BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1899
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 11, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1899 (Calderon) - As Amended March 16, 2016
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Insurance |Vote:|13 - 0 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the California Department of Insurance (CDI)
to provide the license examinations for life, life-only, and
accident and health agents in Spanish.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Costs to CDI of approximately $230,000 in FY 2017-18 to
translate the materials into Spanish, including psychometric
testing, and for initial staffing costs (Insurance Fund).
AB 1899
Page 2
2)Depending on the increased number of exams administered and
licenses issued, the department would also incur additional
costs and collect additional revenues, depending on the growth
in the number of exams. The examination fee is $50 and
license fees are $170 biennially.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, existing law does not
require an examination for a license as a life-agent,
life-only agent, or accident and health to be provided in
Spanish. The author asserts offering the licensing exam in
Spanish will increase the number of agents able to serve
Spanish-speaking consumers. This bill is supported by various
insurance industry stakeholders and has no opposition.
2)License Examinations. California residents who wish to apply
for an insurance producer (agent or broker) license issued by
CDI must first pass a qualifying license examination. At this
time, examinations are offered only in English.
3)Translations. Although the content of an examination can
fairly easily be translated to another language, translating
examinations so they are useful in practice as a measure of an
individual's skill, knowledge, and ability is not a
straightforward endeavor. In order to ensure validity and
comparability of results with the original language,
psychometric testing must be used when a complex item like an
examination is translated. Such testing ensures that the
translated content can reliably measure an individual's skill,
knowledge, and ability, and that the translation did not
inadvertently introduce a source of error or systematic bias.
AB 1899
Page 3
Analysis Prepared by:Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916)
319-2081