BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Senator Jerry Hill, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: SB 1348 Hearing Date: April 11, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Cannella | |----------+------------------------------------------------------| |Version: |February 19, 2016 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ---------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Bill Gage | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Licensure applications: military experience SUMMARY: Requires regulatory boards and bureaus within the Department of Consumer Affairs (Department) to indicate on a license application that veterans may be able to apply military experience and training toward licensure requirements. Existing law: 1) Provides for the licensure, registration and regulation of various professions and vocations by the boards, bureaus, committees, programs and commission (board(s)) within the Department. 2) Specifies that it is the policy of this state that persons with the skills, knowledge, and experiences obtained in the armed services should be permitted to apply this learning and contribute to the employment needs of this state at the maximum level of responsibility and skill for which they are qualified, and that to this end, that the rules and regulations of boards shall provide a method of evaluating education, training and experience obtained in the armed services and determine how it may be used to meet the licensure requirements for the particular business, or occupation, or profession regulated. (Business and Professions Code (BPC) § 35) 3) Requires each board to inquire in every application if the SB 1348 (Cannella) Page 2 of ? individual applying for licensure is serving in, or has previously served in, the military. (BPC § 114.5) 4) Requires after July 1, 2016, that a board within the Department expedite, and may assist, the initial licensure process for an applicant who supplies satisfactory evidence to the board that the applicant has served as an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States and was honorably discharged and provides that the board may adopt regulations necessary to implement this requirement. (BPC § 115.4) 5) States that it is the policy of the State of California that, consistent with high quality health care services, persons with skills, knowledge and experience obtained in the armed services of the United States should be permitted to apply such learning and contribute to the health manpower needs of the state at the maximum level of responsibility and skill for which they are qualified, and to this end, the rules and regulations of healing arts boards shall provide for methods of evaluating education, training, and experience obtained in military service if such training is applicable to the requirements of that profession. (BPC § 710) 6) Requires, by July 1, 2015, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, using common course descriptors and pertinent standards of the American Council on Education, to determine for which courses credit should be awarded for prior military experience. (Education Code § 66025.7) This bill requires that, if a board's governing law authorizes veterans to apply military experience and training towards licensure requirements, for that board to modify their application for licensure to advise veteran applicants about their ability to apply military experience and training towards licensure requirements. FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill has been keyed "fiscal" by Legislative Counsel. SB 1348 (Cannella) Page 3 of ? COMMENTS: 1. Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the Author. According to the Author's office, "This bill would require each board, with a governing law authorizing veterans to apply military experience and training towards licensure requirements, to modify their application for licensure to advise veteran applicants about their ability to apply that experience and training towards licensure requirements. By building off of AB 1057 from 2013, this bill closes this technical gap in code, ensuring veterans receive notification in writing when applying for licensure in boards that accept military experience and training towards their licensure requirements." 2. Background. The Department currently oversees 39 licensing programs that issue more than two million licenses, registrations and certifications in nearly 200 professional categories. These licensing boards are charged with regulating a particular profession through licensure and enforcement programs. Each of these entities is responsible for enforcing the minimum qualifications for licensure that are established by statute and regulation. Licensure requirements vary in their specificity and flexibility. In many cases, the stated qualifications are specific and provide the regulating entity with little or no discretion over what experience or education can be accepted. Professional and occupational licensure requirements range from completing a form and paying a licensing fee to satisfying significant experience, education and exam requirements. 3. Consideration of Military Experience and Education. In 2012, the Department provided a report to the Legislature regarding the licensing programs that have statutes or regulations that allow for the use of military experience and education to meet licensing requirements for the various boards under the Department. Titled, Report to the California State Legislature: Acceptance of Military Experience & Education Towards Licensure, it outlined administrative solutions that the Department's programs were instituting to assist military applicants with the licensure process. It provided a breakdown of all licensing programs under the Department that SB 1348 (Cannella) Page 4 of ? allowed for members of the military to apply experience, education, or training towards licensure and those that did not. In 2015, the Department provided an update to its 2012 report and focused on boards providing acceptance of military experience towards licensure pursuant to BPC § 35, which requires that rules and regulations of boards shall provide for methods of evaluating education, training and experience obtained in the armed services. It was found that none of the licensing programs have regulations based on BPC § 35, but that many of the Department's programs have either specific or broad authority to review and apply military education, experience, or training towards licensure. For example, the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS) worked with over 5,000 military applicants to guide them through the application process in the last two years. The Contractors' State License Board (CSLB) has also created a formal program to assist former military members with properly applying their education and experience and completing the licensing process. To better account for military veterans who apply for California licenses, each licensing board was required to ask on its license application whether the individual applying for licensure is serving in, or has previously served in, the military, beginning in 2015. This bill will require all boards to also alert applicants that some of their military experience and training may be counted towards licensure requirements. The Author's believes that individuals will look to the licensure application in order to determine the requirements for licensure. While this is undoubtedly true in certain circumstances, it may also benefit veterans for boards to advertise opportunities for military credit in locations prior to the point of credential verification, such as on boards' website, at schools and training programs, and in Veterans Affairs offices. 4. Previous Legislation. SB 466 (Hill, Chapter 489, Statutes of 2015) extended the sunset date on the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) until January 1, 2018, required the California State Auditor's Office to conduct an audit of the BRN's SB 1348 (Cannella) Page 5 of ? enforcement program and required BRN to promulgate regulations to ensure that schools grant credit for military education and experience. AB 1057 (Medina, Chapter 693, Statutes of 2013) required licensing boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs, beginning January 1, 2015, to ask on every application for licensure if the applicant is serving in, or has previously served in, the military. AB 705 (Blumenfeld, 2013) required the BRN to promulgate regulations that identify the military education, training, and experience that is equivalent or transferable to coursework required for licensure as a registered nurse (RN) and, upon receipt of an applicant's record of education, training, and experience completed in the Armed Forces, provide the applicant with a list of coursework, if any, that the applicant must complete for license eligibility. ( Status: this bill was held in Assembly Appropriations Committee.) AB 704 (Blumenfeld, 2013) required the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) to adopt regulations by January 1, 2015, to accept the military education, training, and practical experience of applicants, as specified, towards certification as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)-I and EMT-II, and towards licensure as an EMT-Paramedic (EMT-P). ( Status: this bill was vetoed by the Governor.) 5. Related Legislation. SB 1155 (Morrell) would require every board under the Department of Consumer Affairs to grant a waiver for the application and initial licensing fee to an honorably discharged veteran. ( Status: this bill is pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee.) SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION: Support: None on file as of April 5, 2016. Opposition: None on file as of April 5, 2016. -- END -- SB 1348 (Cannella) Page 6 of ?