BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1085|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1085
Author: Roth (D)
Amended: 6/28/16
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 4/18/16
AYES: Hill, Bates, Berryhill, Block, Galgiani, Hernandez,
Jackson, Mendoza, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR: 38-0, 5/12/16
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block,
Cannella, De León, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall,
Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson,
Lara, Leno, Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning,
Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Stone,
Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Liu, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 8/18/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Professional engineers: geologists and
geophysicists: land surveyors
SOURCE: Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and
Geologists
DIGEST: This bill requires the Board for Professional
Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG or 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
SB 1085
Page 2
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.
Assembly Amendments require that the Board not charge the
certificate holder a fee for the administration or development
of the assessment; define the term "assessment", as specified;
and make other technical and clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS:
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.
(Business and Professions Code (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)
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's regulation.
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Page 3
(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)Defines "assessment" as an online program that contains
educational reading material and questions. Specifies that
the material shall be based on state law and the BPELSG's
rules and regulations relating to the practice of the relevant
licensee. The scope of the assessment shall be limited to the
board's top five types of violations related to the
administrative and procedural aspects of the practice of
professional engineers and any changes or additions to
existing law related to such administrative and procedural
aspects.
2)Requires, at the time of a license's renewal, the BPELSG to
administer an assessment of the renewing licensee.
3)States that failure to complete the assessment within 60 days
after the date of expiration of the certificate may result in
disciplinary action, but shall not affect the renewal of the
certificate.
4)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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5)Requires the BPELSG to administer the state law and regulation
portion of the examination for licensure as a geophysicist as
a separate part of the examination.
Background
The Board, under the DCA, 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.
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.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill
will have minor and absorbable costs to the BPELSG.
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SUPPORT: (Verified8/18/16)
Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists
(source)
American Society of Civil Engineers Region 9
California Land Surveyors Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/18/16)
None received
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."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 8/18/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,
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Page 6
Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Roger Hernández
Prepared by:Mark Mendoza / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
8/19/16 19:37:18
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