BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1491
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Date of Hearing: June 29, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
SB 1491 (Business, Professions and Economic Development) - As
Amended: June 16, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 30-0
SUBJECT : Professions and vocations.
SUMMARY : Amends various provisions pertaining to the regulatory
boards under the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) and
professions regulated in the Business and Professions Code
(BPC). Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes the following changes to the California Board of
Accountancy (CBA):
a) Renames the "administrative" committee under CBA the
"enforcement advisory" committee and makes conforming
changes;
b) Clarifies that CBA may appoint board members and non-board
members to its advisory committees;
c) Clarifies that a peer review report shall be issued by an
individual permitted to practice public accountancy and is
unaffiliated with the firm being reviewed, as specified;
d) Deletes obsolete provisions; and,
e) Makes technical, clarifying changes.
2)Makes the following changes to the Board for Professional
Engineers and Land Surveyors:
a) Allows applicants for certification as an
engineer-in-training to qualify using engineering
education, engineering experience, or a combination of
engineering education and experience totaling three years;
b) Prohibits licensure examination fees administered by a public
or private organization from being greater than the actual
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cost of the development and administration of the
examination and permits the fee to be paid directly to the
organization; and,
c) Clarifies that application, examination, and licensure fees
are separate fees and makes conforming changes.
3)Makes the following changes to the Contractors State License
Board (CSLB):
a) Clarifies that civil penalties assessed by CSLB for
unlicensed contracting or aiding and abetting unlicensed
activity are not subject to certain provisions of law
limiting fines by agencies under DCA;
b) Extends the time for CSLB to pursue a complaint against an
unlicensed contractor to 18 months after the complaint is
filed, conforming to the same timeframe for action against
a licensee;
c) Authorizes CSLB to administer its asbestos open book
examination electronically;
d) Adds violation of the Subletting and Subcontracting Fair
Practices Act (Act) as cause for disciplinary action by
CSLB;
e) Removes a reference to an obsolete notice requirement; and,
f) Makes technical changes.
4)Permits guide dog schools and instructors licensed by the
Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind (BGDB) to provide in-home
training, without BGDB's authorization.
5)Makes the following changes to the Board of Barbering and
Cosmetology (BBC):
a) Clarifies the definition of nail care to refer to massaging,
cleansing, or beautifying from the elbow to the fingertips
or the knee to the toes;
b) Specifies that unlicensed activity violations may also be
subject to an administrative fine in addition to a
misdemeanor;
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c) Allows the use of metal instruments for the smoothing and
massaging of the hands and feet, as specified;
d) Clarifies that a licensed establishment may provide towels or
air hand dryers instead of approved sanitary towels in the
establishment's hand washing facilities; and,
e) Clarifies that persons appealing a citation may either appear
in person or file a written appeal to the disciplinary
review committee.
6)Clarifies that identification cards issued by county clerks to
employees of professional corporations or partnerships contain
a photograph of the employee in the lower left corner.
7)Makes the following changes to provisions relating to human
remains:
a) Provides that cremated remains may be placed into "keepsake
urns" and kept as authorized by those with the right to
control their disposition, requires a disposition permit to
be obtained for each keepsake urn, and makes conforming and
clarifying changes; and,
b) Repeals obsolete provisions of law requiring a crematory to
have associated with it a cemetery, columbarium, burial
park, or mausoleum, as specified.
8)Makes technical changes to the non-collusion affidavit
required in public works contract bids.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides for the licensing and regulation of various
professions and businesses by some
23 boards, four committees, seven bureaus, and one commission
within DCA under various BPC licensing acts.
2)Contains the following provisions relating to the CBA:
a) Authorizes CBA to establish an administrative committee
to provide advice and assistance relative to investigations
of licensee misconduct;
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b) Authorizes the creation of other advisory committees
consisting of public accountants or certified public
accountants (CPAs) who need not be members of the CBA;
c) Requires California-licensed accounting firms to undergo
a peer review of their accounting and auditing services
every three years, and identifies who must conduct peer
reviews and issue peer review reports;
d) Deletes the 120-hour education pathway for licensure and
requires an applicant for a CPA license to meet a 150-hour
education requirement effective January 1, 2014; and,
e) Makes various provisions relating to accountancy.
3)Contains the following provisions relating to the CSLB:
a) Requires a citation to an unlicensed contractor be
issued within four years of the act that is the basis for
the citation;
b) Establishes civil penalties for unlicensed contracting
or aiding and abetting unlicensed activity;
c) Requires CSLB to administer an asbestos open book
examination; and,
d) Authorizes the CSLB to discipline contractors for
violations of the Act.
4)Authorizes the BGDB to approve guide dog schools to provide
home guide dog training, if the school applies and submits a
written plan for conducting home training.
5)Contains the following provisions relating to the BBC:
a) Establishes various specialties within the practice of
cosmetology, and specifies that nail care is specified care
for the nails of any person;
b) Provides that unlicensed barbering, cosmetology, or
electrolysis is a misdemeanor violation;
c) Prohibits a licensee providing a manicure or pedicure
from using metal instruments except those instruments
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necessary for the cutting, trimming, manicuring, or
pedicuring of nails or cuticles;
d) Requires a licensed establishment to provide handwashing
facilities, including running water, soap, and approved
sanitary towels; and,
e) Provides that BBC licensees issued a notice of violation
or a citation may appeal to a disciplinary review
committee, and provides that the licensee shall appear in
person and may file a written appeal.
6)Contains the following provisions relating to human remains:
a) Specifies that cremated remains may be removed in a
durable container from the place of cremation or interment
and kept in the dwelling owned or occupied by the person
having the right to control disposition of the remains, or
other specified places, under the authority of a
disposition permit issued by the local registrar of vital
records; and,
b) Requires a crematory to have associated with it a
cemetery, columbarium, burial park, or mausoleum.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author's office, "[This] bill
consolidates a number of non-controversial provisions related to
various regulatory programs and professions governed by the
[BPC]. Consolidating the provisions in one bill is designed to
relieve the various licensing boards, agencies and professions
from the necessity and burden of having separate measures for a
number of non-controversial revisions. Many are minor,
technical and updating changes, while other provisions are
substantive changes intended to improve the ability of various
licensing programs and other entities to efficiently and
effectively administer their respective laws."
Background . The background information was provided by the
author's office relating to the more significant and substantive
provisions in this measure:
CBA . According to CBA, the term, "administrative committee,"
does not clearly communicate to licensees or to consumers the
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actual role that this committee fulfills as an enforcement
advisory committee to the CBA; therefore, the CBA has
recommended renaming the committee as the enforcement advisory
committee. The CBA states that current practice is to allow
public board members to be appointed to the CBA's legislative
committee, the committee on professional conduct and other
committees of the CBA. However, it is unclear whether this
practice is consistent with [current law] which states that CPAs
may be appointed to committees; therefore, this measure would
clarify [CBA's] practice of appointing non-CPA board members
(i.e. public members) to committees. The law provides that a
licensee must conduct a peer review, however it is not clear
that a licensee must issue the actual peer review report; this
bill would clarify those provisions.
CSLB . According to the CSLB, the requirement for an unlicensed
person to give a notice to consumers was repealed by SB 1914
(Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee)
Chapter 865, Statutes of 2004; the bill makes a conforming
change by removing reference to that notice. Complaints
received against unlicensed contractors just prior to the
expiration of the statute of limitations (four years from the
act or omission) cannot be pursued due to the lack of sufficient
time to conduct an investigation, according to CSLB, while the
timeframe for action against a licensee is 18 months after the
complaint is filed; the bill conforms the timeframe for taking
action against an unlicensed contractor to the time for taking
action against a licensee. CSLB further states that [current
law] places a $5,000 cap for fines assessed by agencies under
the DCA, while the contractor's law provides for additional
civil penalties assessed by the CSLB for unlicensed contracting
or aiding and abetting unlicensed activity. This bill clarifies
that that these civil penalties are not subject to those general
provisions of law which restrict fine amounts. CSLB indicates
that currently the asbestos open book examination is
administered by paper and pencil, a more expensive and slow
examination method. This bill would require the CSLB to offer
the exam and study booklet online on its Internet website. The
CSLB also indicates that the Act authorizes the CSLB to
discipline contractors for violations of the Act; however
[current law] does not include a specific reference to
violations of the PCC. This bill would make reference to that
Act.
BGDB . According to the BGDB, current law is unclear,
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restrictive and problematic on the provision of in-home training
to potential guide dog users; this bill clarifies these
provisions and provides that guide dog schools and guide dog
instructors licensed by [BGDB] may provide in-home training,
regardless of the user's experience with a guide dog.
BBC . According to the BBC, the law is unclear whether the
practice of nail care includes massaging, cleansing, or
beautifying from the elbow to the finger tips or the knee to the
toes. [This bill] clarifies these provisions. BBC states, that
although the law provides that unlicensed barbering,
cosmetology, or electrolysis is a misdemeanor violation, it is
unclear whether it may be subject to an administrative citation
and fine. This bill would clarifiy that unlicensed practice may
also be subject to an administrative fine. BBC also indicates
that the law prohibits a licensee providing a manicure or
pedicure from using metal instruments, except those instruments
necessary for the cutting, trimming, manicuring or pedicuring of
nails or cuticles. However it does not include the use of metal
instruments to smooth or massage the hands or feet. The
amendments would clarify that metal instruments may be used for
the smoothing and massaging the hands or feet.
BBC further indicates that provisions requiring an establishment
to have "approved sanitary towels" has been a source of
confusion for licensees and board staff alike. While the
statute attempts to be specific, it only serves to make the
towel requirements more vague, according to BBC, and this bill
clarifies those provisions. BBC states that in order to process
appeals as expeditiously and conveniently as possible for
licensees, the BBC's disciplinary review committee has recently
allowed citations to be appealed in writing without the licensee
physically appearing. However, the statutory language could be
interpreted to require the physical appearance of the appellant,
which is expensive for the licensee, and time consuming for the
disciplinary review committee. Giving individuals the option to
submit a written appeal would mitigate these issues, according
to BBC.
Human Remains . According to DCA, current law requires a
crematory to be associated with a cemetery, columbarium, burial
park, or mausoleum. However, this provision is confusing
because it seems to suggest that a crematory must be located
within a cemetery. Many licensed crematories do not operate
within a cemetery and the provision is outdated. [This bill]
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will repeal this provision.
According to the California Funeral Directors Association, the
Health and Safety Code makes specified provisions regarding
cremated remains including providing that cremated remains may
be removed in a durable container from the place of cremation or
interment and kept in the dwelling owned or occupied by the
person having the right to control disposition of the remains,
or other specified places, under the authority of a disposition
permit issued by the local registrar of vital records. These
provisions do not allow for family members or other loved ones
to use keepsake urns to hold small portions of the cremated
remains. This bill would permit the use of keepsake urns, as
specified.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
California Board for Accountancy
California Council of the Blind
Contractors State License Board
State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Rebecca May / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301