BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 186
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Date of Hearing: April 30, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Richard S. Gordon, Chair
AB 186 (Maienschein) - As Amended: April 22, 2013
SUBJECT : Professions and vocations: military spouses:
temporary licenses.
SUMMARY : Requires boards under the Department of Consumer
Affairs (DCA) to issue a 12-month temporary license to the
spouse or domestic partner of a military member on active duty
licensed in another state if they are eligible to have their
application for a permanent license expedited. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires the board to issue a 12-month temporary license to an
applicant who is a military spouse or domestic partner while
the license application is being processed, if:
a) The applicant submits an affidavit attesting that the
information submitted in the application is accurate;
b) The applicant submits written verification from the
applicant's original licensing jurisdiction stating that
the applicant's license is in good standing;
c) The applicant, upon the board's request, submits
fingerprints for a background check;
d) The applicant has not committed any act in any
jurisdiction that constitutes grounds for the denial,
suspension, or revocation of the professional license by
the board under the Business and Professions Code (BPC) at
the time the act was committed; and,
e) The applicant was not disciplined by a licensing entity
in another jurisdiction and is not the subject of an
unresolved complaint, review procedure, or disciplinary
proceeding conducted by a licensing entity in another
jurisdiction.
2)Requires the temporary license to expire 12 months after
issuance, upon issuance of an expedited permanent license, or
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upon denial of a permanent license, whichever occurs first.
3)Authorizes a board to conduct an investigation or criminal
background check on the applicant.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Generally provides for the licensing and regulation of various
professions and businesses by 36 regulatory entities (23
boards, six bureaus, four committees, two programs, and one
commission) within the DCA under various licensing acts within
the BPC.
2)Defines a "board" as including a "bureau," "commission,"
"committee," "department," "division," "examining committee,"
"program," and "agency." (BPC 22)
3)Requires a licensing and regulatory board under the DCA to
issue an expedited license to the spouse or domestic partner
of a military member on active duty. (BPC 115.5)
4)Authorizes the California Board of Registering Nursing (BRN)
to issue a temporary six-month license to practice
professional nursing, and a temporary certificate to practice
as a certified nurse midwife, certified nurse practitioner,
certified public health nurse, certified clinical nurse
specialist, or certified nurse anesthetist, to an individual
applying for permanent licensure. The BRN may reissue a
temporary six-month license or certificate to an applicant,
but no more than twice to any one person. (BPC 2732.1 and
2733)
5)Authorizes the BRN to issue a six-month interim permit to a
nursing school graduate applying for permanent licensure, in
order to practice nursing pending the results of the required
licensing examination. If the applicant passes the
examination, the interim permit shall remain in effect until
the BRN issues a permanent license; if the applicant fails the
examination, the interim permit shall terminate upon notice by
first-class mail. (BPC 2732.1)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
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1)Purpose of this bill . This bill would require a licensing
board, bureau or commission under DCA to issue a 12-month
temporary license to the spouse or domestic partner of a
military member on active duty if he or she is eligible to
have their application for a permanent license expedited. The
intent of this bill is to assist military families who are
moving to California from another state by allowing military
spouses and domestic partners to begin working in their
professional occupations with a temporary license while they
work to meet any California licensing requirements. This bill
is author sponsored.
2)Author's Statement . According to the author's office,
"Current law allows spouses of active duty members, who have
been stationed in California from another state, to get an
expedited professional license if they have a valid
professional license in another state. Still, the wait time
for this can be very long, and spouses can't even begin
seeking employment [in their professional occupation] until
their license has been approved? The unemployment rate among
military spouses is estimated to be about 26% - three times
the national average. AB 186 would provide military spouses
who have a valid professional license in another state, an
12-month temporary license from the [appropriate licensing
board under] DCA. This [bill] would allow them to immediately
look for employment while taking all the necessary steps to
apply [for] and receive a [permanent] license from the state."
3)Federal efforts to facilitate occupational licensure of
military spouses . The U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury
Department) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) issued a
joint report in 2012 highlighting the impact of state
occupational licensing requirements on the careers of military
spouses who frequently move across state lines. Released in
February 2012, the report, "Supporting our Military Families:
Best Practices for Streamlining Occupational Licensing Across
State Lines" revealed that approximately 35% of military
spouses work in professions that require state licensure or
certification and that military spouses are ten times more
likely to have moved to another state in the last year
compared to their civilian counterparts.
4)Professional licensure of military spouses and the effect on
military re-enlistment . The Treasury Department/DOD report
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highlighted the employment problems of military spouses and
the correlation to a military member's decision to remain
active in the military: "More than half of all active duty
military personnel are married, and 91% of employed military
spouses indicated that they wanted to work and/or needed to
work. Research suggests that [spousal] dissatisfaction with
the ability to pursue career objectives may hinder
re-enlistment. Not only are military spouses highly
influential regarding re-enlistment decisions, but more than
two-thirds of married service members reported that their
decision to re-enlist was largely or moderately affected by
their spouses' career prospects."
The report issued several recommendations, including the
authorization of temporary licenses for military spouses if
the applicant has met state requirements. That recommendation
stated, "Temporary licenses allow applicants to be employed
while they fulfill all of the requirements for a permanent
license, including examinations or endorsement, applications
and additional fees. In developing expedited approaches that
save military spouses time and money, DOD does not want to
make licensure easier for military spouses to achieve at the
expense of degrading their perceived value in their
profession."
5)Temporary licenses . Temporary licenses are typically issued
to applicants seeking permanent licensure within a
professional occupation who meet some - but not yet all - of
the qualifications for permanent licensure in that state. For
example, applicants who hold an active professional license in
another state and have passed a national licensing examination
may still have educational requirements to meet in order to
become licensed in California. DCA has indicated that there
are few professional boards or bureaus under their
jurisdiction that issue temporary licenses, but the precise
number are currently unknown.
6)Expedited licensure for military spouses . AB 1904 (Block),
Chapter 399, Statutes of 2012, requires boards under DCA to
issue an expedited license to the spouse or domestic partner
of a military member on active duty, beginning January 1,
2013. This bill attempts to take the provisions of AB 1904
further by requiring boards to issue a 12-month temporary
license to the spouse or domestic partner of a military member
on active duty if they are eligible to have their application
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for a permanent license expedited.
7)Questions for the Committee . The Committee may wish to
consider the following issues and questions:
a) Board licensing authority . Licensing boards under DCA
operate semi-autonomously and have specified statutory
authority to license and regulate their professions. This
bill would restrict a board's discretionary authority to
issue, deny, suspend, or revoke a license by automatically
requiring a temporary license with full practice privileges
to be granted to a specific category of individuals -
military spouses and domestic partners - that is not
currently offered for military members, veterans, or other
civilians. This bill may also be difficult for boards to
implement if they do not now issue temporary licenses, or
have supplemental requirements unique to California.
b) Consumer protection issues . In addition, this bill may
raise consumer protection concerns if military spouses or
domestic partners ultimately do not need to meet state
licensure standards before practicing in this state. This
would create two categories of active licensees who have
full practice privileges - those who have met state
licensure requirements and those who are military spouses
or domestic partners who have not yet met standards. This
may result in confusion among consumers, who would expect
that any licensed professional has fulfilled state
requirements.
c) Funding for the temporary licenses . This bill does not
provide a funding mechanism for the issuance of temporary
licenses. The Legislature has historically approved
license fees for each board, and without a statute that
sets the fee for the temporary license, this would be an
unfunded mandate for boards that would have to issue the
temporary fee and absorb the costs.
d) Conflict with boards that offer temporary licenses .
Some boards, such as the BRN and the Board for Professional
Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists already have a
process under existing law to issue temporary licenses to
out-of-state applicants that expire within a specified time
frame. This bill would conflict with those laws.
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e) Unclear need for this bill . Licensing boards under DCA
have been required to expedite the applications of military
spouse and domestic partners since January 1, 2013. It is
unclear how many military spouses or domestic partners have
applied for licensure and have been unable to obtain a
license in a timely manner.
f) Effect on processing times . The goal of this bill is to
expedite licensure. However, requiring all boards to issue
temporary licenses would increase the total number of
licenses that would need to be processed, and could
therefore delay the processing time for permanent
licensure, which is contrary to the author's intent.
8)Arguments in support . According to the DOD, "Temporary
licensure would allow a [military] spouse [or domestic
partner] to work while additional requirements are met or
[while] the license from [another] state is being validated?
27 states have already enacted such legislation? [and] 14
additional states are considering temporary licenses this
legislative session.
"[The DOD] appreciates any concern for protecting the public
and would not want a [military] spouse [or domestic partner]
to be licensed when they are unqualified or would pose a
danger to those they serve. The [military] spouses [and
domestic partners] we are referring to in this bill are
licensed in another state. [The DOD] understands that the
reason for licensing is to safeguard the public, and [the DOD]
and other states believe that providing a temporary license to
a military spouse [or domestic partner] who is already
licensed in another state and who has had experience in that
licensed occupation presents little risk to the public?
"Military spouses relocate on average every two to three
years. The annual percentage of the military spouse
population that moves across state lines is 14.5% compared to
1.1% for civilian spouses."
9)Arguments in opposition . According to the California Nurses
Association (CNA), "The BRN currently has a process in place
by which it may grant 'temporary' licenses to those who are
licensed in other states and who apply for [licensure by]
endorsement into California as a registered nurse. An
applicant must complete his or her application for
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endorsement, pay fees, submit fingerprints, and provide
verification of licensure in another state as provided by the
state's board of nursing or the Nursys verification system?
Additionally, if granted by the BRN, a temporary RN license is
valid for a period of six months. Upon expiration of that
six-month period, the BRN may, under its own discretion, grant
up to two additional six-month extensions."
The CNA also notes that AB 186 eliminates the BRN's discretion
in granting temporary licensure, provides for a less stringent
temporary licensure process than that currently employed by
the BRN, and that the bill's provision requiring the
expiration of a temporary license after 12 months conflicts
with the BRN's current [discretionary] process to extend
temporary licenses beyond six months.
10)Related Legislation . SB 532 (De León) of 2013, would make a
non-substantive change to the provisions of law requiring a
board under the DCA to issue an expedited license to the
spouse or domestic partner of a military member on active
duty.
11)Previous Legislation . AB 1904 (Block), Chapter 399, Statutes
of 2012, requires a board under DCA to issue an expedited
license to the spouse or domestic partner of a military member
on active duty. As introduced, this bill would have
authorized DCA to issue a temporary license to the spouse or
domestic partner of a military member on active duty. This
bill was amended to remove an additional layer in the issuance
of a license.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Architects Board
California Association for Health Services at Home
Department of Defense (DOD)
National Military Family Association
San Diego Military Advisory Council
Opposition
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, California
Division
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Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists
California Nurses Association
Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301