Backlog and business registration focus of California bill, II

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On behalf of Daniel Watkins of Watkins Firm, A Professional Corporation posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2013.

Our prior post talked about the massive backlog in business registration with California’s Secretary of State’s Office that has built up since 2009 when the average wait time was around 20 days. That number has jumped around a bit with the most recent average wait time at approximately 56 days and a backlog of 122,000 applicants.

Part of the problem with efficiency may be that the process is still fully paper-based. Although the state plans to switch over to an electronic system, it most likely won’t take place until after 2016. A California bill was recently passed in the Assembly by a 71-0 vote that could address the problem much sooner.

AB 113 will move on to the Senate with lawmakers hoping that it will not only eliminate the current backlog, but help ensure that it doesn’t simply build back up. As stated in our prior post, the spokeswoman with the Secretary of State’s Office said that the increase in 2009 occurred post-budget cuts. AB 113 would allocate $2 million immediately to help pay for necessary staffing requirements to eliminate the backlog.

The first $2 million portion would be funded through filling fees paid by the prospective businesses. According to estimates, the filing fees from reducing the backlog would ensure that the money is covered. Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles hopes to permanently reduce the processing period to five days. This, he says, can be done through further legislation and would require around another $6 million to $9 million for next year alone.

Source: Ventura County Star, “Bill seeks to end state business-filing backlog,” Timm Herdt, March 18, 2013