BILL ANALYSIS
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|Hearing Date:June 14, 2010 |Bill No:AB |
| |1746 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod, Chair
Bill No: AB 1746Author:Emmerson
As Introduced: February 8, 2010Fiscal: Yes
SUBJECT: Architects: continuing education.
SUMMARY: Revises and recasts existing requirements for the California
Architects Board to accept self-certification of completed continuing
education requirements for license renewals.
Existing law:
1) Provides for the licensing and regulation of more than 22,000
architects by the California Architects Board (Board) within the
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA.)
2) Provides that each architect license expires every odd-numbered
year (every two years), and may be renewed by filing an application
with the Board which contains a statement specifying whether the
licensee has been convicted of a crime and by paying the renewal
fee, as specified.
3) Mandates continuing education as a condition for license renewal,
by requiring that an architect must complete coursework on
disability access requirements, as specified, and must certify
completion to the Board and provide documentation from the course
provider that includes the course title, subjects covered, name of
provider and trainer or educator, date of completion, number of
hours completed, and a statement about the trainer or educator's
knowledge and experience background.
4) Phases in the number of continuing education hours required on an
incremental basis as follows:
a) 1 hour for licenses renewed between July 1, 2009 and January
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1, 2010.
b) 2.5 hours for licenses renewed between January 1, 2010 and
January 1, 2011.
c) 5 hours for all licenses renewed after January 1, 2011.
5) Requires coursework regarding disability access to be presented by
trainers and educators with knowledge and expertise and to include
information and practical guidance regarding:
a) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
b) State laws that govern access to public facilities.
c) Federal and state regulations adopted pursuant to a) and b).
This bill:
1) Recasts the existing continuing education requirements described
under Existing Law, Items 3), 4) and 5) above, and revises the
manner in which completion of the continuing education in
disability access is documented to the Board.
2) Beginning January 1, 2013, requires licensees to certify compliance
with the continuing education requirements and provide
documentation of the disabled access continuing education upon
request by the Board in an audit.
3) Subjects a licensee who fails to complete the required coursework
or provides false or misleading statements relating to the
completion of required coursework to a civil penalty of up to
$5,000 by the Board, or license suspension or revocation, or both
civil penalty and suspension or revocation.
4) Authorizes the Board to audit the records of a licensee to verify
completion of any of the continuing education requirements, and
requires each licensee to maintain records of completion of the
required coursework for two years from the date of license renewal
and make the records available at the Board's request for auditing.
5) Until January 1, 2015, requires the Board to audit at least 3% of
the license renewals each year to verify completion of the
continuing education requirements.
6) Requires the Board to submit a letter to the Legislature by January
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1, 2019, on the disability access continuing education provisions,
including the level of licensee compliance with the requirements,
actions taken by the Board for noncompliance, the findings of Board
audits, and any recommendations for improving the process.
FISCAL EFFECT: The Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis, dated
April 14, 2010 indicates the following:
1) Savings in excess of $400,000 (California Architects Board
Fund) per year due to the removal of the requirement that the
Board certify the course work all of their licensees as a
condition of licensure renewal.
2) On-going annual costs in excess of $100,000 (California
Architects Board Fund) per year for auditing and enforcement
activities.
3) Approximately $10,000 per year in increased fine revenue as a
result of the three percent audit requirement.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose. This bill is sponsored by American Institute of
Architects, California Council (AIACC, Sponsor) to change the
existing continuing education reporting requirements for architects
to a certify/audit model, which is widely used by regulatory boards
with continuing education requirements, and to allow the Board to
manage the continuing education requirement in a more effective and
efficient manner.
The Author states that in 2008, SB 1608 required California architects
to take continuing education in disability access as a condition of
license renewal. The bill further directed every architect to
submit coursework documentation forms on the required courses to
the Board. According to the Author, the reporting requirements
have shown to be costly and burdensome for the Board to manage, and
have delayed confirmation of license renewal for many architects
renewing in 2009 who complied with the continuing education
requirement. The Sponsor argues that the cost and delays are a
result of how SB 1608 which requires the continuing education to be
reported.
2. Background. In 2008, SB 1608 (Corbett, Chapter 549, Statutes of
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2008) established a narrowly-focused continuing education
requirement for architects. That bill was introduced to address a
number of reforms intended to increase compliance with longstanding
state and federal laws requiring access to persons with
disabilities in places of public accommodation.
The bill established the Construction-Related Accessibility Standards
Compliance Act, and made a number of changes including: (1)
established processes for businesses sued for violation of
accessibility standards; (2) specified requirements for site
certifications by a certified access specialists; (3) established
a California Commission on Disability Access;
(4) imposed continuing education requirements on local building
officials relating to disability access requirements; and, (5)
required as a condition of license renewal that an architect must
complete coursework regarding disability access requirements as a
condition of license renewal.
The bill required each architect to certify completion of the
continuing education hours and provide documentation to the Board
from the course provider that includes the course title, subjects
covered, name of provider and trainer or educator, date of
completion, number of hours completed, and a statement about the
trainer or educator's knowledge and experience background.
While SB 1608's continuing education provisions dealt only with
disability access, both AIACC and the Board expressed clear
interest in establishing a broad-based comprehensive continuing
education requirement for architects rather than the narrower,
subject-specific requirement for disability access continuing
education. Last year, AIACC sponsored AB 623 (Emmerson) which
proposed to establish a comprehensive continuing education
requirement if the Board determines that continuing education is in
the interest of public health safety and welfare. The bill was
further amended to additionally contain nearly identical provisions
to those found in this measure to recast the disability access
education requirements and to require an architect to provide
documentation of the disabled access continuing education upon
request by the Board. The AIACC worked with Senator Corbett's
office and with the Judiciary Committee staff to streamline the
licensees' reporting process and at that same time simplify the
Board's processes of monitoring compliance with the requirements.
AB 623 was ultimately vetoed by the Governor who stated: "I am
supportive of the provisions that modify the documentation
requirements for the existing [continuing education] requirements,
but I believe this could be done administratively. However, I do
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not believe we should be placing additional burdens on licensees by
demanding they fulfill new continuing education requirements."
It is significant to note that this bill's revision of the reporting
process does not diminish the requirement for architects to
complete 5 hours of continuing education in disability access, nor
does it set aside any of the educational standards or course
content requirements. This bill only changes the SB 1608 reporting
requirement so that the architect certifies compliance, maintains
the information on the course(s), and submits that information to
the Board upon request.
According to the Board, 16 DCA licensing boards use the certify/audit
method to verify continuing education, while 7 boards require some
information on the course to be submitted. AIACC states that the
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and the
American Institute of Architects report that 26 state licensing
boards follow the certify/audit model, and 12 require some
information to be sent to the licensing board. Of those 12, most
require minimal information on the course (course title, date
taken, and hours) as a part of renewal application, with more
specific information to be retained in case of an audit.
3. Previous Legislation. AB 623 (Emmerson, 2009) would have
authorized the Board to establish comprehensive continuing
education requirements and revised the existing disability access
continuing education reporting requirements. That bill was vetoed
by the Governor.
SB 1608 (Corbett, Chapter 549, Statutes of 2008) requires, for license
renewal, that an architect complete coursework regarding disability
access requirements, and certify to the Board completion of the
coursework.
4. Arguments in Support. The California Architects Board writes in
support that the bill would streamline the Board's process for
verifying compliance with the continuing education on disabled
access provisions. Currently, the Board must review and process
22,000 records each renewal cycle. The bill would allow the Board
to rely on licensees certifying compliance with and to audit the
continuing education records of licensees. The revised process
will remove a significant backlog that occurs under the current
system that delays licenses being issued, according to the Board.
In sponsoring the bill, the American Institute of Architects,
California Council states that the bill removes the requirement
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that architects submit the disability access coursework forms to
the Board, and instead requires architects to certify they took the
courses, retain the coursework forms for two years, and give them
to the Board only upon an audit. The bill requires the Board to
verify compliance with the continuing education law through random
audits. AIACC ultimately states that the proposed changes would be
more cost effective than the current law, and would result in cost
savings to the Board.
5. Neutral if Amended. The Department of Consumer Affairs has taken a
"neutral if amended" position on the bill, stating that it has no
concern with granting the Board authorization to audit continuing
education records of licensees, but objects to penalty for
noncompliance by licensees, and the requirement for the Board to
send a letter to the Legislature regarding continuing education
compliance by licensees. DCA states that the Board already has
authority to issue administrative fines for licensees who violate
the law. DCA also believes the requirement for the Board to submit
a letter to the Legislature by January 1, 2019 is also unnecessary.
DCA has suggested deleting both of these provisions from the bill.
Committee staff notes that while it is true that general authority
under Section 125.9 of the general provisions of the Business and
Professions Code authorizes boards to issue administrative
citations and fines up to $5,000 for violations of the law,
explicitly authorizing the Board to revoke or suspend a licensee
who provides false or misleading statements relating to the
completion of coursework more clearly delineates the authority and
responsibility of the Board in this regard.
Committee staff further notes that the requirement for the Board to
submit a letter to the Legislature regarding compliance with the
continuing education requirements by January 1, 2019 was one of the
agreements with Senator Corbett in last year's AB 623 which would
have similarly amended the provisions enacted by SB 1608 in 2008.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
American Institute of Architects, California Council (Sponsor)
California Architects Board
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Opposition:
None received as of June 9, 2010
Consultant:G. V. Ayers