Amended in Assembly August 31, 2015

Amended in Assembly July 1, 2015

Amended in Assembly June 29, 2015

Amended in Senate April 21, 2015

Senate BillNo. 467


Introduced by Senator Hill

February 25, 2015


An act to amend Sectionsbegin delete 201,end delete 5000, 5015.6, 7000.5, 7011, and 7071.6 of, to add Sections 312.2, 328, and 5100.5 to, and to repeal Section 7067.5 of, the Business and Professions Code, relating to professions and vocations.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 467, as amended, Hill. Professions and vocations.

begin delete

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards, bureaus, commissions, divisions, and other agencies within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law authorizes the department to levy a pro rata share of the department’s administrative expenses against any of these constituent agencies at the discretion of the Director of Consumer Affairs and with the approval of the Department of Finance.

end delete
begin delete

This bill would eliminate the requirement that the levy described above be at the discretion of the Director of Consumer Affairs and with the approval of the Department of Finance, and would instead require the levy to be approved by the Legislature.

end delete

Existing lawbegin insert provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards, bureaus, commissions, divisions, and other agencies within the Department of Consumer end insertbegin insertAffairs. Existing lawend insert requires an agency within the department to investigate a consumer accusation or complaint against a licensee and, where appropriate, the agency is authorized to impose disciplinary action against a licensee. Under existing law, an agency within the department may refer a complaint to the Attorney General or Office of Administrative Hearings for further action.

This bill would require the Attorney General to submit a report to the department, the Governor, and the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2018, and on or before January 1 of each subsequent year, that includes specified information regarding the actions taken by the Attorney General pertaining to accusation matters relating to consumer complaints against a person whose profession or vocation is licensed by an agency within the department.

Existing law creates the Division of Investigation within the department and requires investigators who have the authority of peace officers to be in the division to investigate the laws administered by the various boards comprising the department or commencing directly or indirectly any criminal prosecution arising from any investigation conducted under these laws.

This bill would, in order to implement the Consumer Protection Enforcement Initiative of 2010, require the Director of Consumer Affairs, through the Division of Investigation, to implement “Complaint Prioritization Guidelines” for boards to utilize in prioritizing their complaint and investigative workloads and to determine the referral of complaints to the division and those that are retained by the health care boards for investigation.

Under existing law, the California Board of Accountancy within the department is responsible for the licensure and regulation of accountants and is required to designate anbegin delete executeend deletebegin insert executiveend insert officer. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2016.

This bill would extend the repeal date to January 1, 2020.

Existing law authorizes the California Board of Accountancy, after notice and hearing, to revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew any permit or certificate, as specified, or to censure the holder of that permit or certificate for unprofessional conduct.

This bill would additionally authorize the board, after notice and hearing, to permanently restrict or limit the practice of a licensee or impose a probationary term or condition on abegin delete licenceend deletebegin insert licenseend insert for unprofessional conduct. This bill would authorize a licensee to petition the board for reduction of penalty or reinstatement of the privilege, as specified, and would provide that failure to comply with any restriction or limitation imposed by the board is grounds for revocation of the license.

Under existing law, the Contractors’ State License Law, the Contractors’ State License Board is responsible for the licensure and regulation of contractors and is required to appoint a registrar of contractors. Existing law repeals these provisions establishing the board and requiring it to appoint a registrar on January 1, 2016.

This bill would extend these repeal dates to January 1, 2020.

Existing law requires every applicant for an original license, the reactivation of an inactive license, or the reissuance or reinstatement of a revoked license to evidence financial solvency, as specified, and requires the registrar to deny the application of any applicant who fails to comply with that requirement. Existing law, as a condition precedent to the issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, renewal, or continued maintenance of a license, requires the applicant or licensee to file or have on file a contractor’s bond in the sum of $12,500.

This bill would repeal that evidence of financial solvency requirement and would instead require that bond to be in the sum of $15,000.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin delete
P3    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 201 of the Business and Professions Code
2 is amended to read:

3

201.  

(a) (1) A charge for the estimated administrative expenses
4of the department, not to exceed the available balance in any
5appropriation for any one fiscal year, may be levied in advance on
6a pro rata share basis against any of the boards, bureaus,
7commissions, divisions, and agencies, with the approval of the
8Legislature.

9(2) The department shall submit a report of the accounting of
10the pro rata calculation of administrative expenses to the
11appropriate policy committees of the Legislature on or before July
121, 2015, and on or before July 1 of each subsequent year.

13(b) The department shall conduct a one-time study of its current
14system for prorating administrative expenses to determine if that
15system is the most productive, efficient, and cost-effective manner
16for the department and the agencies comprising the department.
P4    1The study shall include consideration of whether some of the
2administrative services offered by the department should be
3outsourced or charged on an as-needed basis and whether the
4agencies should be permitted to elect not to receive and be charged
5for certain administrative services. The department shall include
6the findings in its report pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision
7(a) that it is required to submit on or before July 1, 2015.

end delete
8

begin deleteSEC. 2.end delete
9begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

Section 312.2 is added to the Business and
10Professions Code
, to read:

11

312.2.  

(a) The Attorney General shall submit a report to the
12department, the Governor, and the appropriate policy committees
13of the Legislature on or before January 1, 2018, and on or before
14January 1 of each subsequent year that includes, at a minimum,
15all of the following for the previous fiscal year for each constituent
16entity within the department represented by the Licensing Section
17and Health Quality Enforcement Section of the Office of the
18Attorney General:

19(1) The number of accusation matters referred to the Attorney
20General.

21(2) The number of accusation matters rejected for filing by the
22Attorney General.

23(3) The number of accusation matters for which further
24investigation was requested by the Attorney General.

25(4) The number of accusation matters for which further
26investigation was received by the Attorney General.

27(5) The number of accusations filed by each constituent entity.

28(6) The number of accusations a constituent entity withdraws.

29(7) The number of accusation matters adjudicated by the
30Attorney General.

31(b) The Attorney General shall also report all of the following
32for accusation matters adjudicated within the previous fiscal year
33for each constituent entity of the department represented by the
34Licensing Section and Health Quality Enforcement Section:

35(1) The average number of days from the Attorney General
36receiving an accusation referral to when an accusation is filed by
37the constituent entity.

38(2) The average number of days to prepare an accusation for a
39case that is rereferred to the Attorney General after further
P5    1investigation is received by the Attorney General from a constituent
2entity or the Division of Investigation.

3(3) The average number of days from an agency filing an
4accusation to the Attorney General transmitting a stipulated
5settlement to the constituent entity.

6(4) The average number of days from an agency filing an
7accusation to the Attorney General transmitting a default decision
8to the constituent entity.

9(5) The average number of days from an agency filing an
10accusation to the Attorney General requesting a hearing date from
11the Office of Administrative Hearings.

12(6) The average number of days from the Attorney General’s
13receipt of a hearing date from the Office of Administrative
14Hearings to the commencement of a hearing.

15(c) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall
16be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
17Code.

18

begin deleteSEC. 3.end delete
19begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

Section 328 is added to the Business and Professions
20Code
, to read:

21

328.  

In order to implement the Consumer Protection
22Enforcement Initiative of 2010, the director, through the Division
23of Investigation, shall implement “Complaint Prioritization
24Guidelines” for boards to utilize in prioritizing their respective
25complaint and investigative workloads. The guidelines shall be
26used to determine the referral of complaints to the division and
27those that are retained by the health care boards for investigation.

28

begin deleteSEC. 4.end delete
29begin insertSEC. 3.end insert  

Section 5000 of the Business and Professions Code is
30amended to read:

31

5000.  

(a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs the
32California Board of Accountancy, which consists of 15 members,
337 of whom shall be licensees, and 8 of whom shall be public
34members who shall not be licentiates of the board or registered by
35the board. The board has the powers and duties conferred by this
36chapter.

37(b) The Governor shall appoint four of the public members, and
38the seven licensee members as provided in this section. The Senate
39Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each
40appoint two public members. In appointing the seven licensee
P6    1members, the Governor shall appoint individuals representing a
2cross section of the accounting profession.

3(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020,
4and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
5is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.

6(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the repeal of
7this section renders the board subject to review by the appropriate
8policy committees of the Legislature. However, the review of the
9board shall be limited to reports or studies specified in this chapter
10and those issues identified by the appropriate policy committees
11of the Legislature and the board regarding the implementation of
12new licensing requirements.

13

begin deleteSEC. 5.end delete
14begin insertSEC. 4.end insert  

Section 5015.6 of the Business and Professions Code
15 is amended to read:

16

5015.6.  

The board may appoint a person exempt from civil
17service who shall be designated as an executive officer and who
18shall exercise the powers and perform the duties delegated by the
19board and vested in him or her by this chapter.

20This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020,
21and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
22is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.

23

begin deleteSEC. 6.end delete
24begin insertSEC. 5.end insert  

Section 5100.5 is added to the Business and Professions
25Code
, to read:

26

5100.5.  

(a) After notice and hearing the board may, for
27unprofessional conduct, permanently restrict or limit the practice
28of a licensee or impose a probationary term or condition on a
29license, which prohibits the licensee from performing or engaging
30in any of the acts or services described in Section 5051.

31(b) A licensee may petition the board pursuant to Section 5115
32for reduction of penalty or reinstatement of the privilege to engage
33in the service or act restricted or limited by the board.

34(c) The authority or sanctions provided by this section are in
35addition to any other civil, criminal, or administrative penalties or
36sanctions provided by law, and do not supplant, but are cumulative
37 to, other disciplinary authority, penalties, or sanctions.

38(d) Failure to comply with any restriction or limitation imposed
39by the board pursuant to this section is grounds for revocation of
40the license.

P7    1(e) For purposes of this section, both of the following shall
2apply:

3(1) “Unprofessional conduct” includes, but is not limited to,
4those grounds for discipline or denial listed in Section 5100.

5(2) “Permanently restrict or limit the practice of” includes, but
6is not limited to, the prohibition on engaging in or performing any
7attestation engagement, audits, or compilations.

8

begin deleteSEC. 7.end delete
9begin insertSEC. 6.end insert  

Section 7000.5 of the Business and Professions Code
10 is amended to read:

11

7000.5.  

(a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs
12a Contractors’ State License Board, which consists of 15 members.

13(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the repeal of
14this section renders the board subject to review by the appropriate
15policy committees of the Legislature.

16(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020,
17and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
18is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.

19

begin deleteSEC. 8.end delete
20begin insertSEC. 7.end insert  

Section 7011 of the Business and Professions Code is
21amended to read:

22

7011.  

(a) The board, by and with the approval of the director,
23shall appoint a registrar of contractors and fix his or her
24compensation.

25(b) The registrar shall be the executive officer and secretary of
26the board and shall carry out all of the administrative duties as
27provided in this chapter and as delegated to him or her by the
28board.

29(c) For the purpose of administration of this chapter, there may
30be appointed a deputy registrar, a chief reviewing and hearing
31officer, and, subject to Section 159.5, other assistants and
32subordinates as may be necessary.

33(d) Appointments shall be made in accordance with the
34provisions of civil service laws.

35(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020,
36and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
37is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.

38

begin deleteSEC. 9.end delete
39begin insertSEC. 8.end insert  

Section 7067.5 of the Business and Professions Code
40 is repealed.

P8    1

begin deleteSEC. 10.end delete
2begin insertSEC. 9.end insert  

Section 7071.6 of the Business and Professions Code
3 is amended to read:

4

7071.6.  

(a) The board shall require as a condition precedent
5to the issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, renewal, or continued
6maintenance of a license, that the applicant or licensee file or have
7on file a contractor’s bond in the sum of fifteen thousand dollars
8($15,000).

9(b) Excluding the claims brought by the beneficiaries specified
10in subdivision (a) of Section 7071.5, the aggregate liability of a
11surety on claims brought against a bond required by this section
12shall not exceed the sum of seven thousand five hundred dollars
13($7,500). The bond proceeds in excess of seven thousand five
14hundred dollars ($7,500) shall be reserved exclusively for the
15claims of the beneficiaries specified in subdivision (a) of Section
167071.5. However, nothing in this section shall be construed so as
17to prevent any beneficiary specified in subdivision (a) of Section
187071.5 from claiming or recovering the full measure of the bond
19required by this section.

20(c) No bond shall be required of a holder of a license that has
21been inactivated on the official records of the board during the
22period the license is inactive.

23(d) Notwithstanding any other law, as a condition precedent to
24licensure, the board may require an applicant to post a contractor’s
25bond in twice the amount required pursuant to subdivision (a) until
26the time that the license is renewed, under the following conditions:

27(1) The applicant has either been convicted of a violation of
28Section 7028 or has been cited pursuant to Section 7028.7.

29(2) If the applicant has been cited pursuant to Section 7028.7,
30the citation has been reduced to a final order of the registrar.

31(3) The violation of Section 7028, or the basis for the citation
32issued pursuant to Section 7028.7, constituted a substantial injury
33to the public.



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