BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2741| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 2741 Author: Bonilla (D), et al. Amended: 4/10/14 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEVELOP. COMM. : 8-0, 6/23/14 AYES: Lieu, Wyland, Berryhill, Corbett, Galgiani, Hernandez, Hill, Torres NO VOTE RECORDED: Block SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-1, 8/14/14 AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg NOES: Gaines NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 61-10, 5/27/14 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Professional Fiduciaries Bureau SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill extends until January 1, 2019, the sunset date on the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau (Bureau) and Chief of the Bureau. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1.Licenses and regulates professional fiduciaries under the CONTINUED AB 2741 Page 2 Professional Fiduciaries Act (Act) by the Bureau within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), and makes the Bureau inoperative and repealed on January 1, 2015. 2.Establishes a Chief of the Bureau who is appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation of the Senate, and provides that the Chief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. 3.Vests the duty of administering and enforcing the Act with the Bureau and the Chief, and provides that the Chief shall have all the powers and responsibilities of the head of a department, as specified. 4.Provides that if the Bureau is repealed, the responsibilities and jurisdiction of the Bureau shall be transferred to the Professional Fiduciaries Advisory Committee, and that Committee shall be established as a board within DCA. This bill: 1.Extends the sunset date on the Bureau and the Bureau Chief from January 1, 2015 to January 1, 2019. 2.Makes technical, conforming changes. Background In 2014, the Senate Business, Professions and Economic 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. Review of the Bureau: issues identified and recommended changes . The following are some of the major recommendations made pertaining to the Bureau or areas of concern reviewed and CONTINUED AB 2741 Page 3 discussed by the committees during the review of the Bureau. The Sunset review report drafted by the Assembly committee recommended that the Bureau continue operations until the next review in 2019, and in the meantime: The Bureau should consider reducing fees sufficient to avoid accumulating a 24-month reserve if the Bureau cannot get budget authority to hire additional staff; Brief the Legislature on the potential pool of new professional fiduciaries and provide reasonable yearly targets for attracting new licensees; Discuss with the Legislature and DCA whether to maintain the Bureau independently if its current staffing and licensing levels do not change. Committee staff recommended that the Bureau be reviewed by the Committees again in four years. The current language in this bill extends the sunset date on the Bureau and the Bureau Chief to January 1, 2019. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, projected expenditures of approximately $600,000 annually (Professional Fiduciaries Fund), supporting 2.7 positions until January 1, 2019, offset by specified fee revenues of $593,000, based on the 2014-15 Budget. DCA that the provisions of this bill that extend the sunset on the PFB are minor and absorbable and within existing resources. According to the fund condition statement published with the 2014-15 proposed budget, the Professional Fiduciaries Fund, which supports the activities of the Bureau, is in relative balance with a reserve of approximately 10 months ($481,000) at the end of the budget year. SUPPORT : (Verified 8/13/14) Professional Fiduciary Association of California CONTINUED AB 2741 Page 4 ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Professional Fiduciary Association of California (PFAC) states that PFAC sponsored the original legislation that created the Professional Fiduciaries Act and the Bureau within DCA. Since their inception, these state licensure laws, which include state oversight and enforcement, have been in place to protect the public. The Bureau regulates non-family member professional fiduciaries, including conservators, guardians, trustees, and agents under durable power of attorney. "PFAC supports the provisions of AB 2741 that would extend the sunset on the Act from January 1, 2015 to January 1, 2019. The continuation of the Act will serve to protect consumers by ensuring the continuation of the Bureau that is charged with the following responsibilities: Educating consumers about their rights; Promoting legal and ethical standards of professional conduct; Investigating the background of applicants; Administering licensing examinations; Licensing [professional fiduciaries]; Investigating complaints from consumers; and, Taking disciplinary action and issuing citations." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 61-10, 5/27/14 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hall, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Pan, Perea, John A. Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins NOES: Chávez, Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jones, Logue, Mansoor, Olsen NO VOTE RECORDED: Bigelow, Dahle, Gorell, Melendez, Patterson, Quirk-Silva, Wagner, Waldron, Vacancy MW:nl 8/16/14 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED AB 2741 Page 5 CONTINUED