BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|Hearing Date:April 29, 2013 |Bill No:SB |
| |822 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Curren D. Price, Jr., Chair
Bill No: SB 822Author:Business, Professions and
Economic Development Committee
As Amended:April 22, 2013 Fiscal:Yes
SUBJECT: Professions and vocations.
SUMMARY: Makes several non-controversial, minor, non-substantive or
technical changes to various provisions within the Business and
Professions Code (BPC) relating to the regulatory boards of the
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).
Existing law:
1)Provides for the licensing and regulation of various professions and
businesses by some
23 boards, 4 committees, 9 bureaus, and 1 commission within the DCA
under various licensing acts within the BPC.
2)Establishes certain general provisions of the BPC:
a) Transfers the duties, powers, purpose, responsibilities, and
jurisdiction of the Cemetery Board and the Board of Funeral
Directors and Embalmers to the Department of Consumer Affairs as
of January 1, 1996. (BPC § 102.1)
b) Requires the Structural Pest Control Board to make certain
reports during the 1995/1996 Budget Year. (BPC § 102.2)
3)Makes the following provisions relating to the California Board of
Accountancy (CBA):
a) Provides that, effective July 1, 2013, a licensed certified
public accountant (CPA) from another state may practice in
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California subject to certain requirements, including notifying
the CBA within 15 days of any disciplinary action taken against
them by another state for fraud, gross negligence, theft,
embezzlement, reckless accounting practice, or if the licensee is
barred by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or
the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or if the
licensee's right to practice is suspended by any government
entity. (BPC § 5096)
b) Authorizes CBA to issue citations and fines to California
licensees who violate specified sections of law. Beginning July
1, 2013, the law authorizes the CBA to revoke, suspend, or fine a
practice privilege holder for specified violations. (BPC §
5096.2)
4)Contains the following provisions relating to the Contractors State
License Board (CSLB):
a) Authorizes a contractor that meets specified experience
conditions, to waive the applicable license classification exam
and obtain an additional license classification based solely on
the qualifier's experience, and requires that at least 3% of
these "waiver applications" undergo a "comprehensive field
investigation" and that every waiver application that is approved
be reported to the CSLB at each of the quarterly meetings as
specified.
(BPC § 7065.3)
b) Authorizes the registrar to order a licensee who aids and
abets unlicensed practice to make restitution through a citation
in lieu of an accusation. (BPC § 7114)
c) Requires a licensee to submit an acceptable renewal
application prior to expiration of the license in order to avoid
a break in time in the license record and a delinquency fee
($180.00 for an active license). (BPC § 7141)
5)Contains the following provisions relating to Board of Guide Dogs for
the Blind (BGDB):
a) Provides that the BGDB shall hold regular meetings at least
once a year at which an examination of applicants for
certificates of registration shall be given. (BPC § 7206)
b) Refers to "guide dog and seeing-eye dog." (BPC § 7210)
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6)Contains the following provisions relating to Board for Professional
Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists (BPELSG):
a) Authorizes the BPELSG to issue a retired status license for
professional engineers and land surveyors but does not authorize
a retired license status professional geologist or geophysicist.
b) Establishes criteria for a land surveyor to file a record of
survey. (BPC § 8773)
7)Contains the following provisions relating to Fictitious Business
Name Statements:
a) Makes various references to "married couple" throughout the
law dealing with fictitious business names, but refers to
"husband and wife" in BPC § 17914.
This bill:
1)Repeals outdated provisions of the BPC. (BPC §§ 102.1, 102.2)
2)Makes the following changes relating to the California Board of
Accountancy (CBA):
a) Requires an out-of-state licensee to notify the CBA of pending
criminal charges and allow the CBA to initiate an investigation
to determine whether there is immediate consumer harm. (BPC §
5096)
b) Authorizes the CBA to issue citations to out-of-state
licensees practicing in California under practice privilege.
(BPC §§ 5096.2, 5096.12)
3)Makes the following changes relating to the Contractors State License
Board (CSLB):
a) Repeals a redundant requirement that requires a license
application to be posted for public review before the license is
issued, and removes an outdated requirement to conduct a "field"
investigation of a licensee's qualification for a specialty
license (BPC § 7065.3)
b) Clarifies the registrar's authority to order a licensee to
make restitution for aiding or abetting unlicensed activity.
(BPC § 7114)
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c) Provides that an incomplete license renewal submitted prior to
the license expiration date, and returned to the licensee by the
CSLB shall not be subject to the delinquency fee if the applicant
corrects the application and returns it within 30 days of the
expiration date.
(BPC § 7141)
4)Makes the following changes relating to the Board of Guide Dogs for
the Blind (BGDB):
a) Strikes a reference to the board members administering
licensing examinations to guide dog instructors. (BPC § 7206)
b) Makes conforming changes by striking out a reference to
"seeing-eye dog" and only referring to "guide dog," and makes
technical changes. (BPC § 7210)
5)Makes the following changes relating to the Board for Professional
Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists (BPELSG):
a) Establishes a retired status license for a professional
geologist or geophysicist.
(BPC § 7206)
b) Sets the fee for a retired registration for a professional
geologist or geophysicist at not more than 50% of the license
fee. (BPC § 7887)
6)Makes the following changes relating to Fictitious Business Name
Statements:
a) Makes a conforming change to refer to "married couple" rather
than to "husband and wife." (BPC § 17914)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill has been keyed "fiscal" by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose. This bill is one of three "committee bills" authored by the
Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee (Committee)
and is intended to consolidate a number of non-controversial
provisions related to various regulatory programs and professions
governed by the BPC. Consolidating the provisions in one bill is
designed to relieve the various licensing boards, bureaus,
professions and other regulatory agencies from the necessity and
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burden of having separate measures for a number of non-controversial
revisions.
Many of the provisions of this bill are minor, technical and updating
changes, while other provisions are substantive changes intended to
improve the ability of various licensing programs and other entities
to efficiently and effectively administer their respective laws.
However, as a Committee bill, if controversy or opposition should arise
regarding any provision that cannot be resolved, then that provision
will be removed from the bill. This will eliminate the chance of
placing any of the other provisions in jeopardy.
2.Background. The following is background and reasons for the more
significant and substantive provisions in this measure:
a) General Provisions. As a Trailer Bill to the Budget Act of
1995, the BPC § 102.1 transferred the duties, powers, purpose,
responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the Cemetery Board and the
Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers to the DCA as of January
1, 1996. Under the terms of this law, the transfer was to be
operative only during the period that legislation is not enacted
to consolidate or otherwise restructure the Cemetery Board and
the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Board into another board or
entity (BPC § 102.1 (d)). In 2000, AB 2888 (Consumer Protection,
Governmental Efficiency and Economic Development Committee,
Chapter 568, Statutes of 2000) consolidated the Cemetery Board
and Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers into the current
Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, thereby setting aside Section 102.1.
The BPC § 102.2 simply required the Structural Pest Control Board
to make certain reports during the 1995/1996 Budget Year.
Both of these sections are outdated and no longer needed. (BPC §§
102.1 and 102.2)
b) Board of Accountancy. According to the CBA, an out-of-state
licensee who exercises a practice privilege in California is
required to notify the CBA within 15 days of the occurrence of
any disciplinary action from another state for fraud, gross
negligence, theft, embezzlement, reckless accounting practice, or
if the licensee is barred by the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission or the Public Company Accounting Oversight
Board, or if the licensee's right to practice is suspended by any
government entity. However, an out-of-state licensee who
exercises a practice privilege in California is not required to
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notify the CBA of any pending criminal charges. As a result, the
CBA will receive inconsistent notifications of pending criminal
charges. This bill would require an out of state licensee
practicing in California to notify the CBA of any pending
criminal charges.
The CBA is authorized by Section 125.9 of the Business and
Professions Code (B&P Code) to issue citations and fines to
California licensees who violate specified sections of law.
Beginning July 1, 2013, Section 5096.2 will authorize the CBA to
revoke, suspend, or fine a practice privilege holder for
specified violations. The law, as it presently exists, does not
authorize the CBA to issue citations to out-of-state licensees
practicing in California.
c) Contractors State License Board. According to the CSLB, there
are duplicative posting requirements under the Contractors Law.
BPC § 7080.5 requires that all applications for licensure
(including waiver applications) be posted for public review, and
BPC § 7065.3 requires applications for an additional license
classification to be posted for public review, before the
additional license classification is issued. CSLB further states
that investigations for additional license classifications do not
require any type of review in the "field." Because of the
conditions required for approval, the investigations consist
strictly of review of documentation that must be submitted by the
contractor. The term "field" as used in § 7065.3 is superfluous.
CSLB states without the change to BPC § 7114, a restitution order
cannot be included in an accusation even though the underlying
charge of aiding and abetting unlicensed practice is included in
the pleading for disciplinary action. As such, restitution could
not be a condition for reinstatement of the license, leaving the
consumer with no alternative but to try to recoup the financial
loss through a civil action.
CSLB states that every month a number of licensee renewal
applications contain simple errors, such as missing signatures on
the application. Because of these errors the applications cannot
be processed and must be returned to the licensee for
corrections. Even though CSLB sends renewal applications 60 days
prior to the expiration date, applications are often postmarked a
week (or less) prior to the expiration date, allowing very little
time for processing and returning incomplete renewals. For such
cases licensees who must mail in corrected applications will, in
addition to experiencing a break in current license status, be
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required to pay the delinquency fee even though they made a
good-faith effort to submit a timely application.
d) Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind. According to BGDB, in
2005, the BDGB adopted an Occupational Analysis which ultimately
recommended the guide dog instructor exam no longer be
administered by the BGDB, but instead, administered by a panel of
subject matter experts in order to be legally defensible.
Therefore, the BDGB is requesting a clarifying amendment to BPC §
7206.
BGDB states that the law refers to "guide dogs or seeing-eye dogs."
However, "seeing-eye dog" refers to a specific type of dog from
a particular guide dog school, according to BGDB, and reference
to the term should be eliminated. (BPC § 7210)
e) Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and
Geologists. The BPELSG states that a geologist or geophysicist
who retires from the profession, has one of two options; either
stop paying the renewal fee which causes the license to go to a
delinquent status after the license expiration date, and
eventually to a cancelled status, (five years after the license
expiration date), or to continue to pay the renewal fee every two
years to keep the license in an active status even though they
are retired from the profession.
A delinquent or cancelled status can often have a negative
connotation because it implies that the individual has not
complied with a requirement. The license status is public
information and prominently displayed on the BPELSG's website,
making the delinquent status available for anyone to see. Some
licensees have requested to have the option of a retired license
status because they have worked hard, accomplished much and take
pride in having passed the examinations and maintaining a license
in good standing for many years. A delinquent or cancelled
status can be viewed as a huge downgrade after several years in a
prestigious status. However, choosing to maintain a current
license status is
costly, especially for an individual that is no longer working and
possibly on a fixed income due to retirement from the profession.
In addition, under the Professional Engineers Act and the
Professional Land Surveyors Act, engineers and land surveyors
have the choice of a retired status, while geologists and
geophysicists do not have that option.
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f) Fictitious Business Name Statements. According to the
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, AB 1325
(Lara, Chapter 368, Statutes of 2012) made a number of changes
relating to fictitious business names, including making reference
to a "married couple" throughout the law dealing with fictitious
business names, rather than to "husband and wife." A conforming
change should be made in BPC § 17914.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists
Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials
Contractors State License Board
Executive Officer, California Board of Accountancy
Opposition:
None received as of April 23, 2013
Consultant:G. V. Ayers