BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1491
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 4, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

            SB 1491 (Business, Professions and Economic Development) - As  
                              Amended:  June 16, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                              Business and  
          Professions  Vote:                            11 - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill 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 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  
               cost of the development and administration of the  
               examination and permits the fee to be paid directly to the  
               organization.

          2)Extends the time for Contractors State License Board (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.

          3)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.

          4)Provides that cremated remains may be placed into "keepsake  








                                                                  SB 1491
                                                                  Page  2

            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.

          5)Repeals obsolete provisions of law requiring a crematory to be  
            associated with a cemetery, columbarium, burial park, or  
            mausoleum, as specified.

          6)Makes other technical and clarifying changes. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          There are no significant costs associated with this legislation.  


           

          COMMENTS  

           Purpose  . This bill is the Senate Professions and Economic  
          Development Committee's annual omnibus bill that consolidates a  
          number of non-controversial provisions related to various  
          regulatory programs and professions governed by the Business and  
          Professions Code.  Consolidating the provisions in one bill is  
          designed to relieve the various licensing boards, bureaus and  
          professions from the necessity and burden of having separate  
          measures for a number of non-controversial revisions.

          As a committee bill, this measure is jointly authored by each of  
          the members of the committee.  As such it is a consensus bill.   
          If controversy or opposition should arise regarding any  
          provision in this bill that cannot be resolved, then that  
          provision will be removed from the bill.  

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081