BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 308
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Date of Hearing: August 7, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Isadore Hall, Chair
SB 308 (Lieu) - As Amended: August 5, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 38-0
SUBJECT : Professions and vocations.
SUMMARY : Extends until January 1, 2018 the provisions of the
Interior Design Law and the Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind
(Board), and extends until January 1, 2016 the provisions of the
Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (BBC) and the term of its
executive officer, and makes various other technical changes and
improvements of those provisions. Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that nothing in the Interior Design Law shall
prohibit interior design or interior decorator services by any
person or retail activity.
2)Requires a certified interior designer (CID) to use a written
contract when contracting to provide interior design services
to a client as specified, and requires that the written
contract be executed by the CID and the client or his or her
representative prior to the CID commencing work, and shall
include but not be limited to the following provisions:
a) A description of the services to be provided to the
client by the CID;
b) A description of any basis of compensation applicable to
the contract and the method of payment agreed upon by the
parties;
c) The name, address, and certification number of the CID
and the name and address of the client;
d) A description of the procedure that the CID and the
client will use to accommodate additional services;
e) A description of the procedure to be used by any party
to terminate the contract;
f) A three day rescission clause; and,
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g) A written disclosure stating whether the CID carries
errors and omissions insurance.
3)Specifies that the above provisions do not apply to any of the
following:
a) Interior design services rendered by a CID for which the
client will not pay compensation; and,
b) Interior design services rendered by a CID to any of the
following:
i) A licensed architect;
ii) A licensed landscape architect; and,
iii) A licensed engineer.
4)Specifies that a written contract includes a contract in
electronic form.
5)Clarifies that the provisions of law pertaining to interior
design shall be subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.
6)Extends the provisions relating to the interior design law
until January 1, 2018.
7)Requires the meetings of an interior design organization
issuing interior design stamps, as specified, are subject to
the rules of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.
8)Clarifies that it is an unfair business practice for any
person to represent or hold himself or herself out, or to use
the title "certified interior designer" or any other term such
as licensed, registered or CID that implies or suggests that
the person is certified, as an interior designer when he or
she does not hold a valid certification as specified.
9)Extends the provisions relating to Board of Guide Dogs for the
Blind until January 1, 2018.
10)Extends the provisions relating to the arbitration procedure
for the resolution of disputes between guide dog users and
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guide dog schools until January 1, 2018.
11)Extends the provisions authorizing the BBC and the provisions
authorizing the appointment of an executive officer as
specified until January 1, 2016, and requires the BBC to the
reviewed by the appropriate policy committees of the
Legislature.
12)Clarifies that a school approved by the BBC is one that is
first approved by the BBC and subsequently approved by the
Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE), and allows
both the BBC and the BPPE to simultaneously process a school's
application for approval.
13)Authorizes the BBC to revoke, suspend, or deny approval of a
school on any of the following grounds:
a) Unprofessional conduct which includes, but is not
limited to, any of the following:
i) Incompetence or gross negligence, including repeated
failure to comply with generally accepted standards for
the practice of barbering, cosmetology, or electrology,
or disregard for the health and safety of patrons;
ii) Repeated similar negligent acts; or,
iii) Conviction of any crime substantially related to the
qualifications, functions, or duties of the owner of an
approved school, in which case, the records of conviction
or a certified copy thereof shall be conclusive evidence
of the conviction.
b) Repeated failure to comply with the rules governing
health and safety adopted by the BBC and approved by the
California Department of Public Health for the regulation
of board-approved schools;
c) Repeated failure to comply with the rules adopted by the
BBC for the regulation of BBC-approved schools as
specified;
d) Continued practice by a person knowingly having an
infectious or contagious disease;
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e) Habitual drunkenness or habitual use of, or addiction to
the use of, any controlled substance;
f) Obtaining or attempting to obtain practice in any
occupation licensed and regulated as specified, or money or
any form of compensation, by fraudulent misrepresentations;
g) Refusal to permit or interference with an inspection as
specified; or,
h) Any action or conduct that would have warranted the
denial of a school approval.
EXISTING LAW
1)Defines a CID as a "person who prepares and submits
nonstructural or non-seismic plans as specified to local
building departments that are of sufficient complexity so as
to require the skills of a licensed contractor to implement
them, and who engages in programming, planning, designing, and
documenting the construction and installation of
non-structural or non-seismic elements, finishes and
furnishings within the interior spaces of a building and has
demonstrated by means of education, experience and examination
the competency to protect and enhance the health, safety and
welfare of the public.
2)Authorizes a CID to obtain a stamp form an interior design
organization that includes a number that uniquely identifies
and bears the name of that CID and certifies that the interior
designer has provided the interior design organization with
evidence of passage of an examination approved by that
interior design organization.
3)States that the procedure for the issuance of a stamp by an
interior design organization includes the examination
recognized and required by the organization and is subject to
the occupational analyses and examination validation as
required every five to seven years.
4)Specifies that it is an unfair business practice for any CID
or any other person to advertise or put out any sign or card
or other device, including any stamp or seal, or to represent
to the public through any print or electronic media that he or
she is "state certified" to practice interior design or to use
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any other words or symbols that represent to the public that
he or she is certified.
5)Repeals the provisions relating to interior designers on
January 1, 2014.
6)Establishes a State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind (Board)
under the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).
7)States that the Board has the authority to license for the
instruction of blind persons in the use of guide dogs and for
the training of guide dogs for use by blind persons, and has
the authority to issue licenses to operate schools for the
training of guide dogs for the blind and the instruction of
blind persons in the use of the guide dogs.
8)Repeals the provisions of law pertaining to the Board's
licensing, regulatory and disciplinary authority on January 1,
2014.
9)Establishes a pilot project to provide an arbitration
procedure for the purpose of resolving disputes between a
guide dog user and a licensed guide dog school as specified,
and repeals those provisions on January 1, 2014.
10)Establishes the BBC within the DCA and authorizes the BBC to
appoint an executive officer subject between a guide dog user
and a licensed guide dog school as specified, and repeals
those provisions on January 1, 2014.
11)States that the power and duties of the BBC are the
following:
a) Make rules and regulations as specified, in accordance
with the Administrative Procedure Act;
b) Conduct and administer examinations of applicants for
licensure;
c) Issue licenses to those applicants that may be entitled
thereto;
d) Discipline persons who have been determined to be in
violation of the provisions of, or the regulations adopted
pursuant to, the Barbering and Cosmetology Act; and,
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e) Adopt rules governing sanitary conditions and
precautions to be employed as are reasonably necessary to
protect the public health and safety in establishments,
schools approved by the BBC, and in the practice of any
profession as specified.
12)Provides that a school approved by the BBC is one which is
licensed by the BPPE or a public school in this state and
provides a course of instruction approved by the BBC.
13)Requires, under the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, that all
meetings of a state body be open to the public.
14)Defines a "state body" for purposes of the Bagley-Keene Open
Meeting Act as:
a) Every state board, or commission, or similar multimember
body of the state that is created by statute or required by
law to conduct official meetings and every commission
created by executive order.
b) A board, commission, committee, or similar multimember
body that exercises any authority of a state body delegated
to it by that state body.
c) And advisory board, advisory commission, advisory
committee, advisory subcommittee, or similar multimember
advisory body of a state body, if created, by formal action
of the state body or on any member of the state body, and
if the advisory body so created consists of three or more
persons.
d) A board, commission, committee, or similar multimember
body on which a member of a body that is a state body
pursuant to this section serves in his or her official
capacity as a representative of that state body and that is
supported, in whole or in part, by funds provided by the
state body, whether the multimember body is organized and
operated by the state body or by a private corporation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
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Purpose of the bill : According to the author, this bill is one
of four "sunset review bills" authored by the Chair of the
Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee
to extend the operations of certain boards, bureaus and
committees regulated by DCA and make various other regulatory
improvement. Unless legislation is carried this year to extend
the sunset dates for the Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind, and
the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, they will be repealed on
January 1, 2014. In addition, unless legislation is carried
this year to extend the sunset date for the Interior Design Law,
the entire chapter relating to certified interior designers and
authorizing an interior design organization to issue a
certification stamp to an interior designer will be repealed as
of January 1, 2014.
This bill extends the Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind and the
Interior Design Law for four years to January 1, 2018. The bill
would extend the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology for two
years to January 1, 2016. This bill further makes a number of
legislative changes recommended by the boards and the California
Council for Interior Design Certification as well as
recommendations made in the Committee's background paper.
Background : In March and April of 2013, the Assembly Business,
Professions and Consumer Protection Committee and the Senate
Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee
conducted multiple joint oversight hearings to review 14
regulatory boards and other entities within the DCA. The
legislative committees began their review of these licensing
agencies in March and conducted three days of hearings. This
and other sunset bills are intended to implement the legislative
changes recommended in the respective background reports drafted
by the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development
Committee for all of the agencies reviewed by the Committees
this year.
The sunset review process provides a formal mechanism for DCA;
the Legislature; the regulatory boards, bureaus and committees;
interested parties; and stakeholders to make recommendations for
improvements to the authority of consumer protection boards and
bureaus. This is performed on a standard four-year cycle and
was mandated by SB 2046 (McCorquodale) in 1994. The legislation
pertaining to this bill was based on specific issues raised and
addressed in the reports released by the Senate Business,
Professions and Economic Development Committee.
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Bagley-Keene Act : When the Legislature enacted the Bagley-Keene
Open Meeting Act (Act) of 1967 it essentially said that when a
body sits down to develop its consensus, there needs to be a
seat at the table reserved for the public. In doing so, the
Legislature has provided the public with the ability to monitor
and be part of the decision-making process. The act explicitly
mandates open meetings for California State agencies, boards,
and commissions. The act facilitates transparency of government
activities and protects the rights of citizens to participate in
state government deliberations. Therefore, absent a specific
reason to keep the public out of meetings, the public should be
allowed to monitor and participate in the decision-making
process. Similarly, the California's Brown Act of 1953 protects
citizen's rights to open meetings at the local and county
government levels.
Current law does not require the California Council for Interior
Design Certification (CCIDC) to publicly notice its meetings.
This bill would require meetings of the CCIDC to be subject to
the requirement of Bagley-Keene Act. While the CCDIC is not a
state board or commission, the requirement of private
certification organizations that are authorized by state law to
issue specific certifications to comply with open meeting laws
is consistent with what the Legislature has required for the
massage therapy profession since 2008.
Arguments in support : According to the State Board of Guide
Dogs for the blind, in the 1940s, there were no minimum
standards for guide dog school operation, making it possible for
anyone to start a school. Many schools were inadequate and thus
dogs were poorly trained. In its sunset review report, the
Board reported on several advances and efficiencies since the
Board's last review. The Board also agreed with additional
changes identified by the Senate Business, Professions and
Economic Development Committee. As such, we support SB 308
which would allow the Board to continue providing consumer
protection, services to the Board's licensed schools and
instructors, and ensure a fair and competent marketplace from
which to practice until its new review in 2017.
Double-referred : This measure was heard by the Assembly
Committee on Business, Professions and Consumer Protection on
6/25/13 and passed with a vote of 13-0.
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Related Legislation : SB 304 (Price), 2013-2014 Legislative
Session. The bill would make various changes to the Medical
Practice Act and to the Medical Board of California. (Pending
in the Assembly Business, Professions, and Consumer Protection
Committee)
SB 306 (Price), 2013-2014 Legislative Session. The bill would
have extended until January 1, 2018, the provisions establishing
the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, the Speech Language
Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board, the
Physical Therapy Board of California and the California Board
Occupational Therapy, and extends the terms of the executive
officers of the physical Therapy Board of California and the
Speech Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid
Dispensers Board. The bill was amended to address an unrelated
topic.
SB 307 (Price), 2013-2014 Legislative Session. The bill would
have extended until January, 2018 the term of the Veterinary
Medicine Board, which provides for the licensure and
registration of veterinarians and registered veterinary
technicians and the regulation of the practice of veterinary
medicine by the Veterinary Medical Board. (Held in the Senate
Floor)
SB 309 (Price), 2013-2014 Legislative Session. The bill would
extend the term of the State Athletic Commission, which is
responsible for licensing and regulating boxing, kickboxing, and
martial arts matches and is required to appoint an executive
officer until January 1, 2018. (Pending in the Assembly
Business, Professions, and Consumer Protection Committee)
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
The Board of Barbering and Cosmetology
Guide Dogs of America
State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind
Support Group representing California Certified Interior
Designers
Opposition
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None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Felipe Lopez / G. O. / (916) 319-2531