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.