BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 308
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 308 (Lieu)
As Amended August 5, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :38-0
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 13-0 GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATION 16-0
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|Ayes:|Gordon, Jones, Bocanegra, |Ayes:|Hall, Nestande, Bigelow, |
| |Campos, Dickinson, | |Campos, Chesbro, Cooley, |
| |Bonilla, Hagman, Holden, | |Gray, Hagman, Roger |
| |Maienschein, Mullin, | |Hernández, Jones-Sawyer, |
| |Skinner, Ting, Wilk | |Levine, Medina, Perea, |
| | | |V. Manuel Pérez, Salas, |
| | | |Waldron |
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APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, | | |
| |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian | | |
| |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, | | |
| |Gomez, Hall, Holden, | | |
| |Linder, Pan, Quirk, | | |
| |Wagner, Weber | | |
| | | | |
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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 to 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
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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,
g) A written disclosure stating whether or not 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)Clarifies that a written contract includes a contract in
electronic form.
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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
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 be
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:
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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;
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 misrepresentation;
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.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, annual fee-supported special fund costs associated
with continued operation of the following regulatory entities,
as follows:
1) BBC - approximately $23 million in revenue and
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approximately $20 million in expenditures.
2) Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind - approximately
$150,000 in revenue and approximately $200,000 in
expenditures.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the bill . This bill is one of four "sunset bills"
which extend the operations of certain boards, bureaus and
committees regulated by the Department of Consumer Affairs
(DCA) and make various other regulatory improvement.
Specifically, this bill extends until January 1, 2018, the
provisions establishing the Interior Design Law for CIDs, and
the Board regulating the training of guide dogs for the blind.
Additionally, this bill extends until January 1, 2016, the
provisions establishing the BBC and the term of its executive
officer. This bill makes other changes regarding the Interior
Design Law and the regulatory programs of the Board as well.
This bill is sponsored by the author.
2)Author's statement . According to the author, "This bill is
one of four 'sunset review' bills. Unless legislation is
carried this year to extend the sunset dates for the Board
[and] BBC, 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 CIDs 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 and the Interior Design Law for four years
to January 1, 2018. The bill would extend the BBC 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 (CCIDC)
as well as recommendations made in the Committee's background
paper [issued in conjunction with the joint sunset review
hearings held in March-April 2013]."
3)Joint oversight hearings and sunset review of DCA licensing
boards . 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
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regulatory boards and other entities within the DCA. The
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 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.
4)California Council for Interior Design Certification . Current
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
through education, experience and examination. The California
Council for Interior Design Certification (CCIDC) was created
by a coalition of professional interior design organizations
in January of 1992 with the intent of being the organization
responsible for determining whether interior designers meet
the education, experience and examination requirements. The
law provides for an "interior design organization" to
administer voluntary certification. Through 2011 CCIDC
certified some 2,255 interior designers. In 2011, CCIDC
received and approved 126 applications, and renewed
approximately 1,000 certificates.
The specific components of this bill aim to address some of
the issues pertaining to the CCIDC that were reviewed and
discussed during the sunset review of the CCIDC. This bill
requires the usage of written contracts to better protect
consumers, extends the sunset date of the Interior Design Law
until January 1, 2018, and further requires meetings of the
CCIDC be subject to the open-meeting requirements of the
Bagley-Keene Act.
5)State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind . The Board was
established on January 1, 1948, to ensure that blind persons
receive well-trained guide dogs, to confirm that blind persons
are thoroughly trained to be effective and safe guide dog
users, and to assure donors to guide dog charities that their
donations will be used for the intended charitable purpose.
The Board licenses guide dog schools, guide dog instructors,
and fundraising programs to open new guide dog schools. The
Board inspects all schools, requires new active guide dog
instructors to take a legally defensible written and practical
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examination, and requires instructors to submit proof of eight
hours of continuing education each year to remain licensed.
California is the only State with a regulatory program to
address guide dog instructors, trainers and schools. During
fiscal years 2011-12 the Board had a licensing population of
109 active guide dog instructors, and the Board oversees three
guide dog schools located throughout California. Amendments
to these provisions include the extension of the dispute
arbitration program and extension of the Board's authorization
until January 1, 2018.
6)Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (BBC) . The BBC is
responsible for the licensing and regulation of barbers,
cosmetologists, estheticians, electrologists, manicurists,
apprentices and establishments. The BBC is an autonomous
regulatory entity under DCA, with full policy and enforcement
authority over the practices of hair, skin and nail care, and
electrolysis in the state. The Barbering and Cosmetology Act
(Act) regulates the practice of barbering, cosmetology and
electrolysis. Title protection is provided for the use of the
term "cosmetologist" and "barber." The Act also regulates the
specialty branches of skin care and nail care within the
practice of cosmetology. The BBC currently regulates over
500,000 licensees.
Because the BBC has some expertise in the educational and
training requirements for its licensees to safely interact
with clients, it is no doubt appropriate for the BBC to have
some form of approval over barbering, cosmetology and
electrology programs offered in California. It is also
appropriate for the BBC to have the ability to remove its
approval of schools and programs that do not meet the
educational quality standards necessary for an individual to
learn how to be a safe, effective beauty practitioner.
However, it also appears that the BPPE serves an important
function in the continued approval and oversight it provides
to schools, as well as the student protections. This bill
therefore combines the school approval role of both the BBC
and the BPPE, providing the BBC with the authority to close
down bad schools as well.
Analysis Prepared by : Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
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FN: 0002132