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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Olsen | |----------+------------------------------------------------------| |Version: |April 18, 2016 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ---------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Mark Mendoza | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 2632 (Olsen) Page 2 of ? 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, AB 2632 (Olsen) Page 3 of ? 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 AB 2632 (Olsen) Page 4 of ? 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: AB 2632 (Olsen) Page 5 of ? The California Association of Licensed Investigators (Sponsor) Opposition: None on file as of May 31, 2016. -- END --