AB 921, as amended, Jones. Private investigators: Disciplinary Review Committee: licensure.
The Private Investigator Act provides for the licensure and regulation of private investigators by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services within the Department of Consumer Affairs and requires the Director of Consumer Affairs to administer and enforce the act. The act authorizes the director to deny, suspend, or revoke a license if the director determines, among other things, that any provision of the act was violated by the licensee. The act also authorizes the director to impose a civil penalty of no greater than $500 instead of suspending or revoking a license issued under the act for the violation of specified provisions if the director determines that the imposition of the civil penalty better serves the purposes of the act. The act requires an application for a license to be verified and include certain information, including, but not limited to, the full name and business address of the applicant.
This bill would require the Governor to appoint a Private Investigator Disciplinary Review Committee, and would authorize the Governor to remove any member of the committee for misconduct, incompetency, or neglect of duty. The bill would require the committee to consist of 3 members actively engaged in the business of a licensed private investigator and 2 public members and would require members to be appointed for a term of 4 years. The bill would require the committee to meet every 60 days or more or less frequently as may be required, and would require that the members be paid per diem and be reimbursed for actual travel expenses. The bill would require the committee to perform certain functions, including affirming, rescinding, or modifyingbegin delete all appealedend delete decisions concerning administrativebegin delete fines,end deletebegin insert
finesend insert orbegin insert theend insert denial, suspension, or revocation of licensesbegin insert that are appealed to the committeeend insert, as specified. The bill would authorize the committee to grant a probationarybegin delete license, certificate, registration, or permitend deletebegin insert licenseend insert with respect to appealed decisions, as specified. The bill would authorize a person licensed under the act to appeal the assessment of an administrative fine to the committee, and would authorize a person denied, suspended of, or revoked of a license to appeal to the committee, except as specified, if the appeal is in writing and made within 30 days of
the assessment of the fine or denial, suspension, or revocation of the license. The bill would require the committee to notify the appellant in writing, by regular mail, of the committee’s decision within 30 days of that decision. The bill would also authorize the appellant to request a hearing, as specified, if, among other things, the appellant disagrees with the committee’s decision regarding the appeal. The bill would require that all evidence used by the bureau be provided to the committee prior to hearing an appeal. The bill would make the above provisions operative on July 1, 2017.
This bill would also authorize an applicant to, at his or her discretion, include a valid email address on the application.
Existing law requires an applicant, or his or her manager, for a license as a private investigator to have had at least 3 years’ experience in investigation work. Existing law requires an applicant to substantiate the claimed years of qualifying experience and the exact details as to the character and nature thereof by written certifications from the employer, subject to independent verification by the Director of Consumer Affairs as he or she may determine. Under existing law, the business of each licensee is required to be operated under the active direction, control, charge, or management, in this state, of the licensee, if he or she is qualified, or the person who is qualified to act as the licensee’s manager, if the licensee is not qualified. Existing law prohibits a person from acting as a qualified manager of a licensee until he or she has complied with certain requirements.
This bill would additionally authorize that written certification to be from a qualified manager, as specified.
Existing law requires experience for purposes of taking the examination for licensure as a private investigator to be limited to those activities actually performed in connection with investigations, as defined, and only if those activities are performed by persons who are employed in certain specified capacities.
This bill would additionally authorize such activities to be performed by persons who are managed, as specified, in those capacities.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 7519.1 is added to the Business and
2Professions Code, immediately following Section 7519, to read:
(a) The Governor shall appoint a Private Investigator
4Disciplinary Review Committee, and may remove any member of
5the committee for misconduct, incompetency, or neglect of duty.
6(b) The committee shall consist of three members actively
7engaged in the business of a licensed private investigator and two
8public members. The public members shall not be licensees or
9registrants, or engage in any business or profession in which any
10part of the fees, compensation, or revenue thereof, is derived from
11any licensee.
12(c) The committee shall meet every 60 days or more or less
13frequently as may be required. The members
shall be paid per diem
14pursuant to Section 103 and shall be reimbursed for actual travel
15expenses. The members shall be appointed for a term of four years.
P4 1(d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2017.
Section 7519.2 is added to the Business and Professions
3Code, to read:
(a) The Private Investigator Disciplinary Review
5Committee shall perform the following functions:
6(1) Affirm, rescind, or modify allbegin delete appealedend delete decisions concerning
7administrative fines assessed by the bureau against private
8begin delete investigators.end deletebegin insert investigators that are appealed to the committee.end insert
9(2) Affirm, rescind, or modify allbegin delete appealedend delete
decisions concerning
10denial, suspension, or revocation ofbegin delete licenses, and certificates, begin insert licensesend insert or permits issued by the bureau, except
11registrations,end delete
12denials, suspensions, or revocations ordered by the director in
13accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of
14Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Governmentbegin delete Code.end deletebegin insert Code that
15are appealed to the committee.end insert
16(b) The committee may grant a probationarybegin delete license, certificate, begin insert
licenseend insert with respect to the appealed decisions
17registration, or permitend delete
18described in subdivision (a).
19(c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2017.
Section 7519.3 is added to the Business and Professions
21Code, to read:
(a) (1) A person licensed with the department under
23this chapter may appeal the assessment of an administrative fine
24to the Private Investigator Disciplinary Review Committee. A
25person denied, suspended of, or revoked of a license under this
26chapter may appeal to the committee, unless the denial, suspension,
27or revocation of the license is ordered by the director in accordance
28with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of
29Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
30(2) A request for an appeal to the committee shall be made in
31a written notice to the department within 30 days of the assessment
32of an administrative fine or denial,
suspension, or revocation of a
33license.
34(3) Following review by the committee of the appeal, the
35appellant shall be notified in writing, by regular mail, within 30
36days of the committee’s decision on the appeal.
37(4) If the appellant disagrees with the decision made by the
38committee, the appellant may request a hearing as described in
39subdivision (b). A request for a hearing following a decision by
P5 1the committee shall be made by written notice to the department
2within 30 days following notice of the committee’s decision.
3(5) If the appellant does not request a hearing within those 30
4days, the committee’s decision shall become final.
5(b) (1) A person licensed with the department under this chapter
6may request a hearing in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing
7with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
8Government Code if he or she contests an assessment of an
9administrative fine, or to appeal a denial, suspension, or revocation
10of a license. A hearing may also be requested, if the appellant
11disagrees with the decision made by the committee.
12(2) A request for a hearing shall be made by written notice to
13the department within 30 days following the issuance of the
14decision by the committee. A hearing pursuant to this subdivision
15shall be available only after a review by the committee.
16(c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2017.
Section 7519.4 is added to the Business and Professions
18Code, to read:
(a) The Private Investigator Disciplinary Review
20Committee shall be provided all evidence used by the bureau in
21reaching its decision prior to hearing an appeal.
22(b) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2017.
Section 7525.1 of the Business and Professions Code,
24as amended by Section 4 of Chapter 669 of the Statutes of 2014,
25is amended to read:
An application shall be verified and shall include:
27(a) The full name and business address of the applicant.
28(b) The name under which the applicant intends to do business.
29(c) A statement as to the general nature of the business in which
30the applicant intends to engage.
31(d) A verified statement of his or her experience qualifications.
32(e) (1) If the applicant is an individual, a qualified manager, a
33partner of a partnership, an officer of a corporation
designated in
34subdivision (h), or a managing member of a limited liability
35company designated in subdivision (i), one personal identification
36form provided by the bureau upon which shall appear a photograph
37taken within one year immediately preceding the date of the filing
38of the application together with two legible sets of fingerprints,
39one set of which shall be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of
40Investigation for purposes of a background check, on a form
P6 1approved by the Department of Justice, and a personal description
2of each person, respectively. The identification form shall include
3residence addresses and employment history for the previous five
4years and be signed under penalty of perjury.
5(2) The bureau may impose a fee not to exceed three dollars
6($3) for processing classifiable fingerprint cards submitted by
7applicants,
excluding those submitted into an electronic fingerprint
8system using electronic fingerprint technology.
9(f) In addition, if the applicant for a license is an individual, the
10application shall list all other names known as or used during the
11past 10 years and shall state that the applicant is to be personally
12and actively in charge of the business for which the license is
13sought. If any other qualified manager is to be actively in charge
14of the business, the application shall be subscribed, verified, and
15signed by the applicant, under penalty of perjury. If any other
16person is to be actively in charge of the business, the application
17shall also be subscribed, verified, and signed by that person under
18penalty of perjury.
19(g) If the applicants for a license are copartners, the application
20
shall state the true names and addresses of all partners and the
21name of the partner to be actively in charge of the business for
22which the license is sought and list all other names known as or
23used during the past 10 years. If a qualified manager other than a
24partner is to be actively in charge of the business, then the
25application shall be subscribed, verified, and signed by all of the
26partners under penalty of perjury. If any other person is to be
27actively in charge of the business, the application shall also be
28subscribed, verified, and signed by that person, under penalty of
29perjury, under penalty of perjury by all of the partners and the
30qualified manager, or by all of the partners or the qualified
31manager.
32(h) If the applicant for a license is a corporation, the application
33shall state the true names and complete
residence addresses of the
34chief executive officer, secretary, chief financial officer, and any
35other corporate officer who will be active in the business to be
36licensed. The application shall also state the name and address of
37the designated person to be actively in charge of the business for
38which the license is sought. The application shall be subscribed,
39verified, and signed by a duly authorized officer of the applicant
40and by the qualified manager thereof, under penalty of perjury.
P7 1(i) If the applicant for a license is a limited liability company,
2the application shall state the true name and complete residence
3address of each managing member and any other officer or member
4who will be active in the business to be licensed. A copy of the
5most recent articles of organization, as filed by the Secretary of
6State, shall be supplied to
the bureau upon request. The application
7shall also state the name and residence address of the designated
8person to be actively in charge of the business for which the license
9is sought. The application shall be subscribed, verified, and signed
10by a duly authorized member of the applicant under penalty of
11perjury.
12(j) Any other information, evidence, statements, or documents
13as may be required by the director.
14(k) At the discretion of the applicant, a valid email address.
15(l) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2018,
16and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
17is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date.
Section 7525.1 of the Business and Professions Code,
19as added by Section 5 of Chapter 669 of the Statutes of 2014, is
20amended to read:
An application shall be verified and shall include:
22(a) The full name and business address of the applicant.
23(b) The name under which the applicant intends to do business.
24(c) A statement as to the general nature of the business in which
25the applicant intends to engage.
26(d) A verified statement of his or her experience qualifications.
27(e) (1) If the applicant is an individual, a qualified manager, a
28partner of a partnership, or an officer of a corporation
designated
29in subdivision (h), one personal identification form provided by
30the bureau upon which shall appear a photograph taken within one
31year immediately preceding the date of the filing of the application
32together with two legible sets of fingerprints, one set of which
33shall be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for
34purposes of a background check, on a form approved by the
35Department of Justice, and a personal description of each person,
36respectively. The identification form shall include residence
37addresses and employment history for the previous five years and
38be signed under penalty of perjury.
39(2) The bureau may impose a fee not to exceed three dollars
40($3) for processing classifiable fingerprint cards submitted by
P8 1applicants, excluding those submitted into an electronic fingerprint
2system using electronic
fingerprint technology.
3(f) In addition, if the applicant for a license is an individual, the
4
application shall list all other names known as or used during the
5past 10 years and shall state that the applicant is to be personally
6and actively in charge of the business for which the license is
7sought. If any other qualified manager is to be actively in charge
8of the business, the application shall be subscribed, verified, and
9signed by the applicant, under penalty of perjury. If any other
10person is to be actively in charge of the business, the application
11shall also be subscribed, verified, and signed by that person under
12penalty of perjury.
13(g) If the applicants for a license are copartners, the application
14shall state the true names and addresses of all partners and the
15name of the partner to be actively in charge of the business for
16which the license is sought and list all other names known as or
17used during the past
10 years. If a qualified manager other than a
18partner is to be actively in charge of the business, then the
19application shall be subscribed, verified, and signed by all of the
20partners under penalty of perjury. If any other person is to be
21actively in charge of the business, the application shall also be
22subscribed, verified, and signed under penalty of perjury by that
23person, by all of the partners and the qualified manager, or by all
24of the partners or the qualified manager.
25(h) If the applicant for a license is a corporation, the application
26shall state the true names and complete residence addresses of the
27chief executive officer, secretary, chief financial officer, and any
28other corporate officer who will be active in the business to be
29licensed. The application shall also state the name and address of
30the designated person to be
actively in charge of the business for
31which the license is sought. The application shall be subscribed,
32verified, and signed by a duly authorized officer of the applicant
33and by the qualified manager thereof, under penalty of perjury.
34(i) Any other information, evidence, statements, or documents
35as may be required by the director.
36(j) At the discretion of the applicant, a valid email address.
37(k) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2018.
Section 7541 of the Business and Professions Code is
39amended to read:
Except as otherwise provided by this section, an
2applicant, or his or her manager, for a license as a private
3investigator shall have had at least three years’ experience in
4investigation work.
5A year’s experience shall consist of not less than 2,000 hours of
6actual compensated work performed by each applicant preceding
7the filing of an application.
8An applicant who holds a law degree or who has completed a
9four-year course in police science, criminal justice, criminal law,
10or the equivalent thereof shall be required to have had two years’
11experience in investigation work.
12An applicant shall
substantiate the claimed years of qualifying
13experience and the exact details as to the character and nature
14thereof by written certifications from the employer or qualified
15manager, subject to independent verification by the director as he
16or she may determine.
17Notwithstanding any other law, only an employer, qualified
18manager, or his or her designated agent may certify experience for
19purposes of this section. For purposes of this section, the term
20“employer” shall mean only those persons, corporations,
21partnerships, proprietorships, or other associations which, in the
22employ of the designated individual, regularly and routinely
23withheld income taxes and other payroll deductions for direct
24forwarding to governmental taxing authorities. For the purposes
25of this section, the term “qualified manager” shall mean only a
26manager who has qualified pursuant to
Section 7536 and who has
27directly overseen the work and experience of the applicant.
28An employer who is a licensee or qualified manager shall
29respond in writing within 30 days to an applicant’s written request
30for certifications of the applicant’s work experience as an employee
31and either provide the certifications or the reasons for denial. If
32the applicant notifies the director in writing, under penalty of
33perjury, that the applicant is unable to obtain the required written
34response from a licensee or provides the licensee’s written denial
35and states, under penalty of perjury, that the licensee’s reasons for
36denial are invalid or insufficient and the director concurs, the
37director may require the licensee to provide the bureau with all
38relevant employment records maintained pursuant to Section
397531.5 regarding the applicant for evaluation in substantiating the
40applicant’s
employment experience.
Section 7541.1 of the Business and Professions Code
2 is amended to read:
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, experience for
4purposes of taking the examination for licensure as a private
5investigator shall be limited to those activities actually performed
6in connection with investigations, as defined in Section 7521, and
7only if those activities are performed by persons who are employed
8or managed in the following capacities:
9(1) Sworn law enforcement officers possessing powers of arrest
10and employed by agencies in the federal, state, or local government.
11(2) Military police of the armed forces of the United States or
12the National Guard.
13(3) An insurance adjuster or their employees subject to Chapter
141 (commencing with Section 14000) of Division 5 of the Insurance
15Code.
16(4) Persons employed by a private investigator who are duly
17licensed in accordance with this chapter, or managed by a qualified
18manager in accordance with Section 7536.
19(5) Persons employed by repossessors duly licensed in
20accordance with Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 7500),
21only to the extent that those persons are routinely and regularly
22engaged in the location of debtors or the location of personal
23property utilizing methods commonly known as “skip tracing.”
24For purposes of this section, only that experience acquired in that
25skip tracing shall be credited toward qualification
to take the
26examination.
27(6) Persons duly trained and certified as an arson investigator
28and employed by a public agency engaged in fire suppression.
29(7) Persons trained as investigators and employed by a public
30defender to conduct investigations.
31(b) For purposes of Section 7541, persons possessing an
32associate of arts degree in police science, criminal law or justice
33from an accredited college shall be credited with 1,000 hours of
34experience in investigative activities.
35(c) The following activities shall not be deemed to constitute
36acts of investigation for purposes of experience toward licensure:
37(1) The serving of legal process or other documents.
38(2) Activities relating to the search for heirs or similar searches
39which involve only a search of public records or other reference
40sources in the public domain.
P11 1(3) The transportation or custodial attendance of persons in the
2physical custody of a law enforcement agency.
3(4) The provision of bailiff or other security services to a court
4of law.
5(5) The collection or attempted collection of debts by telephone
6or written solicitation after the debtor has been located.
7(6) The repossession or attempted repossession of personal
8property
after that property has been located and identified.
9(d) Where the activities of employment of an applicant include
10those which qualify as bona fide experience as stated in this section
11as well as those which do not qualify, the director may, by
12delegation to the bureau, determine and apportion that percentage
13of experience for which any applicant is entitled to credit.
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