Little Hoover Commission Votes To Approve Governor’s Reorganization Plan
Yesterday morning, the Little Hoover Commission voted to approve the Governor’s Reorganization Plan, subject to the members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly (Mark Vargas) and the Senate Rules Committee (Jonathan Shapiro) reaching agreement on unspecified language in the Commission’s report. The Plan will take effect unless either house of the legislature adopts by a majority vote a resolution Read more...
Will Demoting the DFI, DOC and DRE Matter?
The Governor’s Reorganization Plan would demote the Department of Corporations and the Department of Financial Institutions to the status of divisions within the new Department of Business Oversight. The new DBO would report to a new Business and Consumer Services Agency. The Department of Real Estate will be downgraded to a bureau and join numerous other bureaus, boards and commissions with a Read more...
The Department of Real Estate And The Naturopathic Medicine Committee – Separated At Birth?
The Little Hoover Commission will be considering the Governor’s Reorganization Plan at hearings next week in Sacramento. I’m on the agenda to testify. The Governor is proposing a major reorganization of state consumer and business regulatory agencies. The plan calls for the creation of a new super-agency to be named the Business & Consumer Services Agency which would be comprised of Read more...
Reorganization Plan Dooms Dual Banking System And Diminishes The Availability Of Small Business Credit
Since the passage of the National Currency Act during Civil War, banks have had a choice. They could choose a national charter or state charter. I’ve long been a proponent of the dual charter system because I believe that it introduces regulatory competition (something that is often wanting in government); promotes innovation; and enhances federalism and local accountability. Typically, larger banks will Read more...
Governor Brown Submits Agency M&A Proposal
Article V, Section 6 of the California Constitution provides that the legislature may provide by statute for the Governor to “assign and reorganize functions among executive officers and agencies and their employees, other than elective officers and agencies administered by elective officers.” Pursuant to this authority, Government Code Section 8523 provides for a 60 day review of gubernatorial reorganization plans by the Milton Read more...
Trading In California’s Greenhouse Gas Allowances – Fraud’s New Frontier?
As part of California’s Cap and Trade Program, the Air Resources Board will issue will issue tradable permits (Greenhouse Gas (GHG) allowances) that authorize a permit holder to emit a specific quantity of GHGs. Entities will obtain these GHG allowances from the ARB through an auction or reserve sale or by purchase from a marketplace. With any market, there are risks of Read more...
A Good Meal, A Good Time And A Good Securities Offering?
A well-used sales technique is to offer prospective purchasers a free meal. In fact, the North American Securities Administrators Association has issued this alert to seniors about the dangers associated with a “free lunch”. I’ve sometimes wondered whether securities regulators should adopt a prohibition similar to the no swimming within one hour of eating rule – no sales within X days of Read more...
APA Amendments Cause Extension Of Rule 260.204.9 Comment Period
Last December, I wrote this post concerning the Commissioner’s proposed amendments to Rule 260.204.9. This rule provides an exemption from registration for investment advisers to certain private funds. The rule as currently in effect was adopted as an emergency regulation. As required by the California Administrative Procedure Act, the Commissioner mailed notice of the proposed rule amendments in December of last year. However, Read more...
Bill Seeks To Mandate Corporate Political Disclosures
The fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Com’n, 130 S. Ct. 876 (2010) continues. Earlier this week, California State Senator Noreen Evans introduced a bill, SB 982, to require corporations to issue a report on planned political spending as well as expenditures for the previous fiscal year. The report must include the following: Read more...
