BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 549|
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                              UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 549
          Author:   Correa (D)
          Amended:  8/20/09
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEVEL. COMMITTEE  :  8-1, 4/20/09
          AYES:  Negrete McLeod, Corbett, Correa, Florez, Oropeza,  
            Romero, Walters, Yee
          NOES:  Aanestad
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Wyland

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  8-2, 4/27/09
          AYES:  Kehoe, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Leno, Oropeza, Walters,  
            Wolk, Yee
          NOES:  Cox, Runner
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Denham, Hancock, Wyland

           SENATE FLOOR  :  23-11, 5/14/09
          AYES:  Alquist, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, DeSaulnier,  
            Ducheny, Florez, Hancock, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal,  
            Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Romero,  
            Simitian, Steinberg, Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Yee
          NOES:  Aanestad, Ashburn, Benoit, Cogdill, Cox, Denham,  
            Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff, Strickland, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Cedillo, Dutton, Oropeza, Runner,  
            Walters, Vacancy

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  48-27, 8/31/09 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Barbering and cosmetology:  manicurists

                                                           CONTINUED





                                                                SB 549
                                                                Page  
          2

           SOURCE  :     Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality
                      California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative


           DIGEST  :    This bill authorizes the Board of Barbering and  
          Cosmetology to collect gender, language and ethnicity data  
          from new licensure applicants and renewal licenses and  
          requires that the information be posted on the board's  
          Internet website.

           Assembly Amendments  require the Board of Barbering and  
          Cosmetology (BBC) keep the information collected  
          confidential and only post that information collected n a  
          manner that does not identify individual applicants and  
          licensees, and require the BBC, in an initial application  
          for licensure or in a form for license renewal, state in a  
          conspicuous manner that reporting information regarding  
          gender, language preference, and ethnicity is voluntary, is  
          not a condition of licensure or license renewal, and that  
          no adverse action shall be taken against any applicant or  
          licensee that does not report this information. 

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          1. Creates the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (BBC)  
             within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) for the  
             licensing and regulation of cosmetologists, barbers,  
             estheticians, manicurists, electrologists, instructors  
             and establishments where barbering and cosmetology are  
             practiced. 

          2. Specifies that the practice of cosmetology includes,  
             among other things, the removal of superfluous body hair  
             from a person by the use of depilatories or by the use  
             of tweezers, chemicals, and preparations or by the use  
             of devices or appliances of any kind or description,  
             except by the use of light waves, commonly known as  
             rays.  

          3. Requires the BBC to conduct and administer examinations  
             for licensure applicants, issue licenses to qualified  
             applicants, discipline individuals who have violated the  







                                                                SB 549
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             statutes or regulations governing the conditions of  
             their licenses, and adopt rules governing sanitary  
             conditions and precautions to protect the public health  
             and safety in licensed establishments, approved schools,  
             and in the practice of barbering and cosmetology.

          This bill:

          1. States legislative intent to collect information on  
             gender, language preference and ethnicity of the BBC's  
             licensees and collecting the demographic data will help  
             ensure that appropriate health and safety information is  
             effectively provided to licensees.

          2. Allows applicants for BBC licensure to report  
             information to the BBC, on their initial application for  
             licensure or renewal, information regarding their  
             gender, language preference and ethnicity, and requires  
             the BBC to collect this information.

          3. Allows an applicant for an establishment license and an  
             establishment licensee to report to the board, in  
             his/her initial application for a license and in license  
             renewal forms, the applicant's and licensee's gender,  
             language preference, and ethnicity, and requires the BBC  
             to collect this information.

          4. Requires the BBC to compile the information collected  
             pursuant to this bill quarterly and post it on the BBC's  
             Internet website.

          5. Requires the BBC to keep the information collected  
             confidential and only post that information collected in  
             a manner that does not identify individual applicants  
             and licensees.

          6. Requires the BBC, in an initial application for  
             licensure or in a form for license renewal, stat in a  
             conspicuous manner that reporting information regarding  
             gender, language preference, and ethnicity is voluntary,  
             is not a condition of licensure or license renewal, and  
             that no adverse action shall be taken against any  
             applicant or licensee that does not report this  
             information.







                                                                SB 549
                                                                Page  
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           Background  

          In 1927, the Board of Barber Examiners and the Board of  
          Cosmetology were established to regulate the barbering  
          profession and cosmetology profession, respectively.  Over  
          the years, there have been many changes to the laws of each  
          profession and their respective governing boards.   For  
          example, laws were enacted to require separate licenses for  
          manicurists, electrologists and estheticians, and the  
          regulatory boards have evolved to become the Board of  
          Barbering and Cosmetolgy.

          The BBC currently has approximately 438,000 licensees in  
          seven different licensing categories: cosmetologists,  
          barbers, manicurists (nail care), estheticians (skin care),  
          electrologists (permanent hair removal), apprentices and  
          establishments in which the practice of barbering and  
          cosmetology occurs. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, one  
          time special fund costs of less than $50,000 to update  
          databases, application, and renewal forms.  On-going  
          special funds costs are likely less than $10,000 per year.   
          All costs will be absorbable within existing resources.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  9/1/09)

          Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (co-source)
          California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative (co-source)
          Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum
          Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice
          Asian Health Services
          Asian Law Caucus
          Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
          Bellagio Nails Spa
          Breast Cancer Action
          Breast Cancer Fund
          California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
          Coalition for Clean Air
          National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum







                                                                SB 549
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          State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology
          United Hair and Nails Association
          Women's Voices for the Earth
          WORKSAFE


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT :    According to the Sponsors, the  
          Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality and the  
          California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, current  
          gender, language and ethnicity data for beauty industry  
          employees is insufficient to protect them from the wide  
          array of occupational hazards they face in the course of  
          their work.  Estimates on the number of licensed Vietnamese  
          nail technicians range from 40-80 percent, many of whom are  
          limited English-proficient.  The Sponsors state that most  
          nail salon owners and workers often cite language as the  
          most common barrier they face in accessing workplace health  
          and safety information, and the lack of access to health  
          and safety information in a language workers and owners can  
          understand exacerbates occupational health hazards. 

          As the BBC is not currently required to collect demographic  
          information on its licensees, language preferences are not  
          known for beauty industry employees.  As a result,  
          information may not be communicated in a language workers  
          understand.  The Sponsors state they believe the collection  
          of the language and ethnicity data will enable BBC to  
          effectively communicate with the limited English proficient  
          licensee population and allow the BBC to identify language  
          needs, conduct culturally competent outreach and develop  
          effective policy that will better serve the community.
           
          The Sponsor asserts that knowing the gender and ethnicity  
          of BBC licensees is critical to understanding occupational  
          health hazards as disease risk often varies across gender  
          and ethnic groups and such information is necessary to  
          understanding whether workplace exposure is linked to any  
          disease.  They believe this bill provides the demographic  
          information required to inform intervention efforts to  
          promote worker health and safety.

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,  
            Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,  







                                                                SB 549
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            Chesbro, Coto, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer,  
            Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez,  
            Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu, Bonnie  
            Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, John A. Perez, V.  
            Manuel Perez, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio,  
            Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Yamada, Bass
          NOES:  Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee,  
            Conway, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Fletcher, Fuller,  
            Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries,  
            Knight, Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Silva,  
            Smyth, Audra Strickland, Villines
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Adams, Davis, Fong, Portantino, Vacancy


          JJA:do  9/1/09   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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