BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1085
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Date of Hearing: June 14, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Rudy Salas, Chair
SB 1085(Roth) - As Amended April 20, 2016
SENATE VOTE: 38-0
SUBJECT: Professional engineers: geologists: land surveyors
SUMMARY: Requires the Board for Professional Engineers, Land
Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG) to administer an assessment
to licensees covering relevant state laws and regulations, as
specified, and redefines the examination for licensure as a
geophysicist as a two-part test with a separate state law and
regulation component.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes a board under the Department of Consumer Affairs
(DCA) to impose licensing restrictions, including remedial
training, on a licensee engaged in acts or omissions
constituting a violation of the Business and Professions Code
(BPC). (BPC § 494)
2)Establishes the BPELSG within the DCA to administer and
enforce the Professional Engineers Act, the Geologist and
Geophysicist Act, and the Professional Land Surveyors' Act.
(BPC §§ 6700-6799, 7800-7887, 8700-8805)
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3)Requires an applicant for initial licensure as a professional
engineer, land surveyor, or geologist to, among other things,
pass a written examination with a separate section covering
state law and the BPELSG' regulation. (BPC §§ 6755.1, 7841,
8741.1)
4)Requires an applicant for licensure as a geophysicist to,
among other things, pass a written examination. (BPC §
7841.1)
THIS BILL:
1)Requires, at the time of renewal, the BPELSG to administer an
assessment of the renewing licensee.
2)Specifies that the assessment includes questions to reinforce
the licensee's knowledge of state laws and the BPELSG's rules
and regulations relating to the practice of the licensee.
3)States that failure to complete the assessment within 60 days
after the date of expiration of the certificate shall
constitute a cause for disciplinary action.
4)Provides that failure to complete the assessment does not
affect the renewal of the license.
5)Specifies that the initial examination for licensure as a
geophysicist shall test an applicant's knowledge of state
laws, rules, and regulations, and of the principles and
practices of geophysics within this state.
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6)Requires the BPELSG to administer the state law and regulation
portion of the examination for licensure as a geophysicist as
a separate part.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the BPELSG . The author
wishes to include the following statement from the BPELSG: "It
is anticipated that these legislative changes will allow the
renewal candidate to renew their license in much the same manner
as it is currently processed with the additional requirement
that the laws and regulations examination must be completed and
passed within a reasonable timeframe of the licensee's scheduled
renewal date.
The primary intent behind this requirement is to provide an
environment in which the [BPELSG] can efficiently increase
awareness of the laws and regulations directly affecting the
licensee's practice while providing an effective and more
instantaneous communication model for educating the licensees in
addition to typical outreach efforts."
Background. The BPELSG is the licensing entity responsible for
licensing and regulating professional engineers, land surveyors,
and geologists. As of November 17, 2015, the BPELSG licenses
93,654 professional engineers, 4202 land surveyors, 7,534
geologists, and 165 geophysicists.
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Renewal Assessment. Currently, licensees under the BPELSG are
not required to complete any continuing education. However,
during the BPELSG's 2014 Sunset Review, the BPELSG reported that
it receives a high number of non-practice-related infractions.
Specifically, of the violations rising to the level of formal
disciplinary action, the BPELSG found that approximately 45%
related to non-practice-related issues. The examples include:
"failing to include all of the required elements in a written
contract, failing to execute a written contract, failing to sign
and seal professional documents in the manner required by law,
failing to submit reports of civil judgments or settlements, and
failing to file Organization Record forms."
According to the BPELSG, the primary reason provided by the
licensees tends to be that the licensees are unaware of the
various administrative requirements. The BPELSG reports that
this is despite having the information readily available on the
BPELSG's website. As a result, the BPELSG proposes using the
assessment to ensure licensees are informed.
The BPELSG has stated that the assessment will be developed with
the DCA's SOLID training unit, will be delivered online, will
consist of two to three pop-ups with review material and
quizzes, and will have no pass/fail component. According to the
BPELSG, "If the licensee fails to correctly answer a question,
the system will outline the issue and highlight the correct
response. At the end of the assessment, the licensee would sign
a document highlighting that they have reviewed the information
and provide their license number and last four digits of their
social security number."
In addition to protecting both the licensees and the consumers
the requirements are intended to benefit, the BPELSG believes
the proposal will cut enforcement costs and timelines. By
keeping licensees apprised of the relevant non-practice related
laws, the BPELSG anticipates spending less resources on
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investigations for these types of cases.
Other States. According to the National Society of Professional
Engineers, as of April 25, 2016, 44 states require between 15 to
30 hours of continuing education for licensed professional
engineers. According to the BPELSG, the proposal under this
bill is not continuing education
Geophysicist State Jurisprudence Exam. Under existing law, an
applicant for licensure as a professional engineer, land
surveyor, or geologist, in addition to the standard national
examination, must take a separate portion that tests the
applicant's knowledge of state-specific laws and regulations.
The purpose of the exam is to cover state law not tested on the
national exam. However, existing law does not state that an
applicant for licensure as a geophysicist (which is a type of
geologist for purposes of licensing) must take the
state-specific examination. Therefore, this bill will update the
statute to conform to the requirement for the other license
types under the BPELSG.
Current Related Legislation. SB 1165 (Canella) of the current
Legislative Session, makes multiple changes to increase
consistency between the practice acts administered by the
BPELSG. STATUS: This bill will also be heard before the
Assembly Committee on Business and Professions during today's
hearing.
SB 1479 (Committee on Business, Professions and Economic
Development) of the current Legislative Session, among other
things, authorizes the BPELSG to make arrangements with a public
or private organization to conduct the geology examination and
to contract with a public or private organization for materials
or services related to the examination, conforming the BPELSG's
authority for geologists to its existing authority for
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professional engineers and land surveyors. STATUS: This bill
will also be heard before the Assembly Committee on Business and
Professions during today's hearing.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
The BPELSG writes in support, "Based on the [BPELSG]'s
experience, licensees fail to adequately and independently stay
up-to-date with critical legal and regulatory changes that
directly affect the manner in which they provide services to and
for the general public.
This bill would NOT put a hold on the renewal of the license or
impact the status of the license. Instead this bill would give
the [BPELSG] the authority to pursue disciplinary action against
a licensee who failed to complete the assessment. However, such
action would be pursued under the provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act to ensure the licensee's due
process rights."
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Region 9 writes
in support, "For more than 40 years, the [ASCE] has encouraged
its members in the civil engineering profession to support
continuing professional development qualifications in order to
acquire and maintain a license as a civil engineer. [This bill]
is consistent with the [ASCE's] continuing education policy
(Policy Statement No. 425)."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:
The Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG)
writes in opposition, "PECG does not believe the [BPELSG] has
demonstrated a need for the bill. The [BPELSG] licenses over
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100,000 Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists, yet by its
own admission the [BPELSG] processes only 50 violations each
year of its rules and regulations. Nevertheless, it proposes to
test all of its licensees upon their renewal every two years.
That constitutes an unjustified waste of time and [BPELSG]
resources and unnecessarily burdens the 99.9% of licensees who
are in compliance with the rules.
Engineers, Land Surveyors, Geologists and Geophysicists are
already required to take a comprehensive exam in order to become
licensed. The [BPELSG] currently has sufficient tools to
address and correct failures to comply with the laws and rules.
The [BPELSG] should continue to utilize those effective tools to
ensure compliance with the law instead of requiring all 100,000
licensees to take an additional exam every two years."
AMENDMENTS:
The author should make the following amendments:
1)Clarify the permissiveness of the BPELSG's authority to
discipline:
Throughout, strike out "shall constitute a cause for" and
insert:
may result in
2)Clarify that the BPELSG may not charge a fee for the
assessment:
Throughout, after subdivision (b), insert:
(c) The board shall not charge the certificate holder a fee
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for the administration or development of the assessment.
3)Further define "assessment" and limit the scope of the
assessment:
Throughout, after the new subdivision (c), insert:
(d) For purposes of this section, "assessment" means an online
program that contains educational reading material and
questions. The material shall be based on state law and the
board's rules and regulations related to the board's top five
violations and any changes or additions to existing law.
REGISTERED SUPPORT:
The Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and
Geologists
American Society of Civil Engineers Region 9
REGISTERED OPPOSITION:
Professional Engineers in California Government
Analysis Prepared by:Vincent Chee / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301
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