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 _________________________________________________________________ ____ 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. _________________________________________________________________ ____ 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 _________________________________________________________________ ____ 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.