California Assembly approves bill to speed business filings
SACRAMENTO — The state Assembly moved swiftly to OK the addition of $2 million to the secretary of state’s budget to speed up the processing of business paperwork.
The California secretary of state’s office relies on a system of paper and not computerized filings for corporate, partnership and other business records that an entrepreneur must submit before hiring workers, opening doors or selling products.
The $2-million appropriation bill (AB 113) was approved Monday by a 71-1 vote in the Assembly, and now must be approved by the state Senate.
The legislation would enable Secretary of State Debra Bowen to increase the pace of her office’s operations for the rest of the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. The bill’s goal is to get all documents processed within five days of being received in Sacramento. A backlog had pushed back processing to as long as 85 days.
