BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1588|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1588
          Author:   Atkins (D), et al.
          Amended:  8/22/12 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 active duty members of the United States Armed Forces.

           Senate Floor Amendments  of 8/22/12 (1) expand the scope of 
          the bill to apply to all members of U.S. Armed Forces; (2) 
          reduce the amount of time that service members have to 
          fulfill outstanding renewal requirements from one year to 
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          six months; (3) provide that if a licensee will provide 
          services for which they are licensed while on active duty, 
          the board shall convert the license to military active and 
          prohibit private practice during that time; (4) require the 
          licensee or registrant to notify the board within 60 days 
          of receiving a notice of discharge; and (5) exempt any 
          board which "has a similar license renewal waiver process 
          statutorily authorized" from the provisions of the bill.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          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/she was on active duty as a member of the California 
             National Guard of the U.S. 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)

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          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)

             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. Armed Forces if 
             the following conditions are met:

             A.    The licensee or registrant possessed a current and 
                valid license with the board at the time he/she was 
                called to active duty.


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             B.    The renewal requirements are waived only for the 
                period during which the licensee or registrant is on 
                active duty service.

             C.    Written documentation that substantiates the 
                licensee or registrant's active duty service is 
                provided to the board.

          3. Prohibits, except as provided below, the licensee or 
             registrant from engaging in any activities requiring a 
             license during the period that the waivers are in 
             effect.

          4. Provides if the licensee or registrant will be providing 
             services for which he/she is licensed while on active 
             duty, the board shall convert the license status to 
             military active and no private practice of any type 
             shall be permitted.

          5. Requires the licensee or registrant to meet all renewal 
             requirements within six months from the licensee's or 
             registrant's date of discharge from active duty service.

          6. Requires, after a licensee or registrant receives notice 
             of his/her discharge date, notify the board of his/her 
             discharge from active duty within 60 days of receiving 
             his/her notice of discharge.

          7. Clarifies that a board may adopt regulations to carry 
             out the provisions of this bill, and this bill does not 
             apply to any board that has a similar license renewal 
             waiver process statutorily authorized for that board.

           Background
           
           Military Reservists  .  A reservist is a person who is a 
          member of a military reserve force.  They are otherwise 
          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 

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          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)

          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

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          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, 
            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, 

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            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  8/23/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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