BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON
          BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
                              Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:            AB 2632         Hearing Date:    June 6,  
          2016
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          |Author:   |Olsen                                                 |
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          |Version:  |April 18, 2016                                        |
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          |Urgency:  |No                     |Fiscal:    |Yes              |
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          |Consultant|Mark Mendoza                                          |
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             Subject:  Private investigators:  experience for licensure


          SUMMARY:  Specifies that work as an investigative reporter whose  
          experience is comprised of primary investigations is included as  
          required experience for qualification for the Private  
          Investigators licensure examination.

          Existing law:
          
         1)Establishes the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services  
            (Bureau) within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).   
            (Business and Professions Code (BPC) § 6980.1)

         2)Provides for the licensure and regulation of Private  
            Investigators (PIs) under the Private Investigator Act under  
            the Bureau.  (Business and Professions Code (BPC) §§ 7512 -  
            7514)

          3)Provides that experience for purposes of taking the  
            examination for licensure as a private investigator shall be  
            limited to those activities actually performed in connection  
            with investigations, as defined in BPC § 7521, and only if  
            those activities are performed by persons who are employed or  
            managed in the following capacities:  (BPC § 7541.1)


             a)   Sworn law enforcement officers possessing powers of  
               arrest and employed by agencies in the federal, state, or  







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               local government.


             b)   Military police of the armed forces of the United States  
               or the National Guard.


             c)   An insurance adjuster or their employees subject to the  
               Insurance Adjuster Act. (Insurance Code § 14000 - 14099).


             d)   Persons employed by a private investigator who are duly  
               licensed in accordance with this chapter, or managed by a  
               qualified manager in accordance with BPC § 7536.


             e)   Persons employed by repossessors duly licensed in  
               accordance with the Collateral Recover Act (BPC §§ 7500 -  
               7511), only to the extent that those persons are routinely  
               and regularly engaged in the location of debtors or the  
               location of personal property utilizing methods commonly  
               known as "skip tracing." For purposes of this section, only  
               that experience acquired in that skip tracing shall be  
               credited toward qualification to take the examination.


             f)   Persons duly trained and certified as an arson  
               investigator and employed by a public agency engaged in  
               fire suppression.


             g)   Persons trained as investigators and employed by a  
               public defender to conduct investigations.


          This bill:

          1) Authorizes persons trained as investigative reporters and  
             employed by a media source, as specified, to count hours  
             spent in investigative journalism to apply towards the 6,000  
             hour requirement to sit for the PI exam.

          2) Defines "primary investigation" as original and in-depth  
             research and analysis involving multiple sources, including,  








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             but not limited to, public records, databases, archives,  
             published and unpublished documents, witnesses, informers,  
             whistleblowers, public officials, and experts, to produce  
             investigative projects.

          3) Makes other various technical changes.

          
          FISCAL EFFECT:  This bill is keyed fiscal by Legislative  
          Counsel.  According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations  
          analysis dated May 4, 2016, this bill will result in minor  
          initial increases in revenue to the Bureau, with minimal  
          increases every two years for renewals due to an increased  
          number of qualified applicants and will result in minor and  
          absorbable costs for changes to the BreEZe system.   

          COMMENTS:
          
          1. Purpose.   The California Association of Licensed  
             Investigators  is the sponsor of this bill.  According to the  
             Author, this bill "will ensure that the important work  
             performed by investigative journalists will not be overlooked  
             when these individuals look to apply for full licensure as  
             private investigators."

          2. The Bureau of Security and Investigative Services.  The  
             private security industry in this country dates back to the  
             19th century with private citizens performing many duties  
             that today are associated with Federal and state law  
             enforcement.  The growth in the number of individuals and  
             breadth of activities performed (such as guarding railroad  
             shipments, detective work to investigate crimes, tracking  
             down and apprehending criminals, and providing security  
             advice to banks) was integral in determining that regulation  
             of the industry was necessary.
             
             In California, regulatory oversight of the private security  
             industry began in 1915 with the creation of the Detective  
             Licensing Board under the State Board of Prison Directors to  
             license and regulate private detectives.  The Detective  
             Licensing Board was subsequently renamed the Detective  
             Licensing Bureau, and today its statutes are known as the  
             Private Investigator Act.  In 1955, the Detective Licensing  
             Bureau became the Bureau of Private Investigators and  








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             Adjustors that in 1970 was combined with the Collection  
             Agency Licensing Bureau and renamed the Bureau of Collection  
             and Investigative Services.  As a result of legislation (AB  
             936, Chapter 1263, Statutes of 1993), the Bureau of  
             Collection and Investigative Services was formally renamed  
             the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services.  The  
             Bureau regulates the Alarm Company Act; Locksmith Act;  
             Private Investigator Act; Private Security Services Act;  
             Proprietary Security Services Act and; Collateral Recovery  
             Act. 

          3. Qualifications for PI Exam.  Existing law provides that  
             applicants for the PI licensing exam must complete a minimum  
             of three years of investigation work (2,000 hours per year)  
             in specified investigatory work before being eligible to take  
             the licensing exam.  According to the sponsor, several of its  
             members have been permitted to count their experience in  
             investigative journalism towards their license requirements.   
             However, the sponsor also states that this is no longer the  
             case, and several applications that have included  
             investigative journalism have been denied.  Therefore, since  
             investigative journalism is not included in the authorized  
             professions, this bill will add investigative journalism and  
             specify the types of work and employment.

          4. Arguments in Support.  The California Association of Licensed  
             Investigators  (Sponsors) argue that, "BSIS has already begun  
             denying applications to those who have worked as  
             investigative journalists, but have not yet obtained a  
             private investigator license.  Current law limits the  
             activities that an individual may use to satisfy the time  
             requirement to just seven. Work performed as an investigative  
             reporter is not among them.  To provide clarity, this bill  
             will add an additional provision that permits prospective  
             licensees to count hours spent in investigative journalism to  
             apply towards the 6,000 hour requirement.  This new provision  
             will ensure that the important work performed by  
             investigative journalists will not be overlooked when these  
             individuals look to apply for full licensure as private  
             investigators."
          
          SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
          
           Support:  








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          The California Association of Licensed Investigators (Sponsor)

           Opposition:  

          None on file as of May 31, 2016.


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