BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2859 Hearing Date: June 13,
2016
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|Author: |Low |
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|Version: |February 19, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Sarah Huchel |
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Subject: Professions and vocations: retired category:
licenses
SUMMARY: Authorizes any board within the Department of Consumer Affairs
(DCA) to
establish, by regulation, a system for a retired license for an
individual not actively engaged in the practice of his or her
profession or vocation.
Existing law:
1) Establishes the DCA, which is comprised of 40 regulatory
entities (25 boards, nine bureaus, three committees, two
programs, and one commission) that license and regulate
various professions. (Business and Professions Code (BPC)
Sections 100, 101)
2) Authorizes boards within the DCA to develop regulations to
establish an inactive license category for persons who are
not actively engaged in the practice of their profession or
vocation. (BPC §§ 462, 701)
3) Establishes a retired license for the following professions:
physician and surgeon (BPC § 2439); midwifery (BPC § 2518);
occupational therapist, occupational therapy assistant (BPC §
2570.17); physical therapy (BPC § 2648.7); optometrists (BPC
§ 3151); physician assistant (BPC § 3251.3); respiratory
therapist (BPC § 3775.3); pharmacist (BPC § 4200.5);
AB 2859 (Low) Page 2
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marriage and family therapist (BPC § 4984.41); licensed
educational psychologist (BPC § 4989.45); licensed
professional clinical counselor (BPC § 4999.113); licensed
clinical social worker (BPC § 4997.1); accountant (BPC §
5070.1); architect (BPC § 5600.4); fiduciary (BPC § 6542);
professional engineer (BPC § 6762.5); and geologist,
geophysicist (BPC § 7851).
4) Establishes that "board," as used in any provision of the
BPC, refers to the board in which the administration of the
provision is vested, and unless otherwise expressly provided,
shall include "bureau," "commission," "committee,"
"department," "division," "examining committee," "program,"
and "agency." (BPC § 22)
This bill:
1)Authorizes any DCA boards, bureaus, commissions, or programs
to promulgate regulations to establish a retired license
category for persons who are not actively engaged in the
practice of their profession or vocation.
2)Requires the regulations to contain the following:
a) The holder of a retired license shall not engage in any
activity for which a license is required, unless the board,
by regulation, specifies the criteria for a retired
licensee to practice his or her profession or vocation.
b) The holder of a retired license shall not be required to
renew that license.
c) In order for the holder of a retired license to restore
his or her license to an active status, the holder of that
license shall meet all the following:
i) Pay a fee established by statute or regulation.
ii) Certify, in a manner satisfactory to the board, that
he or she has not committed an act or crime constituting
grounds for denial of licensure.
iii) Comply with the fingerprint submission requirements
established by regulation.
AB 2859 (Low) Page 3
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iv) If the board requires completion of continuing
education for renewal of an active license, complete
continuing education equivalent to that required for
renewal of an active license, unless a different
requirement is specified by the board.
v) Complete any other requirements as specified by the
board by regulation.
3)Authorizes a board to investigate the actions of any licensee,
including a person with a license that either restricts or
prohibits the practice of that person in his or her profession
or vocation, including, but not limited to, a license that is
retired, inactive, canceled, revoked, or suspended.
FISCAL
EFFECT: This bill is keyed "fiscal" by Legislative Counsel.
According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations analysis
dated April 27, 2016, this bill will result in minor and
absorbable costs to the DCA to update regulations, add license
status designations, and update applications as well as minor
and absorbable costs to DCA for one-time workload increases
associated with IT/BreEZe modifications.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose. The Author is the Sponsor of this bill. According
to the Author's office, "Some licensees disfavor the inactive
license designation and would prefer a retired license
designation." Some DCA boards have current statutory
authority to issue a retired license, and this bill would
enable the remainder to do so.
2. Background. Current law authorizes all boards to establish
an "inactive" license, which allows an individual to hold a
license but not practice in their profession. An inactive
license may be reactivated under terms specified by the
issuing board.
An occupational license can be sent to inactive status for
various reasons, including disciplinary. For those
individuals who have a clean license at retirement and want
to cease renewal because they no longer practice, "inactive"
AB 2859 (Low) Page 4
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status may have a stigma. The following boards have
statutory authorization to establish a retired license:
1) Board of Accountancy
2) Architects Board
3) Board of Behavioral Sciences
4) Medical Board of California
5) Board of Pharmacy
6) Professional Fiduciaries Bureau
7) Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and
Geologists
8) Respiratory Care Board
9) Occupational Therapy Board
10) Physical Therapy Board
11) Board of Optometry
12) Physician Assistant Board
This bill would allow the remaining boards to do this as
well, as long as their regulations require a licensee to pay
a fee, certify that he or she has not committed an act or
crime constituting grounds for denial of licensure, comply
with the fingerprint submission requirements established by
regulation, complete continuing education and any other
requirements specified by the board, as necessary.
1. Related Legislation. SB 1194 (Hill) of 2016 authorizes the
Board of Psychology to issue a retired license. ( Status :
This bill is currently pending in the Assembly Committee on
Business and Professions.)
2. Prior Legislation. AB 750 (Low) of 2015 would have allowed
all DCA boards to issue a retired license. ( Status : AB 750
was held in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.)
AB 1253 (Steinorth, Chapter 125, Statutes of 2015)
established educational and training requirements for an
optometrist seeking a license with retired volunteer service
designation (volunteer license) who has not held an active
license in more than three years.
AB 2859 (Low) Page 5
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AB 2024 (Bonilla, Chapter 336, Statutes of 2014) authorized
the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau to establish, by
regulation, a system for a retired category of licensure.
AB 404 (Eggman, Chapter 339, Statutes of 2013) clarified who
qualifies for a retired license by specifying that a license
must be either active or inactive, and reduces the timeline
to restore a retired license from retired to active status
from five to three years.
SB 1215 (Emmerson, Chapter 359, Statutes of 2012) established
a retired license status and a retired license with a
volunteer service designation for optometrists.
AB 431 (Ma, Chapter 395, Statutes of 2011) authorized the
California Board of Accountancy to establish, by regulation,
a system for a retired category of licensure.
SB 2191 (Emmerson, Chapter 548, Statutes of 2010) authorized
the Board of Behavioral Sciences to issue a retired license
as a marriage and family therapist, educational psychologist,
clinical social worker or professional clinical counselor to
an applicant who holds a current license or a license
eligible for renewal, and established a $40 fee for a retired
license.
AB 2859 (Low) Page 6
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3. Recommended Amendments. This bill uses the terms "boards,
bureaus, commissions, or programs," in one section of the
bill, and then the term "board" throughout. For consistency,
"board" suffices for all.
On page 2, line 3, delete ", bureaus, commissions,
or programs"
Although this bill seeks to separate the possible stigma of a
license placed on inactive status for disciplinary reasons
from those who go inactive due to retirement, there is
nothing in the bill that would prevent an individual whose
license is on inactive status due to disciplinary reasons to
transfer it into a retirement status. The Author may wish to
consider the following amendment:
On page 2, between lines 7 and 8, insert:
"(1) A retired license shall be issued to a person with
either an active license or an inactive license that was not
placed on inactive status for disciplinary reasons."
This bill establishes a baseline for retired license
regulations that do not comport with several boards' existing
regulations on this topic. To ensure that this bill only
affects boards prospectively, the following amendment is
recommended:
On page 3, line 4, insert:
"(d) Subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply to boards with
statutory authority to establish a retired license as of
January 2, 2017."
1. Arguments in Support. The Contractors State License Board
(CSLB) writes, "CSLB licenses approximately 285,000 licensed
contractors. While CSLB does currently have an inactive
license option, CSLB believes creating a retired license
category would be of interest to its licensees."
California Board of Accountancy (CBA) writes, "The CBA
presently has regulations that allow for a licensee to obtain
a retired status license. When comparing the CBA's provisions
to that which is being proposed in AB 2859, the CBA has
AB 2859 (Low) Page 7
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additional requirements including:
Submission of a $75 application fee.
Submission of a renewal application every two
years (no fee) to ensure current contact information.
Licensee must have had a certified public
accountant license for a minimum of 20 years, of which a
minimum of five are with the CBA.
"AB 2859 and the CBA provisions for a retired status
license are similar in that those in a retired status are
not allowed to practice their profession.
"The CBA respectfully requests that the ? language be
amended to exclude entities within DCA that have their own
laws regarding retired license status. For these reasons,
the CBA has taken a support if amended position on AB
2859."
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
California Board of Accountancy
Contractors State License Board
Opposition:
None on file as of June 7, 2016.
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