BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2740| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 2740 Author: Bonilla (D), et al. Amended: 8/13/14 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMM. : 8-0, 6/23/14 AYES: Lieu, Wyland, Berryhill, Corbett, Galgiani, Hernandez, Hill, Torres NO VOTE RECORDED: Block SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/8/14 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings, and Thermal Insulation SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill subjects the powers and duties of the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation (Bureau) to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature as if these provisions were scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2019; requests the Bureau to report on specified issues by July 1, 2015; and extends the repeal dates for the Electronic and Appliance Repair Dealer Registration Law (EARDRL) to correspond with the sunset review dates this bill places upon the Bureau. Senate Floor Amendments of 8/13/14 (1) extend the sunset date CONTINUED AB 2740 Page 2 for registration, investigation, and enforcement of service contractors and service dealers under the EARDRL from January 1, 2015, to January 1, 2019, and (2) extend the time for the Bureau's report to the Legislature to July 1, 2015. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1.Establishes the Bureau within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), and places the Bureau under the supervision and control of the DCA Director. 2.Establishes a Chief of the Bureau who is appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation of the Senate, and provides that the Chief shall serve under the direction and supervision of the Director and at the pleasure of the Governor, and authorizes the Chief to carry out every power or duty imposed upon the Director relative to the Bureau's activities. 3.Establishes the Bureau, which licenses and regulates manufacturers, sellers, importers, upholsterers, and sanitizers of home furnishings, including upholstered furniture and bedding and thermal insulation. The Bureau further licenses and regulates electronics and appliance repair dealers and service contract sellers and administrators under the EARDRL. By operation of law, the EARDRL is scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2015. This bill: 1.Subjects the powers and duties of the Bureau to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature as if these provisions were scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2019. 2.Makes legislative findings and declarations relating to the Bureau's creation, jurisdiction, and the joint sunset oversight hearing, and to issues and recommendations that were raised regarding the Bureau, including: A. Reporting on the Bureau's long-term fiscal outlook and any planned efforts to increase revenues and reduce expenditures; CONTINUED AB 2740 Page 3 B. Advising the committees on its pro rata costs and whether the Bureau could achieve cost savings by handling more consumer complaints in house; C. Examining the pros and cons of biennial license renewals for licensees of the Bureau; D. Conducting market condition assessments for the electronic, and appliance repair and home furnishings and thermal insulation markets to determine if existing law reflects the needs of the markets, where risk to consumers is greatest, where resources could be refocused or expanded, and whether continued regulation is necessary across all segments of these markets; E. Considering whether the Bureau should consolidate any of its license categories, and whether it should continue to regulate, or issue, standalone sanitizer and custom upholsterer licenses; F. Reexamining product testing protocols to ensure it has the information it needs to identify areas of highest risk to consumers, and reexamining product standards to determine if some standards could be relaxed, when there is no appreciable impact on consumer safety, or if standards should be better clarified or advertised, or if penalties for violations are too low to act as a proper deterrent; and G. Updating the committees on implementation of DCA's BreEZe system. 1.States that it is the intent of the Legislature that the Bureau examine and respond to the issues and recommendations identified in the Sunset background paper, and report back to the committees by July 1, 2015, with its findings. 2.Extends the sunset date for registration, investigation, and enforcement of service contractors and service dealers under the EARDRL from January 1, 2015, to January 1, 2019. Background In 2014, the Senate Business, Professions and Economic CONTINUED AB 2740 Page 4 Development Committee and the Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee conducted joint oversight hearings to review nine regulatory entities, among them the Bureau. The committees began their review of the licensing agencies in March 2014 and conducted two days of hearings. This bill, and the accompanying sunset bills, are intended to implement legislative changes as recommended by the committees and which are reflected in the Background Papers prepared by committee staff for each agency and program reviewed by the committees for this year. Note: For details on the issues, background, and recommendations refer to the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee analysis of 6/23/14. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/8/14 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Eggman, Gorell, Gray, Hall, Mansoor, V. Manuel Pérez, Vacancy MW:e 8/14/14 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED **** END **** CONTINUED AB 2740 Page 5 CONTINUED