BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1807|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1807
Author: Bonta (D)
Amended: 8/15/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/27/16
AYES: Hill, Bates, Block, Gaines, Galgiani, Hernandez,
Jackson, Mendoza, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 6/1/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Real estate licensees
SOURCE: California Association of Realtors
DIGEST: This bill allows a licensee of the Bureau of Real
Estate to petition the Real Estate Commissioner to remove his or
her notice of disciplinary action from the Bureau's Internet Web
site because the information is no longer necessary to prevent a
credible risk to the public, as specified.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Establishes within the Department of Consumer Affairs a
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Bureau of Real Estate (BRE or Bureau), the chief officer of
which is named the Real Estate Commissioner (Commissioner);
the BRE is mandated to protect the public by exercising its
licensing, regulatory, and disciplinary functions; whenever
the protection of the public is inconsistent with other
interests sought to be promoted, the protection of the public
shall be paramount. (Business and Professions Code (BPC) §
10000, et seq.)
2) Provides that the Commissioner enforce the provisions of the
Real Estate Law; has full power to regulate and control the
issuance and temporary or permanent revocation of all
licenses to be issued; and, perform all other acts and duties
necessary for their enforcement. (BPC § 10071)
3) Provides that the Commissioner may adopt, amend, or repeal
rules and regulations that are reasonably necessary for the
enforcement. (BPC § 10080)
4) Requires the Commissioner to provide on the Internet
information regarding the status of every license issued,
including information on suspensions and revocations of
licenses, accusations filed pursuant to the Administrative
Procedure Act relative to persons or businesses subject to
licensure or regulation; provides that the information not
include personal information, except for the licensee's
address of record. (BPC § 10083.2)
5) Specifies actions by a licensee for which the Commissioner
or a designee may issue a citation and fine, including when a
person who does not possess a real estate license, prepaid
rental listing service license, or a real estate broker
license is engaged or has engaged in activities for which the
respective license is required; or when a licensee is
violating or has violated provisions, as specified. (BPC §
10080.9)
6) Authorizes the Commissioner to promulgate regulations for
citations and fines associated with a violation or violations
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of the Real Estate Law; requires the citation to be provided
in writing with particularities and nature of the violation;
provides that the citation may be made by certified mail at
the address of record of a licensee cited, or to the last
known mailing, business, or residence address of an
unlicensed person or entity cited; requires time be allowed
to comply with an order of correction that is specified in
the citation; and provides that the person receiving the
citation may request an extension of the time to comply with
the order if the cited person or entity is unable to complete
the correction or pay the fine within the time specified.
(Title 10 California Code of Regulations §§ 2907.1-2907.4)
This bill:
1) Declares that it is appropriate for the BRE to continue
reporting on its license verification Internet Web page,
which is hosted on the BRE Web site when discipline has been
imposed upon a licensee for conduct that indicates a credible
risk of harm to the public; and that the BRE may consider and
grant on a case-by-case basis a licensee's petition to
discontinue the reporting of past disciplinary actions when
the petitioning licensee has demonstrated to the satisfaction
of the Commissioner that the continued reporting is no longer
required in order to avoid or reduce such a risk to the
public.
2) Declares that the BRE may require a petitioner to pay in
advance of consideration a fee to defray costs associated
with consideration of the petition.
3) Declares that the BRE is not authorized or required to
destroy public records maintained pursuant to the California
Public Records Act.
4) Declares that the Legislature intends to establish a process
by which a licensee may petition the BRE to remove a notice
of past discipline from the license verification Internet Web
site of the BRE.
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5) Provides that a licensee may petition the Commissioner to
remove from the posting of discipline, as specified, an item
that through passage of time and evidence of rehabilitation
is no longer required in order to prevent a credible risk to
members of the public utilizing licensed activity of the
licensee.
6) Authorizes the Commissioner, upon petition by a licensee
accompanied by a fee, to remove from the posting of a
discipline that has been posted on the BRE's Internet Web
site for no less than 10 years and for which the licensee
provides evidence of rehabilitation indicating that the
notice is no longer required in order to prevent a credible
risk to members of the public utilizing licensed activity of
the licensee.
7) Requires the Commissioner, when evaluating a petition, to
take into consideration other violations that present a
credible risk to the members of the public since the posting
of discipline requested for removal.
8) Defines "posted" as the date of disciplinary action taken on
the BRE Web site.
9) Authorizes BRE to develop, through regulations, the amount
of the fee and the minimum information to be included in a
licensee's petition, including, but not limited to, a written
justification and evidence of rehabilitation.
10)Requires the petition process to commence January 1, 2018,
or upon completion of regulations to implement the process,
whichever comes first.
Background
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According to the author, "The current disciplinary system under
the BRE serves an important role in ensuring consumers have
access to a real estate licensee's disciplinary history. That
information serves as a valuable tool in protecting consumers
and promoting transparency. However, this tool has also
negatively impacted a small class of real estate licensees who
have had minor disciplinary actions on their record for many
years. Even after the licensee has been rehabilitated and the
license penalty has been removed, there isn't an opportunity to
have that action removed from the online database. This bill
simply provides the BRE Commissioner the ability to determine
how long certain disciplinary actions should be posted online,
ensuring that rehabilitated licensees are operating on a level
playing field."
According to the California Association of Realtors, some
licensees have used this information to gain a competitive
advantage over licensees with a record of discipline from the
BRE, even if the violation for which the licensee was
disciplined is several years old, the licensee has complied with
corrective actions specified in the citation, and the violation
is no longer relevant to the licensee's ability to operate.
The Commissioner already has the authority to review
disciplinary actions against a licensee and evaluate whether the
disciplinary action should be modified. This bill provides an
avenue for licensees to request a disciplinary action on the
BRE's Web site be removed if the Commissioner agrees that there
is evidence of rehabilitation and the licensee is not a
potential risk to consumers.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill
would incur minor costs to adopt regulations specifying what
information must be provided by a petitioner to BRE and ongoing
cots for BRE to evaluate the petitions from licensees and their
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past disciplinary history.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/11/16)
California Association of Realtors (source)
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/11/16)
Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The California Association of Realtors
(Sponsor) writes in support, "This bill creates a process by
which a licensee can have an old record of discipline removed
from [the BRE] website profile if the [Commissioner] determines
that protection of the public interest and public welfare will
be adequately maintained. Additionally, the process would be
paid for by the petitioner thereby avoiding any new costs to the
[BRE]."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The Department of Finance argues that
this bill "results in costs not included in the Administration's
current fiscal plan. The Bureau [also] did not start posting
disciplinary actions to their website until 2011."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 6/1/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,
Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
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Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gordon, Harper
Prepared by:Mark Mendoza / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
8/15/16 20:10:09
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