BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |Hearing Date:May 2, 2011 |Bill No:SB | | |944 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Senator Curren D. Price, Jr., Chair Bill No: SB 944Author: Business, Professions and Economic Development As Introduced: March 31, 2011 Fiscal:Yes SUBJECT: Business and Professions. SUMMARY: Makes several non-controversial, minor, non-substantive or technical changes to various miscellaneous provisions pertaining to regulatory boards of the Department of Consumer Affairs and professions regulated primarily under the Business and Professions Code. Existing law: 1)Provides for the licensing and regulation of various professions and businesses by some 23 boards, 4 committees, 7 bureaus, and 1 commission within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) under various licensing acts within the Business and Professions Code (BPC). 2)Contains the following provisions relating to the Contractors State License Board (CSLB): a) Refers to the effective date or "operative" or "effective" date of various sections of law. (BPC §§ 7027, 7030, 7058.6, 7058.8) b) Refers to the specialty contractor classification of electrical sign contractors. (BPC § 7029.5, Labor Code (LC) § 3099.2) c) Provides that a person may obtain blank applications, renewal, or reinstatement forms from the Department of Consumer Affairs. SB 944 Page 2 (BPC § 7066.5) 3)Contains the following provisions relating to the Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind (BGDB): a) Provides that the board "secretary" bears the record keeping responsibilities of the board. (BPC § 7024) b) Provides that license applications and fees are to be submitted to the secretary of the board. (BPC § 7211) c) Refers to "seeing eye dog," and provides that a dog must be neutered. (BPC § 7215). 4)Defines a weighmaster as any person who, for hire or otherwise, weighs, measures, or counts any commodity and issues a statement or memorandum of the weight, measure, or count used as the basis for either the purchase or sale of that commodity, and describes those persons who are not deemed weighmasters. (BPC § 12701). 5)Refers to the Joint Committee on Boards, Commissions, and Consumer Protection which was repealed by AB 2130 (Huber, Chapter 670, Statutes of 2010). (Government Code (GC) § 9148.8) 6)Requires any public works contract of any public entity to include an affidavit, as specified, affirming that the bidder has not participated in various collusive activities. (Public Contract Code § 7106) This bill: 1)Makes the following changes relating to the Contractors State License Board (CSLB): a) Makes technical cleanup and conforming changes, by deleting references to outdated effective dates. (BPC §§ 7027, 7030, 7058.6, 7058.8) b) Deletes "electrical" in reference to sign contractors since the term was eliminated from regulatory title of the C-45 license in 2009; adds alphanumeric classification identifiers for clarity purposes. (BPC § 7029.5, Labor Code § 3099.2) c) Clarifies that blank application forms are available from the board rather than from the Department of Consumer Affairs. (BPC § SB 944 Page 3 7066.5) 2)Makes the following changes relating to the Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind (BGDB): a) Clarifies terminology to more accurately refer to the "executive officer" and to the "board" as appropriate. (BPC §§ 7204, 7211) b) Updates archaic terms, to refer to "guide dog" rather than "seeing eye dog" and to refer to "spayed or neutered;" clarifies that the veterinarian certification is made at the time the dog is assigned to a blind person rather than at time of delivery of the dog. (BPC § 7215) 3)Would provide that medical waste haulers, as specified, are not deemed weighmasters. (BPC § 12701) 4)Deletes an outdated reference to the Joint Committee on Boards, Commissions, and Consumer Protection which was repealed by AB 2130 (Huber, Chapter 670, Statutes of 2010). (Government Code 9148.8) 5)Updates the Noncollusion Affidavit required in public works contract bids to reflect current terminology and usage and makes technical changes. (Public Contract Code § 7106) FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill has been keyed "fiscal" by Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS: 1. Purpose. This bill is one of two "committee bills" authored by the Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee and is intended to consolidate a number of non-controversial provisions related to various regulatory programs and professions governed primarily by the Business and Professions Code. Consolidating the provisions in one bill is designed to relieve the various licensing boards, bureaus and professions from the necessity and burden of having separate measures for a number of non-controversial revisions. Many of the provisions of this bill are minor, technical and updating changes, while other provisions are substantive changes intended to SB 944 Page 4 improve the ability of various licensing programs and other entities to efficiently and effectively administer their respective laws. However, as a Committee bill, if controversy or opposition should arise regarding any provision that cannot be resolved, then that provision will be removed from the bill. This will eliminate the chance of placing any of the other provisions in jeopardy. 2.Background. The following is background and reasons for the more significant and substantive provisions in this measure: a) Contractors State License Board. According to the CSLB, over time, various provisions of the Contractors License Law have become outdated or obsolete or must be changed to reflect other recent law changes. Each year, CSLB staff identify as many of these provisions as possible, as well as sections that require minor corrections or clarifications. The bill deletes phrases that are no longer needed, referring to the effective, or operative date of the section. The bill deletes "electrical" in reference to sign contractors because CSLB amended the regulatory title of the C-45 contractor, effective December 30, 2009, and add the alphanumeric classification for clarity purposes. The bill also clarifies that blank application forms are available from the Board as opposed to the DCA. b) Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind. According to the BGDB, the law refers to the secretary keeping all records of the board, and also requires applicants to file an application and fee with the secretary of the board. These references should be clarified to refer instead to the Executive Officer and provide that applications are filed with the board. Additionally, BGDB states that although guide dog schools currently spay female dogs, the law as currently written creates an unintended loophole that permits a licensed school or instructor to provide an unsterilized female guide dog to the consumer, by referring only to a neutered dog. Additionally, current law is unclear when the health verification documents are to be delivered to the consumer. c) Sunset Review Cleanup. This bill deletes references in the Government Code to the Joint Committee on Boards, Commissions, and Consumer Protection which was repealed by AB 2130 (Huber, Chapter 670, Statutes of 2010). d) Noncollusion Affidavit. According to the Engineering SB 944 Page 5 Contractors Association, the amendments would update the Noncollusion Affidavit required in public works contract bids to reflect current terminology and usage and make technical changes. The existing form requires a notary, instead of a simple declaration and contains ungrammatical and cumbersome 19th century language which needs to be updated. 3. Technical Author's Amendment. As a Committee omnibus bill, the commitment by the Committee and the boards and professions offering the amendments is that if controversy should arise regarding any provision that cannot be resolved, then that provision will be removed from the bill. Therefore, a technical Author's amendment will be offered in Committee to remove the weights and measures provision (BPC § 12701) from the bill (on page 7, strike out lines 32 through 40, inclusive; strike out page 8; and on page 9, strike out lines 1 through 14, inclusive). SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION: Support: Contractors State License Board Engineering Contractors Association State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind Opposition: None received as of April 27, 2011 Consultant:G. V. Ayers