BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1242| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 1242 Author: Lieu (D), et al. Amended: As introduced Vote: 21 SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV.COMM. : 9-0, 4/28/14 AYES: Lieu, Wyland, Berryhill, Block, Corbett, Galgiani, Hernandez, Hill, Padilla SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/14 AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg SUBJECT : Automotive repair: Bureau of Automotive Repair SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill subjects the powers and duties of the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature as if these provisions were scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2019; and makes technical, updating and correcting changes to the Automotive Repair Act. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Licenses and regulates automotive repair dealers (ARDs), under the Automotive Repair Act, by the BAR. CONTINUED SB 1242 Page 2 2. Requires that in 2003, and every four years thereafter, the Joint Committee on Boards, Commissions, and Consumer Protection hold a public hearing to evaluate and review the effectiveness and efficiency of the BAR, as specified. 3. Provides for the Governor to appoint, subject to confirmation by the Senate, a chief of the BAR; and specifies that before a chief is appointed, the Governor shall give due consideration to any person(s) recommended by the Bureau of Automotive Repair Advisory Board. [The Bureau of Automotive Repair Advisory Board was repealed by SB 574 (Boatwright, Chapter 1264, Statutes of 1993).] This bill: 1. Subjects the powers and duties of the BAR to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature as if these provisions were scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2019. 2. Deletes the outdated requirement for the BAR to be reviewed in 2003, and removes an obsolete reference to the repealed joint committee. 3. Repeals the outdated provision requiring the Governor, in appointing a chief of the BAR, to give due consideration to a person recommend by the Bureau of Automotive Repair Advisory Board. Background This bill is one of six "sunset review bills" authored by the Chair of the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development (BPED) Committee. This bill provides for the BAR to be reviewed by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, and makes legislative changes regarding the BAR recommended in the Committee's background paper. In 2014, the Senate BPED Committee and the Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee conducted joint oversight hearings to review nine regulatory entities: BAR; Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation; Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education; California Massage Therapy Certification program; California Board of Acupuncture; California Tax Preparer program; Dental Hygiene Committee of CONTINUED SB 1242 Page 3 California; Professional Fiduciaries Bureau; and the Structural Pest Control Board. The Committees began their review of the aforementioned licensing agencies in March and conducted two days of hearings. This bill, and the accompanying sunset bills, are intended to implement legislative changes as recommended in the Committee's Background Papers prepared for each agency and program reviewed by the Committees for this year. NOTE: For a summary of the issues and recommendations relating to the BAR, including technical cleanup, exempt areas of practice, and continued preparation by BAR, refer to the Senate BPED Committee analysis of April 28, 2014. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, projected expenditures of approximately $195 million annually (Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund, High Polluter Repair or Removal Account, Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount), supporting 592.4 personnel years until January 1, 2019, fully offset by specified fee revenues and transfers of over $200 million, based on the proposed 2014-15 Budget. The Department of Consumer Affairs indicates that subjecting the BAR to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, as specified, and making updates to the Automotive Repair Act will have minor and absorbable costs within existing resources. MW:k 5/23/14 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED **** END **** CONTINUED