BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 186
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 186 (Maienschein)
As Amended May 24, 2013
Majority vote
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 10-1 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Gordon, Jones, Bocanegra, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Campos, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Eggman, Hagman, | |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Maienschein, | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| |Mullin, Ting, Wilk | |Hall, Ammiano, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Dickinson | | |
| | | | |
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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 servicemember 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 a board under DCA 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 respective board under the Business and Professions
Code at the time the act was committed; and,
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e) The applicant has not been 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
upon denial of a permanent license, whichever occurs first.
3)Authorizes a board to conduct an investigation or criminal
background check on the applicant.
4)Exempts boards that have established a temporary licensing
process prior to January 1, 2014, from the provisions of this
bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, if the BreEZe system is fully implemented prior to
the completion of the regulations for the new provisional
license type, the cost to DCA would be under $100,000. However,
if there are delays in the implementation of BreEZe, one-time
costs to DCA would be approximately $500,000.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill would require a licensing
board, bureau, commission or other regulatory entity 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)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
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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 10 times more
likely to have moved to another state in the last year
compared to their civilian counterparts.
3)Professional licensure of military spouses and the effect on
military re-enlistment . The Treasury Department and DOD
report 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."
4)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.
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Licensing boards under DCA have been required to expedite the
applications of military spouse and domestic partners since
January 1, 2013. DCA has indicated that there are few
professional boards or bureaus under their jurisdiction that
issue temporary licenses, but the precise number is currently
unknown. It is also not known how many military spouses or
domestic partners have applied for licensure and have been
unable to obtain a license in a timely manner.
5)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
for a permanent license expedited.
It should be noted that that by requiring boards to issue
temporary licenses, as this bill does, the total number of
licenses that would need to be processed will increase. Such
an increase in workload could delay the processing time for
permanent licenses for all other applicants.
Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
FN: 0000896