State reform bills signed into law

The "sunset" legislation, AB1659 and AB2130 by Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, D-El Dorado Hills, will regulate and review the hundreds of boards and commissions. The legislation is designed to ensure they meet deadlines on the objectives they are created to fulfill. Most often they are created by legislators to investigate government policies.

"The Legislature creates new boards and commissions to solve a problem. Far too often, there is no ongoing oversight of the newly created bureaucracy to ensure it actually solved the problem it was created to solve. The lack of accountability has been studied and known for years, yet no action had been taken, until now," Huber said in a written statement.

Huber, whose district includes northern San Joaquin County, said other states have such oversight, and they have successfully cut back on wasteful spending.

The bills were co-written by state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, and Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks.

Excerpted from www.recordnet.com