BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    SB 1348


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          Date of Hearing:  June 21, 2016


                   ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS


                                  Rudy Salas, Chair


                     SB 1348(Cannella) - As Amended May 31, 2016


          SENATE VOTE:  39-0


          SUBJECT:  Licensure applications:  military experience


          SUMMARY: Requires boards under the Department of Consumer  
          Affairs (DCA) that authorize veterans to apply military  
          experience and training towards licensure requirements to post  
          information on the board's website about applying military  
          experience and training towards licensure requirements.  


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of  
            various professions and vocations by licensing entities under  
            the DCA.  (Business and Professions Code (BPC) §§1-11506)
          2)Declares that it is the policy of this state that persons with  
            skills, knowledge, and experience obtained in the armed  
            services of the United States should be permitted to apply  
            this learning and contribute to the employment needs of the  
            state at the maximum level of responsibility and skill for  
            which they are qualified.  (BPC § 35)










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          3)Requires the rules and regulations of boards established under  
            the BPC to provide for methods of evaluating education,  
            training, and experience obtained in the armed services, if  
            applicable to the requirements of the business, occupation, or  
            profession regulated.  Also requires the rules and regulations  
            to specify how the education, training, and experience may be  
            used to meet the licensure requirements for the particular  
            business, occupation, or profession regulated.  Requires each  
            board to consult with the Department of Veterans Affairs and  
            the Military Department before adopting the rules and  
            regulations.  Requires each board to perform the duties  
            required within existing budgetary resources of the agency  
            within which the board operates.  (BPC § 35)


          4)Requires each board under the DCA to inquire in every  
            application for licensure if the applicant is serving in, or  
            has previously served in, the military.  (BPC § 114.5)


          THIS BILL: 


          5)Specifies that, if a board under the DCA's governing law  
            authorizes veterans to apply military experience and training  
            towards licensure requirements, the board shall post  
            information on the board's website about the ability of  
            veteran applicants to apply military experience and training  
            towards licensure requirements.


          FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,  
          this bill will result in: 


          1)"Minor one-time costs [to DCA] boards and bureaus to place  
            information on their websites about the ability for veterans  
            to apply military experience and training to license  
            requirements.








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          2)One-time cost of about $100,000 for the Dental Board of  
            California to amend various existing regulations regarding  
            license applications to include the required information in  
            the bill."


          COMMENTS:  


          Purpose.  This bill is sponsored by the author.  According to  
          the author, "While current law requires licensing boards within  
          the [DCA] to ask on every application for licensure if the  
          applicant has or is serving in the military, the law does not  
          require the applicable boards to also include [on] their  
          websites, a statement advising veteran applicants about their  
          ability to apply that experience and training towards licensure  
          requirements?.  By building off of AB 1057 [(Medina), Chapter  
          693, Statutes of 2013], this bill closes this technical gap in  
          code, ensuring veterans receive notification when applying for  
          licensure in boards that accept military experience and training  
          towards their licensure requirements."


          Background.  In 2015, the White House's Council of Economic  
          Advisors (CEA) published a report titled Occupational Licensing:  
          A Framework for Policy Makers.  In the report, the CEA pointed  
          out that strict licensing creates barriers to mobility for  
          workers in licensed professions, including military personnel  
          and veterans.  The CEA suggests that this is because state  
          licensing schemes impose additional licensing costs on licensed  
          workers for movement between states, but no extra cost for  
          movement within a state.  


          Further, the burdens could be harder on military applicants and  
          their families, who tend to move much more than the general  
          population.  Military applicants may be stationed away from the  
          state where they earned their license (Permanent Change of  
          Station (PCS) move).  Veterans may also end up moving to a  








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          different state when they are discharged.  If the state they  
          move to does not accept their license, the military applicants  
          and their families may have to repeat education and training to  
          meet the state-specific requirements.


          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 § 35 requires boards under the DCA to specify how  
          military education, training, and experience may be used to meet  
          the licensure requirements.  Also, BPC § 114.5 requires each  
          board under the DCA to inquire in every application for  
          licensure whether the applicant is serving in, or has previously  
          served in, the military.


          This bill would require that boards also put information on  
          their websites regarding the application of military experience.  
          While many boards already do this, this bill would codify the  
          practice. 


          Current Related Legislation.  SB 1155 (Morrell) of the current  
          Legislative Session, 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.


          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.


          REGISTERED SUPPORT:








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          California Board of Accountancy


          REGISTERED OPPOSITION:


          None on file.


          Analysis Prepared by:Vincent Chee / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301