BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 177
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
177 (Bonilla)
As Amended April 23, 2015
Majority vote
-------------------------------------------------------------------
|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+----------------------+--------------------|
|Business & |14-0 |Bonilla, Jones, | |
|Professions | |Baker, Bloom, Burke, | |
| | |Chang, Dodd, Eggman, | |
| | |Gatto, Holden, | |
| | |Mullin, Ting, Wilk, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-------------------------------------------------------------------
AB 177
Page 2
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. Specifically, this bill:
1)Extends the sunset date for the BPELSG, CAB, and the LATC from
January 1, 2016, to January 1, 2020.
2)Creates the Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and
Geologists Fund by merging the Geology and Geophysics Account
with the Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Fund.
3)Gives the BPELSG the authority to discipline a licensee for
failure to respond to a written request or information from the
BPELSG stemming from a complaint investigation.
4)Clarifies that the written contract requirement for a licensee
must contain a provision for both parties' ability to terminate
and the procedure for termination of a contract.
5)Authorizes the BPELSG to develop the education standards for
licensure as a geologist, geophysicist, or a
geologist-in-training.
6)Makes other conforming and non-substantive changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
AB 177
Page 3
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:
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."
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 the
Legislature aimed at determining whether that agency should
AB 177
Page 4
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
request for information relating to a complaint investigation; and
providing clarification of the licensure requirements for
geologist.
BPELSG: 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, AB 20 X4 (Strickland), Chapter 18, Statutes of
2009-10 Fourth Extraordinary Session. 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. This bill
would combine the accounts to enable the BPELSG to fully integrate
its operations and costs.
AB 177
Page 5
BPELSG: Enforcement Delays. One major issue raised in the sunset
review hearing relating to the expeditious processing of a
complaint is the lack of authority to require its licensees to
respond to the BPELSG or to provide documents in response to a
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, licensees often think that if they do not
respond, the complaint will simply be closed. While some cases
are 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 Department of Consumer Affairs 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 Contractors State License Board and the
Medical Board of California have 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.
BPELSG: Education Requirements for Geologists and Geophysicists.
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. This education requirement 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 may not have 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
AB 177
Page 6
the requirements for licensure through regulation.
BPELSG: Written Contract Requirement. Presently, all of the
regulated professions require a written contract to be executed
prior to performing professional services. The language in the
Business and Professions Code provides a loophole that, according
to the BPELSG, has been used by licensees at the potential
detriment of consumers. Currently, the Business and Professions
Code sections 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.
Analysis Prepared by:
Eunie Linden / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301 FN:
0000678