a finding that the adoption of the regulation is necessary to address an emergency.
(2) The emergency regulation shall be adopted in accordance with subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, of Section 11346.1.
(3) (A) The emergency regulation shall not remain in effect more than 180 days.
(B) (i) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the state agency may readopt, for a period not to exceed 90 days, an emergency regulation that is the same or substantially equivalent to the emergency regulation previously adopted by that state agency if the state agency does both of the following:
(I) Prepares a standardized regulatory impact analysis and submits the analysis to the Department of Finance for comment as provided in Section 11346.3.
(II) Submits a proposal to the Legislature recommending legislation to authorize the adoption of the major regulation.
(ii) A state agency may only readopt an emergency regulation pursuant to this subparagraph two times.
(d) A proposal submitted to the Legislature pursuant to this section shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795.