BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1155
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Date of Hearing: June 28, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
Jacqui Irwin, Chair
SB
1155 (Morrell) - As Amended May 31, 2016
SENATE VOTE: 39-0
SUBJECT: Professions and vocations: licenses: military
service
SUMMARY: Requires, on or after January 1, 2018, every board
under the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) to waive initial
license fees for veterans, as specified. This bill:
1)Requires every board within the department to grant a fee
waiver for the application for and issuance of an initial
license to an applicant who supplies satisfactory evidence to
the board that the applicant has served as an active duty
member of the California National Guard or the United States
Armed Forces and was honorably discharged.
2)Specifies that "satisfactory evidence" means a completed
"Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty" (DD
Form 214).
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3)Mandates that a veteran shall be granted only one fee waiver,
except as specified
4)States that after a fee waiver has been issued by any board
within the department pursuant to this section, the veteran is
no longer eligible for a waiver.
5)Mandates that if board charges a fee for the application for a
license and another fee for the issuance of a license, the
veteran shall be granted fee waivers for both the application
for and issuance of a license.
6)Requires a fee waiver to apply only to an application of and a
license issued to an individual veteran and not to an
application of or a license issued to an individual veteran on
behalf of a business or other entity.
7)Prohibits issuance of a waiver for any of the following:
a) Renewal of a license.
b) The application for and issuance of an additional
license, a certificate, a registration, or a permit
associated with the initial license.
c) The application for an examination.
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8)States that the operative date of this statute will be January
1, 2018.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides for the licensure and regulation of various
professions and vocations by boards within the Department of
Consumer Affairs.
2)Authorizes any licensee whose license expired while he or she
was on active duty as a member of the California National
Guard or the United States Armed Forces to reinstate his or
her license without examination or penalty if certain
requirements are met.
3)Requires the boards to waive the renewal fees, continuing
education requirements, and other renewal requirements, if
applicable, of any licensee or registrant called to active
duty as a member of the United States Armed Forces or the
California National Guard, if certain requirements are met.
4)Requires each board to inquire in every application if the
individual applying for licensure is serving in, or has
previously served in, the military.
5)Requires, on and after July 1, 2016, a board within the
Department of Consumer Affairs to expedite, and authorizes a
board to assist, the initial licensure process for an
applicant who has served as an active duty member of the
United States Armed Forces and was honorably discharged.
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FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, this bill will result in:
1)"[DCA]-wide revenue loss of $1.1 million to waive applicable
fees for honorably discharged veterans. Additional workload
required of each board and bureau to establish the fee waiver
in regulations prior to implementation could drive potentially
significant costs. Though most boards and bureaus indicate
that the loss of revenue and any associated workload would be
minor, this bill would exacerbate the fiscal issues of several
funds within the [DCA].
2)Additional absorbable workload to the [DCA] to make necessary
changes to the [DCA's] online licensing and enforcement
system, BreEZe. Additional minor costs for updating websites
related to applications."
COMMENTS: According to the author:
In a 2013 White House Report, President Obama and the First
Lady called upon states to do anything they can to streamline
states' occupational licensing schemes. The report stated,
"many service members are required to repeat education or
training in order to receive industry certifications and state
occupational licenses, even though much, and in some cases,
all, of their military training and experience overlaps with
credential training requirements." California has already
taken a step toward alleviating this issue by expediting the
licensing processes for veterans. We can make that process
even easier by relieving veterans from having to scrape up
money to pay for a license, some of which cost upwards of
$500, to do a job for which they are already, more than
likely, qualified to perform.
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A May 2015 Department of Veteran Affairs report found that the
young veteran (18-24 years old) poverty rate was 11.9%, 14.2%
if they had a disability. In addition, the California
Department of Housing and Community Development found, "of
California's extremely low-income veteran renter households,
79 percent have a severe cost burden, spending more than 50
percent of their income on housing." For those low-income
veterans, licensing fees would be another burden they face if
they were to apply for an occupational license. Waiving the
fee may encourage some of these individuals to either apply
for a license or to pursue a professional career requiring
licensure.
[This bill] ?removes a barrier for veterans seeking work in
California and encourages immediate entrance into the civilian
workforce by waiving the application and initial license fees
in order to receive an occupational license. These fees act
as a barrier of entry to the workforce for the 240,000 to
360,000 veterans that separate from the military each year,
many of whom would like to make California home... By
removing a barrier, we can more effectively help veterans
harness their invaluable skillsets thereby helping them find
higher paying jobs, strengthening the economy, and chipping
away at the growing issue of veteran homelessness."
Families with one or both active duty parents move more often
than the average household. While there is usually some notice
to the servicemember about a permanent change of station (PCS)
move, servicemembers are subject to an order to move and
generally must do so. Often the servicemember knows well in
advance that he or she will PCS but the destination may not be
known until much closer in time to the orders directing the
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move. Therefore, to the extent that the non-servicemember spouse
holds a license or certification that is not the subject of
reciprocity by the destination state, there can be a significant
financial impact resulting from the cost of licensing in the
destination state and the amount of delay before a license is
granted (during which period the license applicant cannot work
at the licensed profession).
The Committee on Business and Professions noted in its analysis
of this bill:
DCA Board Assistance for Military Applicants and Licensees. Due
to the potential hardships of licensing on military applicants,
veterans, and their families, the Legislature has passed, and
the DCA boards have implemented, several policies to ease the
burdens on military applicants, spouses, and licensees. For
instance, BPC § 114 exempts licensees from penalties for
reinstating a retired license if called to active duty. BPC §
114.3 requires boards under the DCA to waive renewal fees,
continuing education requirements, and other requirements for
military licensees as long as specified requirements are met.
In addition, after July 1, 2016, BPC § 115.4 will require boards
under the DCA to begin expediting the initial licensure process
for applicants who are honorably discharged veterans.
Similarly, this bill adds a one-time initial license fee waiver
for applicants who are honorably discharged veterans.
Policy Questions:
Does this bill meet a documented need or fix a known problem
facing veterans?
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This bill presents a general policy concern, applicable in this
particular case but much broader than this single piece of
legislation; the bill provides an incremental benefit to a small
number of veterans and does not arise out of a known problem
facing veterans. The policy concern is that bills like this
could have a sort of halo effect, creating a false sense of
greater progress. They also may consume the limited bandwidth of
the Legislature and distract the attention of policy makers from
documented issues of critical importance to veterans.
This bill would provide a tangible benefit to some veterans, and
is aligned with the general policy to ease veterans' transition
to civilian life. However, the waiver will not address a known
veterans' need or challenge except in an attenuated way.
License fees are a barrier to entry for all applicants, a
license is, by design, a barrier to entry, put there typically
to protect the public. Waiving the fee removes a barrier for
every applicant. However, a fee waiver would most logically
present the greatest barrier to those for whom the fee presents
a financial hardship. It has not been established that veteran
applicants are experiencing more or less financial hardship than
others, particularly in such DCA professions as dentistry,
medicine, optometry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, accountancy,
and architecture.
Author's amendments: Due to imminent Legislative process
deadlines, there is not sufficient time to amend the bill.
However, staff recommends:
1)Clarification of the terminology of the bill. The author's
intent is to include National Guard.
a) Clarify the documents which will suffice for eligibility
for the waiver. Though the DD-214 is the most common
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discharge document, there are other forms, particularly for
the National Guard,that are analogous but use a different
form number.
b) Clarify "active duty" as it pertains to the National
Guard.
2)Tailoring the bill by refining its scope. Some avenues of
tailoring might include: refining which DCA entities will be
required to grant a waiver (veteran applicants are
concentrated in certain DCA entities), a financial hardship
requirement, a chronological relationship with the date of
discharge.
3)Refocus the bill: Grant the fee waiver to spouses of active
duty members either instead of veterans or in addition to
veterans. These spouses are compelled to move frequently with
their active duty spouse and face documented issues with the
portability of their professional licenses and certifications.
Current Related Legislation. SB 1348 (Canella) of the current
Legislative Session, requires boards under the DCA that
authorize veterans to apply military experience and training
towards licensure requirements to post information on the
board's website about applying for military experience and
training towards licensure requirements.
Prior Related Legislation. AB 1057 (Medina), Chapter 693,
Statutes of 2013, requires each board to inquire in every
application for licensure if the individual applying for
licensure is serving in, or has previously served in, the
military.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American G.I. Forum of California
AMVETS-Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California Dental Association
Goodwill Southern California
Military Officers Association of America, California Council of
Chapters
Veterans of Foreign Wars, California Department
Opposition
None on File
SB 1155
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Analysis Prepared by:John Spangler / V.A. / (916)
319-3550