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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Business and Professions |Vote:|12 - 2 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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. SB 1085 Page 2 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. SB 1085 Page 3 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 SB 1085 Page 4 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 SB 1085 Page 5