BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de León, Chair


          AB 2396 (Bonta) - Professional licenses: expunged convictions.
          
          Amended: May 15, 2014           Policy Vote: BP&ED 5-3
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: No
          Hearing Date: August 4, 2014                            
          Consultant: Mark McKenzie       
          
          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. 

          
          Bill Summary: AB 2396 would prohibit professional licensing  
          boards from denying a license solely on the basis of a  
          conviction that has been withdrawn, set aside, or dismissed, as  
          specified.

          Fiscal Impact: The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA)  
          indicates that the majority of boards and bureaus under its  
          jurisdiction would have minor and absorbable costs.  However,  
          the following boards indicate costs would be incurred as a  
          result of increased workload to conduct investigations on  
          license applicants with expunged convictions:
              The Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) estimates annual  
              costs of $227,195. (Behavioral Science Examiners Fund)   
              ---see staff comments---
              The Board of Psychology estimates annual costs of $86,266.  
              (Psychology Fund)
              The Board of Pharmacy estimates costs in 2015-16 of $56,000  
              and ongoing costs of $48,000.  (Pharmacy Board Contingent  
              Fund)
              The Dental Board estimates annual costs of $26,640. (State  
              Dentistry Fund)

          Background: Under current law, boards under the jurisdiction of  
          DCA may deny, suspend, or revoke a license if the crime is  
          substantially related to the qualifications, functions or duties  
          of the business or profession for which the application is made,  
          or for which the license was issued.  In addition, boards are  
          required to develop criteria to evaluate the rehabilitation of a  
          person when considering whether to deny, suspend or revoke a  
          license, taking into account all competent evidence of  
          rehabilitation furnished by the applicant or licensee.   
          Generally, the criteria consider the nature and severity of the  








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          Page 1


          crime, the time that has elapsed since the crime, the extent the  
          applicant has complied with the terms of probation, parole  
          restitution and any other evidence of rehabilitation.  Boards  
          cannot deny a license if the individual has met all the  
          rehabilitation criteria.

          Existing law (Penal Code 1203.4) authorizes a court to withdraw  
          or set aside a guilty plea and dismiss the accusatory pleading  
          in cases in which the defendant has fulfilled the condition of  
          probation, or if relief is granted in the interest of justice,  
          as specified.  

          Existing law (Penal Code 1203.4a) authorizes a court to withdraw  
          or set aside a guilty plea and dismiss the accusatory pleading  
          in cases in which the defendant convicted of a misdemeanor or  
          infraction and who has fully complied with and performed the  
          sentence of the court, if one year has elapsed since the date of  
          judgment, as specified.  
          Existing law (Penal Code 1203.41) authorizes a court to withdraw  
          or set aside a guilty plea and dismiss the accusatory pleading  
          in cases in which a defendant is sentenced to county jail  
          pursuant to realignment and not under mandatory supervision or  
          serving a sentence for, on probation for, or charged with the  
          commission of any offense, and at least one year has elapsed  
          since the judgment.

          Proposed Law: AB 2396 would specify that a person shall not be  
          denied a license solely on the basis of a conviction that has  
          been withdrawn, set aside, or dismissed pursuant to the Penal  
          Code provisions noted above.

          Staff Comments: Over half of the boards under DCA require  
          criminal history information, and other boards require  
          applicants to self-report any criminal history.  If a board  
          denies a license, it is required to notify the applicant by  
          letter, which provides the applicant with the specific reasons  
          why the application was denied.  An applicant has the right to  
          appeal the denial of the application by requesting a statement  
          of issues hearing, and must submit a request for that hearing  
          within 60 days of the date of the letter.  Once a written  
          request for a hearing is made, it is forwarded to the Attorney  
          General's office.  At the hearing, an applicant may present  
          evidence and witnesses to prove that his or her application for  
          a certificate or license should not be denied.         








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          Under current law, when a board denies, revokes, or suspends a  
          license, the burden is on the applicant to prove the board acted  
          in error.  Under this bill, the board would have to provide  
          substantial evidence when denying, revoking, or suspending a  
          license, shifting the burden to the board.  The cost to each  
          board within DCA preliminarily has varied widely, based it  
          appears, on the potential new workload to investigate license  
          applicants that have expunged convictions and collect evidence  
          to prove the underlying cause of the conviction to form basis  
          for the denial. 

          The Board of Behavioral Sciences estimates it would incur  
          increased costs of approximately $227,000 annually as a result  
          of the bill.  In 2012-13, BBS denied 47 licenses due to  
          convictions.  Although BBS currently investigates all cases in  
          which a license is denied due to a conviction, obtaining  
          certified copies of arrest and conviction documents is  
          sufficient evidence to substantiate a cause for denial.  This  
          bill would require BBS to incur 25 hours of additional  
          investigatory staff time for each case in order to prove that  
          the underlying cause of the conviction is a basis for denial.   
          In addition, BBS expects to incur additional AG expenses and  
          costs related to hearings.  Staff notes those licensees where  
          their felony, misdemeanor, or criminal conviction was dismissed  
          pursuant to Penal Code Sections 1203.4, 1203.4a, or 1203.41 as  
          being the sole reason their license was denied, revoked, or  
          suspended may be a very small number of licensees.  It is  
          unclear whether the number of cases the BBS expects to warrant  
          further investigation would all be cases in which the license  
          was denied as a result of a conviction dismissed pursuant to  
          these Penal Code provisions.

          As noted above, the boards that have reported increased costs as  
          a result of this bill are primarily those involved in certain  
          health-related professions.  Notably absent from this list is  
          the Medical Board, whose staff indicates that license denials  
          based on a prior conviction, even those that were dismissed, are  
          already thoroughly investigated.