BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1588| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1588 Author: Atkins (D), et al. Amended: 6/25/12 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMM. : 8-0, 7/2/12 AYES: Price, Corbett, Correa, Hernandez, Negrete McLeod, Strickland, Vargas, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/30/12 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Professions and vocations: reservist licensees: fees and continuing education SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill authorizes all boards, commissions, bureaus, committees, departments, divisions, examining committees, programs and agencies within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) to provide waivers from professional license renewal fees and continuing education requirements for military reservists called to active duty. ANALYSIS : Existing law: CONTINUED AB 1588 Page 2 1. Provides for the regulation of various professions and vocations by boards, commissions, bureaus, committees, departments, divisions, examining committees, programs and agencies within the DCA and for the licensure or registration of individuals. 2. Authorizes any licensee whose licensed expired while he or she was on active duty as a member of the California National Guard of the United States Armed Forces to reinstate his/her license without examination or penalty if the following requirements are met: (Business and Professions Code (BPC) Section 114.3) A. The licensee was in good standing with the board at the time the reservist was called to active duty; B. The renewal fees or continuing education requirements are waived only for the period during which the reservist is on active duty service and; C. The active duty reservist, or the active duty reservist's spouse or registered domestic partner, provides written notice satisfactory to the board that substantiates the reservist's active duty service. 3. Exempts licensees of the Medical Board from paying license renewal fees while engaged in full-time training or active service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or in the U.S. Public Health Service. (BPC Section 2440) 4. Permits the Veterinary Medical Board to waive continuing education requirements for veterinarians who are on active military duty. (BPC Section 4846.5(h)) 5. Permits the Board of Accountancy to waive continuing education requirements for its licensees who are on active military duty. (BPC Section 5028) 6. Authorizes the State Bar of California to waive the membership fees of any member who is a service member if all of the following requirements are met: (Military and Veterans Code Section 825) CONTINUED AB 1588 Page 3 A. The member was in good standing with the State Bar of California at the time the member enters into military service. B. The membership fees are for the period for which the service member is in military service. C. The service member, or the service member's spouse, provides written notice to the State Bar of California that substantiates the service member's military service. This bill: 1. Adds committees, departments, divisions, examining committees, programs and agencies (as included in BPC Section 22) to the list of entities under DCA that can waive fees and requirements. 2. Requires the boards, commissions, bureaus, committees, departments, divisions, examining committees, programs and agencies within DCA to waive the applicable renewal requirements of any licensee or registrant who is called to active duty as a member of the U.S. Military Reserve or the California National Guard. 3. Requires that written documentation substantiating the licensee or registrant's active duty service be provided to the board which regulates the licensee or registrant's profession. 4. Requires that licensees and registrants not engage in activities that would require a license during the period that the waivers are in effect. 5. Requires the licensee or registrant to meet all renewal requirements within one year from the reservist's date of discharge from active duty service. Background Military Reservists . A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise CONTINUED AB 1588 Page 4 civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is usually a former active-duty member of the armed forces, and they remain a reservist either voluntarily, or by obligation. All five branches of the U.S. armed forces have their own Reserve Forces, whose reservists can be called upon to serve anywhere at any time including: U.S. Army Reserve Marine Forces Reserve (U.S. Marine Corps) U.S. Navy Reserve Air Force Reserve Command (U.S. Air Force) U.S. Coast Guard Reserve There is also the U.S. National Guard, which is under dual Federal/State control, and is traditionally intended for homeland defense and domestic disaster relief (although large numbers are currently deployed in Iraq, and as such the distinction between National Guardsmen and Reservists has become blurred). The National Guard is divided into: Army National Guard (U.S. Army) Air National Guard (U.S. Air Force) During peacetime, Reservists and National Guardsmen spend one weekend a month, two weeks a year annually in training. Under existing law, a member of the California National Guard or the U.S. Armed Forces is permitted to reinstate his/her professional license or registration without examination or penalty if their license expired while the licensee or registrant was on active duty. Other States . Numerous states, including Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana and Michigan, have introduced or enacted legislation to provide comparable license fee and continuing education waivers for active duty military. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 8/13/12) CONTINUED AB 1588 Page 5 AFSCME American Legion, Department of California American Nurses Association of California AMVETS, Department of California Blood Centers of California Board of Pharmacy California Association of County Veterans Service Officers California Board of Accountancy California Optometric Association California State Commanders Veterans Council Dental Board of California Department of Defense State Liaison Office Hearing HealthCare Providers Los Angeles County Democratic Party Respiratory Care Board of California United States Marine Corps Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Department of California Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, active duty military members who have valid professional licenses are not able to perform the duties for which they are licensed while on active military duty. Therefore, they cannot receive the benefits of the licenses which they would pay to renew. Military reservists are in a unique situation because they are likely to have civilian vocations which they intend to return to after active duty. Their active duty status is a temporary departure from their civilian lives and employment. Therefore, this bill proposes a temporary waiver of renewal requirements (such as fee payment and continuing education) to ensure that reservists will not be penalized for their service by having their license fall into delinquency and possible suspension. While the costs to renew individual licenses vary, they can be hundreds of dollars. It is important to find ways to support our military reservists' civilian lives while they serve our nation. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/30/12 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, CONTINUED AB 1588 Page 6 Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Fletcher, Valadao JJA:k 8/13/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED