BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    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          scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2019; and makes  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.

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        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             Repair Advisory Board was repealed by SB 574 (Boatwright,  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  

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          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

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