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		<ns0:Id>20250SB__065697AMD</ns0:Id>
		<ns0:VersionNum>97</ns0:VersionNum>
		<ns0:History>
			<ns0:Action>
				<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
				<ns0:ActionDate>2025-02-20</ns0:ActionDate>
			</ns0:Action>
			<ns0:Action>
				<ns0:ActionText>AMENDED_SENATE</ns0:ActionText>
				<ns0:ActionDate>2025-03-25</ns0:ActionDate>
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			<ns0:Action>
				<ns0:ActionText>AMENDED_SENATE</ns0:ActionText>
				<ns0:ActionDate>2025-04-21</ns0:ActionDate>
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		<ns0:LegislativeInfo>
			<ns0:SessionYear>2025</ns0:SessionYear>
			<ns0:SessionNum>0</ns0:SessionNum>
			<ns0:MeasureType>SB</ns0:MeasureType>
			<ns0:MeasureNum>656</ns0:MeasureNum>
			<ns0:MeasureState>AMD</ns0:MeasureState>
		</ns0:LegislativeInfo>
		<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Senator Richardson</ns0:AuthorText>
		<ns0:Authors>
			<ns0:Legislator>
				<ns0:Contribution>LEAD_AUTHOR</ns0:Contribution>
				<ns0:House>SENATE</ns0:House>
				<ns0:Name>Richardson</ns0:Name>
			</ns0:Legislator>
		</ns0:Authors>
		<ns0:Title> An act to amend Sections 11148 and 11148.5 of, and to add Section 11149 to, the Government Code, relating to business.</ns0:Title>
		<ns0:RelatingClause>business</ns0:RelatingClause>
		<ns0:GeneralSubject>
			<ns0:Subject>Small business: small business liaison.</ns0:Subject>
		</ns0:GeneralSubject>
		<ns0:DigestText>
			<html:p>Existing law establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development to advocate for causes of small businesses and to provide small businesses with the information they need to survive in the marketplace and requires the Governor to appoint a Small Business
		Advocate.</html:p>
			<html:p>Executive Order No. S-02-06 establishes a 25% small business participation goal for the state’s procurement and contracting processes. Existing law requires a state agency that significantly regulates small business or that significantly impacts small business to designate at least one person to serve as a small business liaison. Existing law requires the small business liaison to be responsible
		for specified duties relating to interactions between the state agency and small businesses, including assisting the agency secretary, department director, or executive officer of the state agency in ensuring that the procurement and contracting processes of the state agency are administered in order to meet or exceed the 25% small business participation goal, and developing and sharing innovative procurement and contracting practices from the public and private sectors to increase opportunities for small businesses.</html:p>
			<html:p>This bill would require all state agencies to designate at least one person to serve as a small business liaison.
		The bill would also require a small business liaison to annually submit certain information to the advocate, including a list of all current contracts between the state agency and a small business, all contracts of the state agency that include a subcontract with a small business, and the total dollar amount paid to a small business under those contracts or subcontracts. The bill would require the advocate to post the information on its internet website.</html:p>
		</ns0:DigestText>
		<ns0:DigestKey>
			<ns0:VoteRequired>MAJORITY</ns0:VoteRequired>
			<ns0:Appropriation>NO</ns0:Appropriation>
			<ns0:FiscalCommittee>YES</ns0:FiscalCommittee>
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	<ns0:Bill id="bill">
		<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
		<ns0:BillSection id="id_D30DE5F2-F9EA-4B43-8053-8B251ADB7041">
			<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
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				Section 11148 of the 
				<ns0:DocName>Government Code</ns0:DocName>
				 is amended to read:
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					<ns0:Num>11148.</ns0:Num>
					<ns0:LawSectionVersion id="id_02ECBD68-D47D-42AE-B388-A936A44DF3A7">
						<ns0:Content>
							<html:p>
								(a)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this article to assist small businesses in this state in complying with regulatory standards designed to protect the public.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(b)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								It is the further intent of the Legislature:
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(1)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								That, to improve compliance results, information be provided by regulatory agencies by printed material or electronically, including at each agency’s internet website, to all small businesses, as defined for that purpose, that would state in clear, plain language the actions required to comply with the regulation.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(2)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								That each agency designate at least one individual to serve as the small business liaison with
				  the role and responsibility of ombudsperson for that agency.
							</html:p>
						</ns0:Content>
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				</ns0:LawSection>
			</ns0:Fragment>
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			<ns0:Num>SEC. 2.</ns0:Num>
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				Section 11148.5 of the 
				<ns0:DocName>Government Code</ns0:DocName>
				 is amended to read:
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					<ns0:Num>11148.5.</ns0:Num>
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						<ns0:Content>
							<html:p>
								(a)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								A state agency shall designate at least one person who shall serve as a small business liaison. The agency shall utilize existing personnel and resources to perform the duties of small business liaison.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(b)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								A state agency shall widely publicize the position of small business liaison in appropriate agency publications and by prominently displaying the name and contact information of the small business liaison on the agency’s website if the agency has a website.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(c)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								The small business liaison shall be responsible for all of the following:
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(1)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								Receiving and responding to complaints received by the agency from small businesses.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(2)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								Providing technical advice and assisting small businesses in resolving problems and questions regarding compliance with the agency’s regulations and relevant statutes.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(3)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								Reporting small business concerns and, if appropriate, reporting recommendations to the agency secretary or to the agency head, as defined in Section 11405.40.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(4)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								Reviewing and updating, on a semiannual basis, content on the agency website that is accessible through the small business link provided on the State of California
				  internet web portal pursuant to Section 11541.5.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(5)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								Assisting the agency secretary, department director, or executive officer, as applicable, in ensuring that the procurement and contracting processes of the applicable entity are administered in order to meet or exceed the 25-percent small business participation goal, and developing and sharing innovative procurement and contracting practices from the public and private sectors to increase opportunities for small businesses.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(6)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								Developing an “economic equity first” action
				  plan and policy for the agency, which will provide, among other things, direction, recommendations, and strategies as to how best ensure that small businesses pursuant to Section 14837, including women-owned, minority-owned, and LGBTQ-owned businesses, are effectively involved in, and benefiting from, the procurement process of the agency. The action plan and policy shall be adopted by January 1, 2024. The action plan shall include, as part of a general outreach effort to all small businesses, education, outreach, and stakeholder engagement with representative business organizations and business enterprises owned by women, minorities, and members of the LGBTQ community.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(d)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								The small business liaison shall not advocate for or against the adoption, amendment, or repeal of any regulation or intervene in any pending investigation or enforcement action.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(e)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								A state agency shall notify
				  the Office of Small Business Advocate within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and the Department of General Services of each of the following:
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(1)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								The name and contact information of the person or persons who have been designated as the agency’s small business liaison, on or before March 1, 2018.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(2)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								An occurrence of a vacancy in the position of small business liaison, within 15 working days of the occurrence of the vacancy. The state agency shall designate a small business liaison within three months after providing notice of the vacancy.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(f)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								For purposes of this section, “small business” has the same meaning as set forth in Section 11342.610.
							</html:p>
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			<ns0:Num>SEC. 3.</ns0:Num>
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				Section 11149 is added to the 
				<ns0:DocName>Government Code</ns0:DocName>
				, to read:
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			<ns0:Fragment>
				<ns0:LawSection id="id_2D474A5E-E85E-44B9-8588-22AFA9AC7775">
					<ns0:Num>11149.</ns0:Num>
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						<ns0:Content>
							<html:p>
								(a)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								The small business liaison for each state agency shall annually submit the following information to the Small Business Advocate:
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(1)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								A list of all current contracts between the state agency and a small business and all contracts of the state agency that include a subcontract with a small business.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(2)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								The total dollar amount of each contract described in paragraph (1).
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(3)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								The total dollar amount paid to a small business under a contract or subcontract described in paragraph (1).
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(b)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								The Small Business Advocate shall post the information received
				  pursuant to subdivision (a) on its internet website.
							</html:p>
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		<ns0:JR11>
	 All matter omitted in this version of the bill appears in the bill as amended in the Senate, March 25, 2025. (JR11)</ns0:JR11>
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