BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 177
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Susan Bonilla, Chair
AB 177
(Bonilla) - As Amended April 23, 2015
SUBJECT: Professions and vocations: licensing boards:
authority: extension.
SUMMARY: Extends the sunset date for the Board for Professional
Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG), the
California Architects Board (CAB), and the Landscape Architects
Technical Committee (LATC) until January 1, 2020.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Creates the BPELSG within the Department of Consumer Affairs
(DCA) and extends the operation of the BPELSG until January 1,
2016. (Business and Professions Code (BPC) Section 6710)
2)Establishes the Professional Engineers Act, administered by
the BPELSG, within the DCA, which licenses and regulates
professional engineers. (BPC Section 6700 et seq.)
3)Establishes the Land Surveyor's Act, administered by the
BPELSG, within the DCA, which licenses and regulates the
practice of land surveying. (BPC Section 8700 et seq.)
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4)Defines the Professional Engineer's and Land Surveyor's Fund
as a single special fund. (BPC Sections 6797 and 8800)
5)Establishes the Geologist and Geophysicists Act, administered
by the BPELSG, within the DCA, which licenses and regulates
professional geologists and geophysicists. (BPC Section 7800
et seq.)
6)Defines the Geology and Geophysicists Account within the
Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Fund. (BPC Sections
7885 and 7886)
7)Establishes the California Architects Board within the DCA,
which licenses and regulates professional architects under the
Architects Practice Act. (BPC Section 5500 et seq.)
8)Establishes the Landscape Architects Technical Committee,
under the CAB, which licenses and regulates landscape
architects. (BPC Section 5615 et seq.)
THIS BILL:
9)Extends the sunset date for the BPELSG, CAB, and the LATC from
January 1, 2016 to January 1, 2020.
10)Creates the Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and
Geologists Fund by merging the Geology and Geophysics Account
with the Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Fund.
11)Gives the BPELSG the authority to discipline a licensee for
failure to respond to a written request or information from
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the BPELSG stemming from complaint investigation.
12)Clarifies that the written contract requirement for a
licensee must contain a provision for both party's ability to
terminate and the procedure for termination of a contract.
13)Gives the BPELSG the ability to develop the education
standards for licensure as a geologist, geophysicist, or a
geologist-in-training.
14)Makes other conforming and nonsubstantive changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
15)Purpose. This bill is author sponsored. According to the
author, "This bill is necessary to ensure that consumers
continue to be protected through the ongoing licensure and
regulation of architects, landscape architects, engineers,
land surveyors, and geologists."
16)Sunset Review. On March 18th, 2015, the Assembly Business
and Professions Committee and the Senate Business,
Professions, and Economic Development Committee held a "sunset
review" hearing for the BPELSG, the CAB, and the LATC. As
part of the Sunset Review, the BPELSG, the CAB, and the LATC
each prepared a sunset report, which was submitted to the
Committees and Committee staff prepared a background paper on
each board.
A "sunset review" is a performance review of a state agency by
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the Legislature aimed at determining whether that agency
should continue to exist, and if so, whether any statutory
reforms are needed to increase the agency's effectiveness.
Sunset review is triggered by the statutory expiration date
for the agency, which is commonly called a "sunset." Without
an extension of this sunset date, the boards will cease to
exist.
In response to the recommendations in the background paper and
the sunset hearing, this bill extends the sunset date for the
BPELSG, the CAB, and the LATC from January 1, 2016, to January
1, 2020. This bill also incorporates proposed changes to the
function of the BPELSG that arose out of the sunset review
process including the merging of the Geology and Geophysics
Account with the Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Fund; giving the BPELSG the authority to discipline a licensee
for failure to respond to a requires for information relating
to a complaint investigation; and providing clarification of
the licensure requirements for geologist.
BPELSG. The BPELSG is charged with safeguarding the life,
health, property, and public welfare by regulating the
practices of professional engineering, land surveying,
geology, and geophysics. The BPELSG provides this public
service by qualifying and licensing individuals, establishing
regulations, enforcing laws and regulations, and providing
information so that consumers can make informed decisions.
The complexity of engineering, land surveying, geology, and
geophysics projects necessitates a very high degree of
technical knowledge and skill which is typically only acquired
after many years of experience. The vast majority of licensed
engineers hold a college degree in engineering. Land
surveyors make decisions and form opinions based upon
interpretation of legal documents, field evidence, and the use
of technically advanced instrumentation. Licensed geologists
and geophysicists often obtain post-secondary degrees in earth
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sciences and devote many years of experience studying and
interpreting historical data related to soils, earth dynamics,
groundwater, and the effect those have on public improvements.
Merging the Funds. During the 4th Extraordinary Session of
2009, the Legislature merged the Board for Professional
Engineers and Land Surveyors and the Board for Geologists and
Geophysicists, ABx4 20 (Strickland, Chapter 18, Statutes of
2009). At the time of the subsequent sunset review in 2012,
the recommendation was to keep the funds of each board
separate until the functions of the new board integrated.
Initially, the Licensing, Enforcement, and Administrative
units of the BPELSG had separate personnel for geologists and
geophysicists and for engineers and land surveyors.
Presently, the activities and staff of these units are
combined so each unit has authority to regulate all of the
professions under the BPELSG. Despite the merger of these
duties, funds are maintained separately as the Geology and
Geophysics Account within the Professional Engineers and Land
Surveyors Fund. By fiscal year 2015-16, the reserve in the
Geology and Geophysics account is predicted to reach a level
that would require a fee increase. The Professional Engineers
and Land Surveyors Fund is predicted to remain solvent. This
division of funds is the last remnant of the merger. This bill
would combine the accounts to enable the BPELSG to fully
integrate its operations and costs.
Enforcement Delays. One major issue raised in the sunset
review hearing that interferes with the expeditious processing
of a complaint is the lack of authority to require its
licensees to respond to the Board or to provide documents
related to a project which the Enforcement Unit may request
during the course of a complaint investigation. One of the
reasons for delays in the processing of investigations has
been that staff gives the subject of the investigation ample
time and opportunities to respond and provide documents during
the investigation. However, what typically transpires is that
the licensed subjects often think that if they do not respond,
the complaint will simply be closed. While some cases are
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closed due to lack of substantive information in the
complaint, this is unusual. In most cases, the BPELSG must
either proceed based on the information on file or must expend
additional time and resources such as referring the case to
Division of Investigation with the DCA) to obtain the
information. Often, if the BPELSG had received this
information in a timely fashion, the complaint could have been
resolved without any further action being pursued against the
licensee. Presently, the State Board of Licensed Contractors
and the California Medical Board has authority to pursue
disciplinary action against a licensee who fails to respond to
a request from an investigator in the course of an enforcement
action. This bill gives the BPELSG the authority to initiate
disciplinary action for a licensee that fails to respond to a
written request by an investigator in the process of a
complaint investigation.
Education Requirements for Geologists and Geophysicists.
During the sunset review process, the BPELSG identified a
concern relating to the licensure requirements for geologists.
Under the Geology and Geophysics Act, a bachelor's degree in
geology is required, however, the necessary coursework to
qualify for licensure within a geology major it unclear.
Presently, the narrow definition of the education requirement
of having graduated with a degree in geology has created some
confusion in applicants looking for licensure. This results
in an applicant being denied a license because upon review of
the coursework the applicant has insufficient education in the
field. The BPELSG is examining how to better capture new
graduates by clarifying this section of the Geology and
Geophysicists Act. This bill authorizes the BPELSG to
formulate the requirements for licensure through regulation.
Written Contract Requirement. Presently, all of the
professions regulated have the requirement that a written
contract be executed prior to performing professional
services. The language in the BPC provides a loophole that
according to the BPELSG has been used by licensees at the
potential detriment of consumers. Currently, the BPC sections
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require that a contract include description of the procedure
to be used by any party to terminate the contract rather than
giving both parties the ability to terminate the contract.
This provision has resulted in some licensees including only a
provision giving the licensee the ability to terminate. This
bill would clarify that the licensee must include language in
a written contract about how both parties can terminate the
contract.
CAB and LATC. The CAB was created in 1901 by the Legislature to
fulfill the mission of protecting the health, safety, and
welfare of the public through the regulation of the practice
of architecture. The CAB establishes regulations for the
examination and licensing of the architecture profession in
California, which today numbers approximately 21,000 licensed
architects and approximately 11,000 candidates who are in the
process of meeting examination and licensure requirements.
The mission of the CAB is to protect the public health,
safety, and welfare through the regulation of the practice of
architecture and landscape architecture in California.
California began regulating the practice of landscape
architecture in 1953. The LATC, under the purview of the CAB,
was created by the Legislature to protect the health, safety,
and welfare of the public by establishing license standards
and enforcing the laws and regulations that govern the
practice of landscape architecture in California. The LATC is
responsible for the examination, licensure, and enforcement
programs concerning landscape architects. The LATC currently
licenses more than 3,500 of the over 16,400 licensed landscape
architects in the United States. The mission of the LATC is
to regulate the practice of landscape architecture in a manner
which protects the public health, safety, and welfare and
safeguards the environment, as specified.
In fulfilling their missions, the CAB and the LATC have found
that acting preventively and proactively is the best use of
its resources. Because of the nature of the design
profession, there are numerous opportunities to prevent minor
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problems from becoming disasters. As such, the CAB and the
LATC works to aggressively address issues well before they
exacerbate into catastrophes. In the CAB's Enforcement
Program, for example, this means cooperatively working with
building departments through the CAB's first-of-its-kind
Building Official Contact Program. The CAB and the LATC work
closely with professional groups to ensure that licensees
understand changes in laws, codes, and standards, and monitor
changes in industry and the environment to ensure licensure
and regulation reflect current needs. The CAB and the LATC
also invest in communicating with consumers, schools, licensed
professionals, and related professions and organizations. To
ensure the effectiveness of these endeavors, the CAB and the
LATC works to upgrade and enhance its communications by
constantly seeking feedback and analyzing the results of its
communications efforts.
Review of the CAB and LATC Issues. While the Committees
raised a number of issues relating to the CAB and the LATC,
none required any statutory changes. As a result, the only
change necessary was the extension of the CAB and the LATC
until January 1, 2020. The following are some of issues
pertaining to the CAB and LATC reviewed and discussed by the
Committees during the review of the Bureau, along with
background information concerning each particular issue.
Recommendations were made by Committee staff regarding the
particular issues or problem areas which needed to be
addressed.
Issue: Travel Restrictions. Several boards have reported
difficulty receiving approval on in-state and out-of-state
travel. Like many other professional licensing boards, the
CAB relies upon a national examination, the Architect
Registration Examination (ARE), which is developed,
administered, and scored by National Council of Architectural
Registration Boards (NCARB), and NCARB's intern development
program in lieu of its own. Additionally, the CAB relies upon
NCARB's Certificate when granting reciprocity for out-of-state
licensees. The CAB's involvement in NCARB efforts, like the
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practice analysis, helps ensure that NCARB projects, programs,
and policies reflect California's needs. In addition, LATC
relies upon a national examination, the Landscape Architect
Registration Examination, which is developed, administered,
and scored by the Council of Landscape Architectural
Registration Boards (CLARB). As such, the CAB's and LATC's
participation is critical to ensure California's interests are
expressed and that the boards are given consideration in
decisions that affect California stakeholders. While the cost
of a Board Member traveling to an out-of-state meeting is a
fraction of a percent of the board's budget, attendance can
yield exponential benefits that can save significant
resources. The CAB and the LATC have both noted difficult
receiving travel request approvals, however, have reported
recent successes in obtaining approvals.
Recommendation: The Committees should encourage the CAB and
the LATC to pursue opportunities at which its Members and
Officers can interact directly with their national peers, and
provide a strong voice for California's unique perspective and
needs. The CAB and the LATC should inform the Committees of
whether it continues to face travel restrictions that prohibit
it from attending meetings where its representation could
significantly impact California's ability to ensure that
national examinations or standards reflect California's needs
and protect California licensees, candidates for licensure,
and consumers.
Issue: BreEZe Implementation. The CAB and the LATC was
scheduled for Release Three, and with the cancellation of the
BreEZe contract, it is unclear when the boards will undergo
technology upgrades that aim to increase efficiencies for
licensees and Board staff. A recent audit report conducted by
the California State Auditor, California Department of
Consumer Affairs' BreEZe System, found that "the future
implementation of BreEZe is uncertain at best and, as it
relates to the regulatory entities originally included in the
final release [Release Three], likely unfeasible."
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Recommendation: The CAB and the LATC should inform the
Committees of any difficulties it foresees as a result of
having to remain on its legacy system, and whether any
additional stop-gap technological measures are needed until
BreEZe is implemented. The CAB and the LATC should inform the
Committees of how costs related to BreEZe will impact its fund
condition.
17)Current Related Legislation.
AB 320 (Wood) of the current legislative session, adds the title
"environmental engineer" to the list of professional engineers
currently given Title Act protection and prevents a person
from using that title unless licensed by the Board for
Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists
(BPELSG). This bill also exempts licensed civil, electrical,
and mechanical engineers from additional qualifications to use
the title, "environmental engineer."
REGISTERED SUPPORT:
California Council of the American Society of Landscape
Architects
American Council of Engineering Companies
REGISTERED OPPOSITION:
None on file.
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Analysis Prepared by:Eunie Linden / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301,
Christian Jagusch / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301