BILL NUMBER: SB 1331	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Pavley

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2016

   An act to amend Sections 7200 and 7200.5 of, and to add Section
7215.7 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to professions
and vocations.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1331, as introduced, Pavley. State Board of Guide Dogs for the
Blind: membership: out of state schools: followup services.
   Existing law establishes within the Department of Consumer Affairs
a State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind, which consists of 7
members appointed by the Governor.
    Existing law requires 2 of the board members to be persons who
are blind or visually impaired who use guide dogs.
   This bill would instead require the board to be composed of at
least 3 members who are blind or visually impaired who use guide
dogs. Of these 3 board members, the bill would require one
representative from each of the 2 major consumer organizations
representing Californians who are blind or visually impaired. The
bill would also require the Governor, in making these appointments,
to consider recommendations from those organizations.
   Under existing law, the board has exclusive authority in this
state to issue licenses for the instruction of persons who are blind
or visually impaired in the use of guide dogs and for the training of
guide dogs for use by persons who are blind or visually impaired.
Under existing law, the board also has exclusive authority in this
state to issue licenses to operate schools for the training of guide
dogs and the instruction of persons who are blind or visually
impaired in the use of guide dogs. Existing law makes it unlawful for
any person to sell, offer for sale, give, hire, or furnish under any
other arrangement, any guide dog or to engage in the business or
occupation of training a guide dog unless he or she holds a valid and
unimpaired license issued pursuant to this chapter. A violation of
the provisions governing guide dogs is a crime.
   This bill, whenever an individual has received training or
instruction from a specified certified school outside of this state,
would authorize personnel from that school to provide that individual
with any followup services within this state with respect to the
specific guide dog for whom training or instruction was originally
provided outside of this state, as specified, and would place those
services beyond the jurisdiction of the board. The bill, until
January 1, 2018, would require the board to prepare a factsheet
regarding various functions of the board, to post that fact sheet on
its Internet Web site, and to provide copies to each of the licensed
guide dog schools. The bill, until January 1, 2018, would also
require a licensed guide dog school to provide copies of the fact
sheet to every student receiving training from that school. Because
the failure of a licensed guide dog school to provide those copies
would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 7200 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   7200.  (a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs a State
Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind in whom enforcement of this chapter
is vested. The board shall consist of seven members appointed by the
Governor. One member shall be the Director of Rehabilitation or his
or her designated representative. The remaining members shall be
persons who have shown a particular interest in dealing with the
problems of persons who are blind or visually impaired and at least
 two   three  of them shall be persons who
are blind or visually impaired who use guide dogs.  Of the three
  members who are blind or visually impaired who use guide
dogs, there shall be one representative from each of the two major
consumer organizations representing Californians who are blind or
visually impaired, and the Governor shall, in making these
appointments, consider recommendations from those organizations.

   (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date. Notwithstanding any other law, the repeal of this section
renders the board subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.
  SEC. 2.  Section 7200.5 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   7200.5.   (a)    The board shall have exclusive
authority in this state to issue licenses for the instruction of
persons who are blind or visually impaired in the use of guide dogs
and for the training of guide dogs for use by persons who are blind
or visually impaired. It shall also have exclusive authority in this
state to issue licenses to operate schools for the training of guide
dogs and the instruction of persons who are blind or visually
impaired in the use of guide dogs. 
   (b) Notwithstanding any other law, whenever an individual has
received training or instruction from a school outside of this state
that is certified by the International Guide Dog Federation or a
successor entity, as determined by the board, personnel from that
school may provide, in this state, any followup services to that
individual with respect to the specific guide dog for whom training
or instruction was originally provided outside of this state, and the
board shall have no jurisdiction over any followup services
authorized pursuant to this subdivision. 
  SEC. 3.  Section 7215.7 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
   7215.7.  (a) The board shall prepare a factsheet that shall
contain all of the following:
   (1) A description of the purposes served by the board.
   (2) A description of the board's role in assisting guide dog users
who are victims of alleged guide dog discrimination.
   (3) A description of the board's arbitration procedure under
Section 7215.6.
   (b) The board shall post the factsheet on its Internet Web site
and provide copies to each guide dog school licensed pursuant to this
chapter. A school licensed under this chapter shall provide a copy
of the factsheet to every student receiving training from that
school.
   (c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date.
  SEC. 4.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.