BILL ANALYSIS
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|Hearing Date:June 22, 2009 |Bill No:AB |
| |620 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod, Chair
Bill No: AB 620Author:John A. Perez
As Introduced: February 25, 2009 Fiscal: Yes
SUBJECT: County Clerks: recordkeeping: registrations.
SUMMARY: This bill establishes new minimum size requirements for
identification cards for unlawful detainer assistants (UDA), legal
document assistants (LDA), process servers, and professional
photocopiers and makes other technical changes to identification
cards.
Existing law:
1)Defines and regulates the activities of legal document assistants and
unlawful detainer assistants, process servers and professional
photocopiers.
2)Requires those professionals to register in the county in which his or
her principal place of business is located.
3)Requires the county clerk of each county to maintain a register of, and
assign a unique number to, those persons, and to issue an
identification card to each registrant.
4)Requires the identification cards to contain a photograph and to meet
varying minimum size requirements, as specified.
5)Requires a person filing for a fictitious business name to submit
specified fees to the county clerk for the filing of the fictitious
business name statement.
6)Requires the fees to be used in a specified manner, including to cover
the costs of the county clerk in notifying registrants of the
pending expiration of their fictitious business name statement.
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7)Requires the application for registration of professional photocopiers to
include specified statements.
8)Requires that at least one person involved in the management of a
professional photocopier be a licensed notary public.
9)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:
1) Changes the minimum size requirements of the registrants'
identification cards to 3 1/4 by 2 inches, and deletes a provision
that requires the issuance of additional cards to employees of legal
document assistants and unlawful detainer assistants, as specified.
2) Specifies that identification cards issued to partnerships or
corporations be issued in the name of the partnership or
corporation, and that no photograph be included.
3) Requires the inclusion of the name of the partnership or
corporation on the identification card of an employee of a
photocopier.
4) Specifies that a county clerk is not required to retain any
returned notice of pending expiration that is returned as
undeliverable by the United States Postal Service.
5) Requires that application to be signed under penalty of
perjury. Because perjury constitutes a crime, the bill would impose
a state-mandated local program.
6) Requires written confirmation from a nonregistrant notary
public to authorize the use of his or her commission for
registration.
7)Provides that no reimbursement is required by this act for a
specified reason.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill has been keyed "fiscal" by
Legislative Counsel.
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COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the Author's office, County Clerks are faced
with inflexible provisions in state law that prevents them from
operating efficiently. A number of inflexible state provisions also
place blanket requirements on all counties that have proven to be
unresponsive to the needs or unique characteristics of each county.
This measure makes various technical changes intended to clean up
the Business and Professions Code by updating several sections
pertaining to County Clerks.
2)Background. According to the Author, this bill creates flexibility
with respect to inflexible provisions in order to cut down on waste
and increase efficiency. For example, the Author argues that the
defined size requirement for certain identification cards that
County Clerks issue is problematic because various counties utilize
different technologies. A minimum size requirement for these cards
that is established in this bill will arguably allow counties
flexibility when creating, distributing, and utilizing these cards.
The Author also argues that "County Clerks should not be required to
waste resources storing and maintaining undeliverable 'fictitious
business name' courtesy notice of pending expiration for two years."
Finally, the Author argues, "Identification documents issued to
corporations or partnerships should not require a photograph because
this practice is duplicative and unnecessary. Individuals are
required to meet eligibility requirements and pay existing
registration fees to operate as an LDA or UDA. Removing the
photograph requirement from the corporation cards will eliminate
confusion caused by unqualified individuals filing under the
corporation and being issued a card with their photo similar to the
LDA/UDA card. This change to law will create a clear difference
between the cards carried by qualified individuals and the cards
issued to corporate employees, which will no longer contain a
photo."
3)Related Legislation. AB 1290 (Mendoza-2008) was vetoed due to the
late passage of the 2008-09 Budget. Like AB 620, this bill
contained provisions regarding undeliverable "fictitious business
name(s)."
4)Arguments in Support. According to the Sponsor, California
Association of Clerks and Election Officials (CACEO) , this bill is
the product of a comprehensive review of the Business and
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Professions Code. County Clerks identified numerous sections of the
Code in need of updating, clarification and simplification.
Currently, ID card size specifications vary among LDAs, UDAs,
registered process servers, and professional photocopiers. Several
counties are already using new technology to produce ID cards
similar to credit cards that are more secure because the
individual's photo is digitized on the ID card. The Sponsor also
notes that creating minimum size specification for all ID cards will
(both electronically and manually) enable counties to make ID cards
consistent across all registrations, and allow cards to easily fit
into a wallet.
While current law requires all individual ID cards to contain a
photograph, the law is silent on whether the photography requirement
applies to a partnership or corporation. Current practice does not
require photographs to be included on partnership or corporation ID
cards because the card is issued in the name of the partnership or
corporation, rather than the name of the partner or corporate
officer. This bill aligns the law with current practice.
Currently, LDAs and UDAs must meet specific educational requirements
when applying for an ID card that requires professional
registration. Existing law requires the issuance of additional
cards for employees of LDAs and UDAs upon payment of $10. According
to the Sponsor, this has caused confusion in many counties, as some
LDA and UDA employees interpret that to mean they can pay $10 for a
card that allows them to perform the functions of a LDA or UDA. The
Sponsor states that removing the language allowing 'employee ID'
cards will eliminate this confusion.
Currently, the application for registration for a professional
photocopier for a natural person (as opposed to a group or entity
such as a corporation) requires an applicant to provide the
following: his or her contact information; prior criminal record;
and affirmation of compliance with legal requirements pertaining to
confidential records. The law is unclear as to whether an applicant
must sign the application to verify the statements are accurate.
The Sponsor states that a signature requirement will make
applications for all professional registrations consistent.
Counties need a uniform way to review the authority of a borrowed
notary commission. Some counties currently require written
authorization from the notary allowing the use and this bill would
make that practice standard. The Sponsor states that this change
would make the process consistent in all counties, and give
counties, the notary and the applicant the security of knowing that
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using a notary commission to qualify for registration as a
professional photocopier is official.
Currently, professional photocopier registrations are the only
professional registration that issues an employee ID card without
requiring the employee to file a separate employee registration.
These employee ID cards are issued using the registration number of
the individual, partnership, or corporation authorizing the issuance
of the ID card. The Sponsor states that, "Adding a requirement that
the (photocopier) ID card include 'employee of....and the name of
the employer' will clearly show under whose registration the
employee is being issued an ID card, and that the registration is
for their employer, not themselves."
NOTE : Double-referral to Rules Committee (second.)
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
California Association of Clerks and Election Officials- CACEO
(Sponsor)
Opposition:
None on file.
Consultant:Yuliya Zeynalova