BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1057
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 2, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Richard S. Gordon, Chair
AB 1057 (Medina) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
SUBJECT : Professions and vocations: licenses: military
service.
SUMMARY : Requires every licensing board under the Department
of Consumer Affairs (DCA) to inquire in every license
application if the applicant is serving in, or has previously
served in, the military.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires licensing boards under DCA to promulgate regulations
to evaluate and credit military education, training, and
experience in meeting licensure requirements, if the military
education, training, and experience are applicable to the
profession. (Business and Professions Code [BPC] Section 35)
2)Authorizes a licensee whose license expired while serving on
active military duty, to reinstate his or her license without
examination or penalty upon meeting specified conditions.
(BPC 114)
3)Requires a licensing board under DCA to waive the license
renewal fees, continuing education (CE) requirements, and
other license renewal requirements for a licensee called to
active duty and who will not perform licensed activities while
on active duty. (BPC 114.3)
4)Requires, by July 1, 2015, the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges, using common course descriptors and
pertinent recommendations of the American Council on
Education, to determine which courses should grant credit for
prior military experience. (Education Code Section 66025.7)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
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1)Purpose of this bill . This bill requires every licensing
board under DCA to affirmatively inquire in every license
application if the applicant is serving in, or has previously
served in, the military, in order to better identify and
assist active military members and veterans applying for
professional licensure. While the Bureau of Security and
Investigative Services' (BSIS) application allows for
applicants to indicate whether they are military veterans, not
all license applications currently allow applicants to
indicate whether they have current or prior military service.
This bill is author sponsored.
2)Author's statement . According to the author's office,
"Thousands of military veterans return to California from
service in the United States (U.S.) Armed Forces each year.
For many veterans, finding civilian employment can be
difficult. Most veterans possess valuable professional and
occupational skills that [are] highly sought by California
employers and consumers. Ensuring a successful transition
from military to civilian life includes creating an efficient
process for licensing veterans in professional careers who
have learned valuable work skills while in the military.
"Most of DCA's licensing programs already have some process
for accepting military service credit towards licensure for
one or all of its license types. However, there is nothing on
the application for licensure that identifies military
experience. This bill will allow DCA to identify veterans in
the application process and to count military credit towards
licensure."
3)State focus on military families . In August 2011, Governor
Edmund G. Brown, Jr. created the Interagency Council on
Veterans (Council) through the issuance of Executive Order
B-9-11. DCA, the Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA), and the
California Military Department (MD), along with several other
state agencies, are members of the Council, which is tasked
with improving veterans' services that are coordinated across
local, state, and federal agencies and transitioning veterans
from military to civilian life.
4)Military credit for licensure . DCA currently oversees 36
licensing programs that issue more than two million licenses,
registrations, and certifications in approximately 200
professional categories. Existing law requires licensing
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boards under DCA to promulgate regulations to evaluate
military education, training and experience and specify how
applicants may meet licensure requirements if their military
education and experience is comparable to the boards' license
qualification standards.
As part of the Supplemental Report to the 2012-2013 Budget,
the Legislature directed DCA to prepare a report on the
implementation of BPC Section 35 and to list the licensing
boards that have statutes, regulations, rules, or agreements
to accept military education and experience towards licensure.
If there were any licensing boards that did not accept
military education or experience, DCA was directed to explain
why military credit could not be used to meet licensure
requirements. The Legislature also requested DCA to direct
all licensing boards to implement BPC Section 35 and to
describe its interaction with the DVA and the MD regarding
this issue.
On October 1, 2012, DCA released their "Report to the
California State Legislature: Acceptance of Military
Experience & Education Towards Licensure," which included a
compilation of each professional license type issued and the
education and experience requirements necessary for licensure.
The report listed existing statutes and regulations
authorizing the acceptance of military education or experience
towards licensure for each license type. Each of the
licensing programs is responsible for enforcing the minimum
qualifications established by statute and regulation. The
licensing boards under DCA operate as semiautonomous bodies
and have discretion over designing their license application
and approving applicants, resulting in varying board policies
relating to the acceptance of military credit towards
licensure.
5)Varying licensing board policies on accepting military credit .
Each of DCA's 36 licensing programs has a different policy to
address the acceptance of military education and experience
towards initial licensure: 24 programs accept military
education and experience, five programs offer general
reciprocity for out-of-state applicants, two programs do not
have education or experience requirements that would preclude
a veteran from applying, two boards do not accept military
education and experience, and three programs do not issue
licenses.
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6)Tracking active military members and veterans in license
applications . Despite existing provisions under the BPC that
facilitate to the licensure of veterans and active military
members, the majority of license applications do not ask
applicants if they serve or have previously served in the
military. This means that some applicants must proactively
inform the appropriate licensing board if he or she is an
active military member who may be exempt from license renewal
fees or CE requirements, or a veteran eligible to apply
military credit towards initial licensure, as provided for
under existing law. In addition, DCA's licensing programs do
not currently track licensure approvals or denials of
applicants with military service. Given the recent amount of
attention devoted to assisting military families and veterans
with obtaining professional licensure, it may be helpful for
DCA to gather accurate data on how many applicants serve, or
have served in the military in order to better assist those
applicants. This bill would not impact veterans who have
already obtained initial licensure. The information collected
by this bill will assist licensing boards in identifying
applicants who may be eligible for streamlined licensure and
permit DCA to compile data on the number of military
applicants it serves.
7)Priority vocations for veterans . Some licensing programs have
worked with the DVA and the MD to focus on targeted outreach
to military veterans who may possess skills transferrable from
the military to professional occupations. The MD has
identified three priority vocations - security, construction,
and automotive repair - based on the large number of veterans
who possess skills in those vocations upon leaving the
military. The BSIS, Contractors' State License Board (CSLB),
and the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) are the
corresponding licensing programs for those three priority
vocations, and all three accept military credit towards
licensure requirements.
The BSIS, CSLB, and BAR are the designate trained staff to
assist veteran applicants by providing expedited licensure,
specialized training, and targeted information via boards' Web
sites. The BSIS has already assisted approximately 400
veteran applicants in obtaining licensure as private
investigators, security guards, firearm and baton instructors,
locksmiths, alarm company employees, and repossessors.
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Licensing programs other than the BSIS, CSLB, and BAR may
handle military applicants on a case-by-case basis because
they receive a lower volume of such applications.
8)Suggested committee amendments . Currently, DCA is in the
process of implementing BreEZe, a new database and Web site
system that centralizes the licensing and enforcement
functions of all the licensing programs under DCA. That
implementation is scheduled to take place over an 18-month
span during 2013-14. Once completed, individuals will be able
to apply and pay for initial or renewal licenses and consumers
can file complaints using a single Web site as a "one-stop
shop".
In order to ensure that the requirement created by this bill
does not disrupt the ongoing rollout of the BreEZe system, the
Committee and author may wish to consider the following
amendment to delay the effective date of this bill by one year
so that DCA will have sufficient time to update the system
accordingly:
On page 2, line 1, strike the word "Each" and insert:
"Beginning on January 1, 2015, each"
9)Related legislation . AB 213 (Logue) of 2013 would require a
healing arts board under the DCA and the State Department of
Public Health to accept military education, training, and
experience towards licensure requirements if that education,
training, or experience is equivalent to the standards of the
licensing board or department. AB 213 is pending in the
Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection
Committee.
AB 555 (Salas) of 2013 would require a licensing board under
DCA to consider and allow a board to accept, an applicant's
military training to meet licensure requirements, if
applicable to the requirements for the particular business,
occupation, or profession regulated by the board. AB 555
allows a licensing board to consult with the DVA and MD when
evaluating the applicability of military training towards
licensure requirements. AB 555 is pending in the Assembly
Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee.
AB 704 (Blumenfield) of 2013 would require the Emergency
AB 1057
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Medical Services Authority to develop and adopt regulations to
accept military education, training, and experience towards
licensure requirements for Emergency Medical Technician
(EMT)-I certification, EMT-II certification, or EMT-P
licensure, as specified. AB 704 is pending in the Assembly
Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee.
AB 851 (Logue) of 2013 would require the Dental Board of
California (DBC) to accept military education, training, and
experience towards licensure requirements if that education,
training, or experience is equivalent to the standards of the
DBC. AB 851 is pending in the Assembly Business, Professions
and Consumer Protection Committee.
10)Previous legislation . AB 1588 (Atkins), Chapter 742,
Statutes of 2012, requires boards under DCA to waive
professional license renewal fees, CE requirements, and other
renewal requirements as determined by the licensing board, for
any licensee or registrant called to active duty.
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.
SB 1405 (De Le�n), Chapter 411, Statutes of 2012, allows,
beginning January 1, 2014, certified public accountants,
public accountants and public accounting firms to have their
permits placed on military inactive status if the permit
holder is engaged in, and provides sufficient evidence of,
active duty as a member of the California National Guard or
the U.S. Armed Forces, as specified.
SB 1646 (Rogers), Chapter 987, Statutes of 1994, requires
licensing boards under DCA to promulgate regulations to
evaluate and credit military education, training, and
experience in meeting licensure requirements, if the military
education, training, and experience are applicable to the
profession.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
AB 1057
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301