BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 799
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
799 (Committee on Business, Professions and Economic
Development)
As Amended June 25, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 36-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Business & |14-0 |Bonilla, Jones, | |
|Professions | |Baker, Bloom, Campos, | |
| | |Chang, Dodd, Eggman, | |
| | |Gatto, Holden, | |
| | |Mullin, Ting, Wilk, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |16-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
SB 799
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| | |Jones, Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Makes numerous substantive, technical, and minor
non-controversial changes to various provisions of the
non-healing arts boards regulated by the Department of Consumer
Affairs (DCA). Specifically, this bill:
1)Makes the following substantive changes relating to the
California Board of Accountancy (CBA):
a) Clarifies that a canceled license placed into retired
status may not be renewed, restored, or reinstated.
b) Requires that such license holders reapply for licensure
if they wish to renew restore, or reinstate their license.
2)Adds that a funeral establishment must use the words "good,"
"merchandize," "products," or "services" on its home page to
identify a link to the list of goods and services.
3)Clarifies that contractor licensees are required to notify the
registrar 90 days after any change in information.
4)Allows California Travel and Tourism Commission members to
participate in meetings through teleconference and other
technology.
5)Deletes the requirement for architects to prepare civil
engineering plans, calculations, specifications, and reports
for the construction of structures.
6)Makes the following substantive changes relating to the
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Structural Pest Control Board:
a) Deletes language that limits the effect of the statute
to Branch 1 and Branch 3 registered companies.
b) Adds language that allows a person to represent that
pest control work has been completed by an unlicensed
company or individual in cases where the Business and
Professions Code specifies that the unlicensed company may
complete the work.
c) Adds language in order to clarify that branch office
supervisors must be field representatives or operators who
are licensed in the branch or branches of pest control that
is being conducted at that office.
7)Makes numerous technical, non-substantive, and clarifying
changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, the state costs associated with this bill are minor
and absorbable by the affected programs.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. This bill is the annual Omnibus Committee bill
authored by the Business, Professions and Economic Development
Committee which consolidates a number of non-controversial
provisions related to various regulatory programs and
professions governed by the [BPC] within the DCA. Consolidating
the provisions in one bill is designed to relieve the various
licensing boards, bureaus and professions from the necessity and
burden of having separate measures for a number of
non-controversial revisions.
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Many of the provisions in this bill are minor and technical
changes which update outdated references or titles in existing
law. Other provisions may be substantive consensus changes
which aim to improve the efficacy of the various entities in
administering and enforcing the provisions of their respective
licensing laws. This bill is intended to be non-controversial
and any opposition or concerns with the consensus provisions
will be removed.
Background. This bill makes many technical, code clean-up
changes. It also makes several clarifying changes as described
below.
Board of Accountancy. In 2011, the CBA sponsored AB 431 (Ma),
Chapter 395, Statutes of 2011, which contained language
authorizing the CBA, at its discretion, to create a retired
status for certified public accountant (CPA) and public
accountant licenses. However, the language is ambiguous.
Therefore, to remove any possible ambiguities, this bill adds
language clarifying that an individual who has a canceled
license placed in retired status is not authorized to then have
the license restored to an active or inactive status, which
circumvents Business and Professions Code (BPC) Section 5070.7.
Additionally, since 1945, the CBA has maintained a statute that
focuses on the topic of reciprocity. Over the years the statute
has been modified, with the last substantive change occurring in
2001 (SB 133 (Figueroa), Chapter 718, Statues of 2001) when the
Legislature took steps to remove a requirement that an applicant
for licensure be over the age of 18.
Now, BPC Section 5087 provides the CBA with the authority to
issue a CPA license to applicants who hold a valid and unrevoked
license under the laws of any state, if the CBA determines that
the standards under which the applicant received the license are
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substantially equivalent to the standards of education,
examination, and experience in California.
This bill recasts and strengthens the phrase "valid and
unrevoked" to "current, active, and unrestricted". This change
will assist the CBA in its mission to protect consumers through
its licensing program.
Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. To ensure fairness and accuracy in
shopping for what is often an expensive service during a time of
great emotional difficulty, the general price list (GPL)
required by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Funeral Rule
since 1984 requires a detailed, written price list be given to
anyone who asks for the list in person. Likewise, prices must
be quoted over the phone. In general, California law parallels
the FTC requirement in BPC Section 7658.
SB 658 (Negrete-McLeod), Chapter 386, Statutes of 2011, enhanced
California's disclosure requirements by specifically requiring,
beginning January 1, 2013, that all funeral establishments which
maintain a website, post their list of funeral goods and
services. As drafted, this requirement does not require any
specific identification to the Web site link where this
information is posted. However, if a funeral establishment
elects to post a link to its GPL, it must identify the link on
its home page with the words "price information" or a similar
phrase that includes the word "price." (BPC Section 7685 (b)
(3))
The Center for Public Interest Law's experience and the
experience of the Funeral Consumers Alliance (affirmed by 2013
report by the Orange County Register) revealed that the ability
of consumers to obtain consistent and reliable funeral
establishment product and pricing information over the Internet
is oddly difficult. In the absence of such information over the
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Internet, consumers cannot ask about products or services over
the phone and get comparison quotes because they may not in the
first place know what products or services funeral
establishments offer generally, or which services are offered by
a particular facility.
This, in turn, leads to a lengthy process whereby anguished
consumers trying to price such products or services must stagger
through a difficult process of trying to comparison shop over
the phone without first knowing what options are actually
available for comparison. Therefore, this bill would require
that a funeral establishment must use the words "goods,"
"merchandise," "products," or "services" on its home page to
identify a link to the list of goods and services to enable
consumers to find this important information.
County Clerks and Election Officials. Current law is unclear
for out-of-state registrants for a fictitious business name as
to whether the required documentation by the county clerk needs
to be from the California Secretary of State (SOS) or any SOS.
Therefore, this bill clarifies that the applicant for a
fictitious business name in the State of California provides
required documentation from the California SOS, if requested by
the county clerk.
Contractors State License Board. BPC Sections 136 and 7083
conflict as to the required timeframe for a licensee to report
an address change. BPC Section 136 requires a licensee to
notify the issuing board at its principal office of any change
in his or her mailing address within 30 days after the change,
unless the board has specified by regulations a shorter time
period. This is the usual timeline for all DCA licensees.
However, BPC Section 7083 provides that all licensees shall
notify the registrar, on a form prescribed by the registrar, in
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writing within 90 days of any change to information recorded
under Chapter 9, Division 3 of the BPC. This bill addresses a
conflict in the timeframe for reporting information to the board
and underscores that contractor licensees are required to notify
the registrar 90 days after any change in information.
Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development. This
bill makes a technical change to the Government Code that allows
members to participate in the California Travel and Tourism
Commission via teleconference and other technology. This bill
continues to ensure that the teleconference is still subject to
the requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and all
other requirements that allow for accessibility.
Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind. Referring to persons who are
blind or visually impaired as "blind person" is considered
offensive to many members of the community. The accepted
terminology is to identify the individual as a person who has a
specific medical condition. This is called "person first
terminology".
This bill will change the language to reflect the accepted
terminology to identify a person who is blind. With this
wording, the person is not defined by their condition.
Additionally, members of the public and the board have noted the
outdated language referring to the use of the masculine gender
in the code. This bill would remove specific gender from the
code.
Moreover, there are outdated dates located throughout this
chapter. This bill would delete those dates.
Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists.
Currently, BPC Section 6735 allows architects to sign off on
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civil engineering plans, calculations, specifications, and
reports for the construction of reports. Since the level of
education and expertise are dramatically different between the
two groups, this bill reverts the code section back to its 2014
format where only civil engineers may sign off on civil
engineering plans, calculations, specifications, and reports for
the construction of reports.
Structural Pest Control Board. For BPC Section 8508, this bill
replaces the word "man" with the word "persons" and replacing
the word "his" with the word "their". For BPC Section 8513,
this bill deletes the language that limits the effect of the
statute to Branch 1 and Branch 3 registered companies in order
to correct statutory inconsistencies. Branch 2 registered
companies routinely contract directly with consumers therefore,
Branch 2 registered companies are subject to the provisions of
BPC Section 8513 and the mechanic's lien laws.
This bill also deletes repetitive language, BPC Section 8516.5,
as its provisions have been incorporated into BPC Section 8516.
For BPC Section 8552, this bill adds language that allows a
registered company to represent work that has been completed by
an unlicensed company or individual only in cases where the Act
explicitly provides for an unlicensed company to complete such
work. Currently, BPC Section 8552 makes no such allowance even
though there are instances where repair work may be performed by
unlicensed companies or individuals.
For BPC Section 8611, this bill adds language in order to
clarify that branch office supervisors must be field
representatives or operators who are licensed in the branch, or
branches of pest control that is being conducted at that office.
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Analysis Prepared by:
Vincent Chee / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301 FN:
0001348