BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 404
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 10, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                 AB 404 (Eggman) - As Introduced:  February 15, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                              Business,  
          Professions and Consumer Protection           Vote: 13-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill reduces, from five years to three years, the time  
          during which the holder of a retired license as a marriage and  
          family therapist, educational psychologist, clinical social  
          worker, or professional clinical counselor, is permitted to  
          restore the license to active status without having to apply for  
          licensure and take an examination.  This bill also makes other  
          technical and clarifying changes.   

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible costs to the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS).

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  .  BBS is sponsoring this bill to clarify the  
            requirements for a retired license and to align the time  
            period, for restoring to active status, with the existing law  
            for renewing an expired license. Current law permits the  
            holder of an expired license to renew within three years of  
            expiration without having to reapply and take an examination,  
            although the holder of an expired license may be subject to  
            penalties for delinquency.  

           2)Background: Retired Licenses  .  The retired license status was  
            established by AB 2191 (Emmerson), Chapter 548, Statutes of  
            2010, so that licensees no longer practicing would not have to  
            choose between paying ongoing licensure fees (for an active or  
            inactive license) or letting the license expire (thereby  
            becoming delinquent). The holder of a retired license pays a  
            one-time $40 fee and is exempt from continuing education  








                                                                  AB 404
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            requirements. The number of retired licenses issued since 2011  
            is estimated to be between 550 and 600.



           Analysis Prepared by  :    Debra Roth / APPR. / (916) 319-2081