BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 543 (Price)
Hearing Date: 5/16/2011 Amended: 4/14/2011
Consultant: Bob Franzoia Policy Vote: B,P&ED 9-0
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 543 would do the following:
- Extend the date of operation of Board of Professional
Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (board) until January
1, 2014.
- Add the board to the list of boards whose licensing applicants
are required to submit a full set of fingerprints for the
purposes of conducting criminal history record checks.
- Add "Geologist's and Geophysicist's" to the name of the
board's fund, creating the Board of Professional Engineer's,
Land Surveyor's, Geologist's and Geophysicist's Fund.
- Remove the cap on the exam fee set by the board for
registration as a geologist and delete the requirement for a
California specific exam for structural engineers.
- Extend the date of operation of California Architects Board
(CAB) until January 1, 2014.
- Remove the sunset date on CAB's authority to implement an
intern development program, granting permanent authority to CAB.
- Amend CAB's license renewal process to clarify that licenses
expire no more than 24 months after the issue date and to
clarify that the expiration date of the original license shall
be set by CAB in a manner to best distribute renewal procedures
throughout each year.
- Extend the date of operation of Landscape Architects Technical
Committee until January 1, 2014.
- Extend the operation of Contractors' State License Board until
January 1, 2016.
- Extend the operation of the Guide Dog Board and arbitration
pilot project until January 1, 2014.
- Extend the operation of the State Athletic Commission
(commission) until January 1, 2014 and requires the commission
to provide a report to the Legislature by July 30, 2012 on the
condition of the Neurological Examination Account and the
Boxers' Pension Fund.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
SB 543 (Price)
Page 1
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Board fingerprinting Up to $140 Up to $160 Up to $160Special*
requirement
Sunset extensions Costs offset by fee revenues
Special**
* Professional Engineer's, Land Surveyor's, Geologist's, and
Geophysicist's Fund
** Professional Engineer's, Land Surveyor's, Geologist's, and
Geophysicist's Fund, State Athletic Commission Neurological
Examination Account, Contractors' License Fund and the Boxers'
Pension Fund
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill may meet the criteria for referral to
the Suspense File.
Existing law establishes the Professional Engineer's and Land
Surveyor's Fund, requires all money received by the Department
of Consumer Affairs from the operation of the Professional
Engineer's Act and the Professional Land Surveyor's Act to be
deposited in the fund, and appropriates the moneys in the fund
for the purposes of those acts. Existing law establishes the
Geology and Geophysics Fund and requires the Board for
Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists to
provide all money received by the board under the Geologists and
Geophysicists Act to the State Treasury for credit to the
Geology and Geophysics Fund.
This bill would abolish the Geology and Geophysics Fund, rename
the Professional Engineer's and Land Surveyor's Fund as the
Professional Engineer's, Land Surveyor's, Geologist's, and
Geophysicist's Fund, and require all moneys received by the
board under the Geologists and Geophysicists Act to be deposited
in that fund. The bill would require all moneys paid into the
fund pursuant to the Geologists and Geophysicists Act to be
appropriated to carry out the provisions of the act.
This analysis assumes only applicants, of which there are
20,000, and not all board licensees will be fingerprinted
annually. Fingerprinting 20,000 applicants at a cost of $71.00
(paid by the applicant) would result in an annual cost of
SB 543 (Price)
Page 2
$1,400,000.
It is estimated that one percent (200) of the background checks
submitted will have a criminal conviction. This will add
workload to the enforcement programs case investigation process
and the application review process for each applicant and
requiring one full time office technician. Personnel costs are
estimated at up to $68,000 initially and up to $61,000 ongoing
and Attorney General and Office of Administrative Hearings
enforcement costs ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 annually.