BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 177 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 177 (Bonilla) - As Amended April 23, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Business and Professions |Vote:|14 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill 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) from January 1, 2016, to January 1, AB 177 Page 2 2020. FISCAL EFFECT: 1)On-going annual Special Fund costs of approximately $9.6 million (Professional Engineer's and Land Surveyor's Fund) and $1.4 million (Geology and Geophysics Account) to extend the BPELSG beyond the January 1, 2016, sunset date. This fund is self-supporting with fee revenue. 2)On-going annual Special Fund costs of approximately $3.9 million (California Architects Board Fund) to extend the CAB beyond the January 1, 2016, sunset date. This fund is self-supporting with fee revenue. 3)On-going annual Special Fund costs of approximately $1.0 million (Landscape Architects Fund) to extend the LACT beyond the January 1, 2016, sunset date. This fund is self-supporting with fee revenue. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. This bill is one of five author-sponsored sunset bills. 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. 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, and incorporates changes to the BPELSG that arose out of the sunset review process. According to the author, "This bill is necessary to ensure that AB 177 Page 3 consumers continue to be protected through the ongoing licensure and regulation of architects, landscape architects, engineers, land surveyors, and geologists." 2)Background. BPELSG. The BPELSG regulates the practices of professional engineering, land surveying, geology, and geophysics. The BPELSG duties include qualifying and licensing individuals, establishing regulations, enforcing laws and regulations, and providing information so that consumers can make informed decisions. The BPELSG licenses and regulates more than 78,400 professional civil, mechanical, and electrical engineers, 4,200 land surveyors, 5,300 geologists and geophysicists, over 14,600 others. CAB and LATC. The CAB regulates the practice of architecture in California. It 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 LATC, under the purview of the CAB, was created to establish license standards and enforce the laws and regulations that govern the practice of landscape architecture in California. The LATC currently licenses more than 3,500 of the over 16,400 licensed landscape architects in the United States. 3)Current Legislation. AB 320 (Wood), pending on the Assembly Floor, 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). The bill also exempts licensed civil, electrical, and mechanical engineers from additional qualifications to use the title, "environmental engineer." AB 177 Page 4 Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081