BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
SB 308 (Price) - Professions and vocations.
Amended: May 2, 2013 Policy Vote: BP&ED 10-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 23, 2013 Consultant: Mark McKenzie
SUSPENSE FILE.
Bill Summary: SB 308 would extend the sunset on the Interior
Design Law and the Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind (BGDB)
until January 1, 2018, and extend the sunset of the Board of
Barbering and Cosmetology (BBC) and its executive officer until
January 1, 2016.
Fiscal Impact:
BBC: projected expenditures of approximately $20.5 million
annually (Barbering and Cosmetology Fund), supporting 92.2
PY until January 1, 2016, fully offset by fee revenues of
$22.8 million, based on the proposed 2013-14 budget.
BGDB: projected expenditures of $197,000 annually (State
Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind Fund), supporting 1.5 PY
until January 1, 2018, partially offset by fee revenues of
$150,000 annually, based on the proposed 2013-14 budget.
No state costs associated with extending the Interior
Design Law and enforcement of certified interior designers.
Certification of interior designers is handled by specified
nonprofit regulating entities that are outside of state
government and are not supported by state funds.
Background: Current law relating to certification of interior
designers was initially enacted in 1990 by SB 153 (Craven), Chap
396/1990. Existing law provides for a voluntary system whereby
an interior designer may become certified and obtain a stamp
from an interior design organization by demonstrating competency
by means of education, experience and examination. The Interior
Design Law is scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2014.
The Board of Barbering and Cosmetology licenses and regulates
barbers, cosmetologists, electrologists, estheticians, and
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manicurists after determining, through an examination, that
applicants possess the minimum skills and qualifications
necessary to provide safe and effective services to the public.
BBC conducts both routine and directed health and safety
inspections of licensed establishments operating in the state.
The Board also investigates allegations of unprofessional
conduct, gross negligence, incompetence, fraud, or unlicensed
activity. Schools that train these practitioners must be
approved by the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education, while
the BBC approves curriculum, facilities, equipment, and
textbooks for schools. The BBC is scheduled to sunset on
January 1, 2014.
The State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind's primary objectives
are to protect the safety of blind guide dog users by ensuring
that instructors and schools possess minimum qualifications and
are licensed, and to enforce licensing standards for performance
and conduct. In the 2011-12 fiscal year, the BGDB had a license
base of 109 active guide dog instructors and 3 inactive
instructors, and the Board currently oversees three guide dog
schools in the state. The BGDB also has an arbitration panel
for settling disputes between a guide dog user and a licensed
guide dog school regarding the continued use of a guide dog.
The arbitration panel has only been utilized two times in the
past nine years. The BGDB and the arbitration program are
scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2014.
Proposed Law: SB 308 would do the following:
Extend the provisions of the Interior Design Law until
January 1, 2018.
Require that, in order to meet the definition of
"certified interior designer," a person must provide plans
and documents that illustrate specified aspects of interior
design, and engage in coordination and collaboration with
other design professionals.
Require a certified interior designer to use a written
contract that includes specified provisions to provide
design services to a client.
Specify that an uncertified person who uses terms such
as "licensed," "registered," or "CID" is engaging in an
unfair business practice.
Require meetings of an interior design organization to
comply with specified open meeting laws.
Extend the BGCB and an existing arbitration program
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until January 1, 2018.
Extend the BBC and its executive officer until January
1, 2016.
Require a school to be approved by the BBC in advance of
seeking approval by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary
Education, but allow the applications to simultaneously
processed.
Authorize the BBC to revoke, suspend, or deny approval
of a school at any time on any of ten specified grounds.
Related Legislation: This bill is one of several bills
introduced this session to extend the sunset on licensing boards
within the Department of Consumer Affairs - including SB 305
(Price), SB 306 (Price), SB 307 (Price), SB 308 (Price), and SB
309 (Price).
Staff Comments: The certification of interior designers is
performed by nonprofit interior design organizations that are
outside of state government. Since no state funds are
associated with the voluntary certification program, this
analysis does not discuss the expanded provisions of the
Interior Design Law.
The Department of Consumer Affairs indicates that the provisions
of the bill that extend the sunset on the BGDB and BBC are minor
and absorbable. Staff notes that the Barbering and Cosmetology
Fund, which supports the activities of the BBC, has a health
reserve of approximately $14 million, which is more than
sufficient to cover any increased costs to administer the
approval, revocation, suspension, or denial of approval of
schools.
Staff notes that the State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind
Fund, which supports the operations of the BGDB, is in a
declining condition. Expenditures from the fund have been
outpacing revenues by about $30,000 to $50,000 annually, and the
fund's reserve has declined from $164,000 at the end of 2011-12,
to $110,000 at the end of 2012-13, and is projected to be
$64,000 at the end of 2013-14. At the current pace, and without
corrective action or additional revenues, the fund will be
insolvent sometime during the 2015-16 fiscal year, which is two
years before the sunset date specified in the bill.
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