BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1085
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 3, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 1085
(Roth) - As Amended June 28, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the Board for Professional Engineers, Land
Surveyors, and Geologists (Board) to administer an assessment to
a certificate holder covering relevant state laws and
regulations, as specified, upon renewal. The bill limits the
scope of the assessment to the Board's top five types of
violations related to the administration and procedural aspects
of the profession, and prohibits the Board from charging the
certificate holder a fee for the assessment. The bill also
redefines the examination for licensure as a geophysicist as a
two-part test with a separate state law and regulation
component.
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FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor and absorbable costs to the Board.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the Board, the bill's sponsors, "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 Board 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."
2)Background. The Board, under the Department of Consumer
Affairs, is responsible for licensing and regulating
professional engineers, land surveyors, and geologists. As of
November 17, 2015, the Board licenses 93,654 professional
engineers, 4,202 land surveyors, 7,534 geologists, and 165
geophysicists.
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Currently, licensees in California are not required to
complete any continuing education. However, during the Board's
2014 Sunset Review, the Board 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 Board found that approximately 45% related to
non-practice-related issues. 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."
In addition to protecting both the licensees and the
consumers, the Board believes the proposal will cut
enforcement costs and timelines. By keeping licensees
apprised of the relevant non-practice related laws, the BPELSG
anticipates spending fewer resources on investigations for
these types of cases.
3)Arguments in Support. The Board writes in support, "Based on
the Board'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 Board the authority to pursue disciplinary action
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against a licensee who fails 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."
4)Arguments in Opposition. The Professional Engineers in
California Government (PECG) writes in opposition, "PECG does
not believe the Board has demonstrated a need for the bill.
The Board licenses over 100,000 Engineers, Land Surveyors, and
Geologists, yet by its own admission the Baord 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 Baord resources and
unnecessarily burdens the 99.9% of licensees who are in
compliance with the rules."
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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