BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 1057
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 17, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                    AB 1057 (Medina) - As Amended:  April 9, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                              Business and  
          Professions  Vote:                            13 - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires, after January 1, 2015, 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.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Costs should be minor and absorbable within existing resources. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . The author intends for this bill to help military  
            personnel make a successful transition from military to  
            civilian life by creating an efficient process for licensing  
            veterans in professional careers who have acquired new work  
            skills while in the military.

            Toward that end, the 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.  

            The author notes that 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 ensure  








                                                                  AB 1057
                                                                  Page  2

            that they are counting military credit toward licensure. 

          2)The BreEZe System  . 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 and  
            2014-15.  Once completed, individuals will be able to apply  
            and pay for licenses and consumers can file complaints using a  
            single Web site as a one-stop shop. By delaying implementation  
            until January 1, 2015, costs are significantly minimized and  
            the requirements contained in this bill will not delay the  
            roll-out of the new system. 


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081