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Board asks staff to analyze options for a legislative work group or committee
Summary
The board directed staff to return in July with analysis of multiple ways to handle board positions on legislation — ranging from existing 'board member matters' practice to a standing work group or a reformed legislative committee — so the board can decide how to review and act on bills.
The State Board of Equalization on June 18 directed agency staff to return at the July meeting with an analysis of options for how board members should review and act on legislation affecting BOE duties.
Members debated whether to use the existing "board member matters" agenda item, create a standing legislative work group (a shorter, flexible body composed of board members), or reconstitute a legislative committee similar to the board's earlier committee structure. Concerns included timing and deadlines for bills, risks under AB 102 (laws limiting certain board member communications), and access to staff resources for bill analysis.
Member Francisco Vasquez moved that staff prepare options: (1) a standing legislative work group as proposed in his memo; (2) a legislative committee framework similar to the pre‑AB 102 model with legal guardrails; and (3) retaining the current board member matters approach with the governance policy changes adopted last month. Vice Chair Sally Lieber seconded the motion. The board voted unanimously to have staff produce a comparative analysis and bring recommendations back to the July meeting.
Board members said they favored timeliness and the ability to act on bills during short legislative windows. Legal counsel advised keeping the term "work group" in place if the board wants a standing, member‑led body, because resurrecting the older "committee" nomenclature could reintroduce AB 102 issues the board sought to avoid. Deputy Controller Imran and other members asked that staff present both a work‑group model and a committee model and lay out procedural fixes and the charter changes each would require.
The board's direction requires staff to (a) compare the three options, (b) identify changes needed to the board work‑group charter and governance policies, and (c) outline whether and how staff resources (including legislative analysis already provided by the Legislative Research & Statistics Division) would support any new structure. The board instructed staff to return with materials at the July meeting for a final decision before the legislature reconvenes after summer recess.
