BILL ANALYSIS
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|Hearing Date: April 30, 2001 |Bill No:SB |
| |136 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Senator Liz Figueroa, Chair
Bill No: SB 136Author:Figueroa
As Amended:April 30, 2001 Fiscal:Yes
SUBJECT: Professional boards: sunset review.
SUMMARY: Extends the sunset dates for the Board of Guide
Dogs for the Blind, California Tax Education Council,
California Council for Interior Design Certification,
revises and updates the Geologist Act, increases licensing
fees for engineers and land surveyors, and makes other
changes to the Board pursuant to recommendations of the
Joint Legislative Sunset Review Committee (JLSRC) and the
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).
Existing law:
1)Creates, by statute, (SB 2036 (McCorquodale), Chapter
908, Statutes of 1994) the Joint Legislative Sunset
Review Committee (JLSRC) and subjects the various
licensing boards of the Department of Consumer Affairs
(DCA) to sunset review by the JLSRC, and provides for the
elimination of all the DCA boards on a specified
schedule. The law provides that when any board becomes
inoperative and is repealed (sunsetted), the DCA shall
succeed to and be vested with all duties and
responsibilities of the board. It is the intent of the
Legislature that all existing and proposed
consumer-related boards or categories of licensed
professionals be subject to a review on a four-year
cycle, unless circumstances warrant a longer or shorter
interval with respect to a given board.
2)Provides for licensing and regulation of guide dog
instructors, guide dog schools, and fundraisers by the
Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind (BGDB). Those
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provisions will sunset on July 1, 2002, and be repealed
on January 1, 2003.
3)Provides for registration of tax preparers by the
California Tax Education Council and provides for sunset
of the provisions establishing the CTEC on July 1, 2002,
and repeal of those provisions on January 1, 2003.
4)Provides for the certification of interior designers by
the California Council for Interior Design Certification
and provides for sunset of the provisions establishing
CCIDC on January 1, 2002.
5)Establishes the Board for Professional Engineers and Land
Surveyors (BPELS) and provides for the licensing and
regulation of engineers and land surveyors by BPELS. The
provisions establishing BPELS will sunset on July 1,
2002, and be repealed on January 1, 2003.
6)Establishes the Board of Registered Geologists and
Geophysicists for the purposes of examining, registering,
and regulating geologists and geophysicists pursuant to
its practice act.
This bill:
1)Extends the inoperative and repeal dates for the Board of
Guide Dogs for the Blind for four years, to July 1, 2006,
and January 1, 2007, respectively. Also, extends the
arbitration pilot project July 1, 2006, and January 1,
2007.
2)Extends the California Tax Education Council for six
years to July 1, 2008 and January 1, 2009.
3)Provides for at least two CTEC tax preparers to be on the
CTEC.
4)Extends the California Council for Interior Design
Certification (CCIDC) for two years to January 1, 2004.
5)Requires the CCIDC to:
a) report back to the Joint Legislative Sunset Review
Committee by September 1, 2002, on the following: outreach
efforts; examinations; finances; interactions with
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California Legislative Council on Interior Design; and
materials and information.
a) have an independent audit of their revenues and
expenditures and provide the audit results to the JLSRC
within a reasonable time.
1)Clarifies the definition of an "interior design organization"
and requires that the nonprofit organization be a 501(c)(3).
2)Provides title act protection for interior designers by making
it an unfair trade practice for someone to represent
themselves as a "certified interior designer."
3)Requires that every five to seven years the examinations
recognized and required by CCIDC be subject to an occupational
analysis.
4)Extends the inoperative and repeal dates for the Board for
Professional Land Surveyors to July 1, 2004, and January 1,
2005, respectively.
5)Increases to $400 every two years for each application for
professional engineer registration and land surveyor licensure
(from $175 every four years). Additionally, increase the
application fee for an engineer-in-training and a land
surveyor-in-training from $60 to $100.
6)Changes the date the Engineers Board shall use the national
examination on or before to June 1, 2003.
7)Revises the Geologist and Geophysicist Act as follows:
a) Renames of the chapter from the "Geologist and
Geophysicist Act" to "The California Geologists and
Geophysicists Licensing Act."
b) Changes license titles from "Registered Geologist" and
"Registered Geophysicist" to "Professional Geologist" and
"Professional Geophysicist."
c) Clarifies definitions of the "practice of geology" and
the "practice of geophysics."
d) Codifies definitions relating to specialties which are
currently identified in regulation.
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e) Defines "registered business."
f) Mandates conduct by Board members according to a code of
conduct established by Board policy.
g) Assigns to the Board the power to establish fees by
regulation.
h) Authorizes the Board to retain legal and investigative
assistance.
i) Authorizes the Board to adopt regulations regarding
expiration, cancellation and renewal and replacement of
licenses.
j) Authorizes the Board to enter into agreements for mutual
license recognition with other bodies that regulate the
practices of geology and geophysics.
aa) Requires a major in geology or geophysics that includes
a core curriculum.
bb) Eliminates non-degree requirements for licensure as a
geologist.
cc) Requires practice within area of competence.
dd) Requires officers and employees of the federal, state,
county, city or local agency created under state statute
who perform geological or geophysical work be licensed.
ee) Requires that federal and state agencies contract with
licensees to be in responsible charge of geological or
geophysical work.
ff) Requires that any public agency that reviews geological
or geophysical reports, submit reports or documents to the
Board that may contain evidence of violations of the Act.
gg) Makes it grounds for disciplinary action to use the
terms "Licensed Geologist", "Professional Geologist",
"Licensed Geophysicist", "Professional Geophysicist",
"Certified Engineering Geologist" or "Certified
Hydrogeologist."
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hh) Allows the Board to report disciplinary actions to other
regulatory or licensing organization if it appears that a
violation of the laws enforced by that organization have
occurred.
ii) Makes it grounds for disciplinary action for failure to
protect the health, safety or welfare of the public as it
relates to the practice of geology or geophysics.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose. This bill is one of the "sunset review bills"
authored by the Chair of the JLSRC. It is intended to
implement legislative changes as recommended by the JLSRC
for several licensing boards reviewed by the JLSRC in
2000/2001. SB 136 is also the JLSRC's omnibus bill.
2.Background.
a. JLSRC and DCA 2000/2001 Review of Licensing Boards. In
2000/2001, the JLSRC reviewed 3 boards and 1 committee
under the Department of Consumer Affairs, and 2 private,
nonprofit organizations that are independent of the
Department's jurisdiction. They included the Board of
Accountancy, the Dental Board, Board of Guide Dogs for
the Blind, the Committee on Dental Auxiliaries, the
California Tax Education Council, and the California
Council for Interior Design Certification.
The JLSRC began its review of these six licensing agencies
in December with two days of hearings. Preliminary
recommendations and findings were made concerning each
licensing board, and discussed by the JLSRC with the
individual boards, professional groups, consumer advocacy
organizations and individual consumers. These
recommendations and findings were reported to the DCA for
a 90-day review. On April 4, 2001, the DCA reported
their recommendations concerning each of the licensing
boards to the JLSRC. A final vote was taken on DCA and
JLSRC staff recommendations on April 23, 2001.
The recommendations of the JLSRC are intended to improve
the ability of the various licensing programs under
review to efficiently and effectively administer their
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respective licensing laws, and to provide for better
service to California consumers and to the board's
current and potential licensees. Not all recommendations
require legislative approval. Many of the changes
recommended can be done administratively or through the
regulatory process.
b. JLSRC and DCA Review of the Board of Guide Dogs for the
Blind (BGDB) . The JLSRC recommended the continued
oversight of guide dog schools and that the licensing of
guide dog instructors be continued. The BGDB received
complaints from the public including guide dog users;
however, over the past few years, that number has
declined which may be attributed to the BGDB's strong
connection with the guide dog users, instructors, and
schools.
The JLSRC recommend a four-year extension for the BGDB and
recommend that the Board take advantage of and utilize
the expertise of the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and
Vocational Education and the Attorney General to enhance
guide dog user protection.
c. JLSRC Review of the CCIDC . The California Council for
Interior Design Certification (CCIDC) was established in
January 1992, with the intent of being the organization
responsible for determining whether interior designers
met the education, experience and examination
requirements. The Joint Legislative Sunset Review
Committee (JLSRC) last reviewed CCIDC five (5) years ago
(1995-96). The JLSRC identified a number of issues and
problem areas concerning the voluntary certification
system. During this year's review, the JLSRC also found
a number of areas of concern which include: 1) whether
the CCIDC, a non-profit professional organization, was
involved in activities more appropriate for a
professional membership trade association and 2) if
CCIDC's revenues were greater than their expenditures.
Due to the number of issues relating to the CCIDC, the
JLSRC provided a number of recommendations that will
hopefully remedy these concerns and recommended only a
two-year sunset extension.
d. JLSRC Review of the California Tax Education Council .
CTEC is the private organization that registers tax
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preparers, the second largest segment of tax preparation
professionals serving California, following certified
public accountants. Anyone who, for a fee, assists with
or prepares a state or federal income tax return,
excluding CPAs, attorneys, Enrolled Agents (EAs),
Enrolled Actuaries, and certain financial institutions or
their employees, must be registered with CTEC. CTEC is
charged with approving providers of tax education,
maintaining and distributing a list of those providers,
registering tax preparers, including verification of
educational requirements, and documentation of required
bond information. There were several issues that were
addressed during the course of the sunset review of CTEC.
The JLSRC believes that CTEC is doing an exceptional job
and recommended a six year sunset extension.
e. Geologists Act Revision . The Geologist and
Geophysicist Act established the Board of Registration
for Geologists and Geophysicists in 1967. Since the
Board's inception, there have been changes in the
geological and geophysical professions, the academic
training and examination requirements for geologists and
geophysicists, and the Board's procedures that dictate a
restructuring of the Act. Many statutes are in need of
being updated and made less confusing.
f. Engineers Board Fee Increase . There is a critical need
for the fee increase contained in this bill. It is
imperative that Board to continue with current levels of
funding for our examination and enforcement operations.
The sunset review bill, SB 2030 (Figueroa), of last year
which carried the fee increase for the BPELS went through
the legislative process with support from both sides of
the aisle. However, last year it became the policy of
the Governor's Office not to allow any new fee increases
for bureaus or boards under DCA. As a result, the fee
increase language was removed from SB 2030.
3.Similar or Related Legislation This Session. Other
"sunset review bills" to be presented before the Business
and Professions Committee include: SB 133 which deals
with the California Board of Accountancy and SB 134 which
deals with the Dental Board and the Committee on Dental
Auxiliaries.
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SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
Association of Engineering Geologists, Southern CA Section
(as amended)
Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
California Council of the Blind
California Legislative Conference on Interior Design
Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California
Opposition:
None on file
Consultant:Robin Hartley