BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 820|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 820
Author: Senate Business, Professions and Economic
Development
Committee
Amended: 4/21/09
Vote: 21
SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMM. : 10-0, 4/27/09
AYES: Negrete McLeod, Wyland, Aanestad, Corbett, Correa,
Florez, Oropeza, Romero, Walters, Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Consumer affairs: professions and vocations
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes several non-controversial,
minor, nonsubstantive or technical changes to various
miscellaneous provisions pertaining to regulatory boards of
the Department of Consumer Affairs and professions
regulated under the Business and Professions Code.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides for the licensing and regulation of various
professions and businesses by some 26 boards, eight
bureaus, and one commission within the Department of
CONTINUED
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Consumer Affairs (DCA) under various Business and
Professions Code (BPC) licensing acts.
2. Provides authority to issue an infraction citation for
practicing in certain industries regulated by specified
DCA programs without the required license, but that
authority does not apply to the Professional Fiduciaries
Bureau (BPC Section 146).
3. Establishes the Department of Real Estate within DCA to
license and regulate real estate brokers and real estate
salespersons.
This bill:
1. Makes changes to the following general provisions in the
BPC pertaining to the Office of Examination Resources:
A. Changes the name of the Office of Examination
Resources to the Office of Professional Examination
Resources. (BPC Sections 139, 1632.5, 1634.2, 2493,
4200.3, 4200.4, 4938, and 7303.2)
2. Makes the following changes pertaining to the
Professional Fiduciaries Bureau:
A. Includes professional fiduciary as a profession
for which an infraction may be issued for practicing
without a license. (BPC Section 146)
3. Makes the following changes pertaining to the Board of
Accountancy:
A. Deletes references to notices regarding Board of
Accountancy meetings and, instead, refers to the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. (BPC Section 5016)
B. In addition to the Board of Accountancy's
administrative committee, also refers to a
qualifications committee and changes committee terms
from one to two years. (BPC Section 5021)
C. Clarifies that the provisions apply to the
qualifications committee and clarifies its duties.
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(BPC Sections 5022 and 5023)
4. Makes the following changes pertaining to landscape
architects:
A. Corrects a drafting error in prior legislation to
clarify that a reciprocity candidate seeking
licensure in California must meet the same experience
requirements as any other candidate for licensure.
(BPC Section 5651)
5. Makes the following changes pertaining to the
Contractors State License Board (CSLB):
A. Recasts provisions of existing law for clarity and
readability. (BPC Sections 7028.7, 7044, 7044.01,
and 7108.5)
B. Corrects a reference to another section of law and
makes technical corrections and clarifications. (BPC
Sections 7159, 7159.5, and 7159.14)
6. Makes the following changes pertaining to licensed
repossessors:
A. Makes technical clarification, includes "trailer"
in the definition of "collateral," and clarifies by
adding "specific" to the definition that each item of
collateral is to be considered separately. (BPC
Section 7500.1)
B. Permits a qualified manager to be in charge of
two, rather than one license location. (BPC Section
7505.5)
C. Authorizes repossessors to retain a license plate
to be returned to the debtor upon request, rather
than destroy the license plate; clarifies that the
repossessor must consent to the release of personal
effects without an inventory; and makes technical
changes. (BPC Section 7507.9)
D. Clarifies that a repossessor shall not appraise
the value of any collateral (BPC Section 7505.11)
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E. Provides that once the repossession is complete, a
only the legal owner or other person with legal
authority may direct the repossessor to release a
vehicle (BPC Section 7507.12)
F. Requires that if more than one vehicle is
repossessed, each vehicle shall be considered and
reported separately. (Section 28 of the Vehicle
Code)
G. Permits a repossessor's tow vehicle to mount the
license plate (Section 5201 of the Vehicle Code) and
stop lamps (Section 24603 of the Vehicle Code) in the
same manner as other tow vehicles.
7. Makes the following changes pertaining to the Cemetery
and Funeral Bureau:
A. Updates terminology to refer to "mortuary science
programs" instead of "embalming schools or colleges"
and makes clarifying and conforming changes. (BPC
Sections 7606, 7616, 7641, 7643, 7665, 7666, 7671,
and 7725.5)
B. Requires the Bureau to accept a national
examination for embalmer licensing and to administer
an examination only on California law applicable to
the practice of embalming and makes clarifying and
conforming changes. (BPC Sections 7643, 7646, 7647,
7662, and 7729)
C. Provides that an embalmer or apprentice embalmer
applicant must furnish official transcripts to the
Bureau and deletes the requirement to have completed
high school for applicants who have graduated from a
mortuary science program. (BPC Sections 7643 and
7662)
8. Makes the following changes pertaining to the Bureau of
Automotive (BAR):
A. Updates terminology relating to BAR applicants and
registrants to refer to "issue," "deny," "suspend,"
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or "revoke" registrations rather than "validate,"
"refuse to validate," invalidate temporarily," or
"invalidate permanently." (BPC Sections 9884.2,
9884.7, and 9884.12)
B. Adds specific authority for BAR to suspend, revoke
or otherwise discipline an automotive repair dealer
registration based on a criminal conviction. (BPC
Section 9884.7)
C. Clarifies that BAR may take disciplinary action
for a conviction relating to the "qualifications,
functions, or duties" rather than to "qualifications,
functions and duties." Thus requiring the conviction
to relate to one characteristic (qualifications,
functions, or duties) instead of all three (BPC
Section 9889.3; Sections 44072.1 and 44072.2 of the
Health and Safety Code)
D. Revises the requirement for a smog check station
to post a sign advising customers of cost limits for
repairs under the smog check program to instead
require the sign to inform customers about their
options when a vehicle fails a smog check inspection
and makes technical and clarifying changes. (Section
44017.3 of the Health and Safety Code)
9. Makes the following changes pertaining to the Department
of Real Estate:
A. Makes technical and clarifying changes to the real
estate law. (BPC Section 10146)
Comments
This bill is authored by the Senate Business, Professions
and Economic Development Committee and is intended to
consolidate a number of non-controversial provisions
related to various regulatory programs and professions
governed by the Business and Professions Code.
Consolidating the provisions in one bill is designed to
relieve the various licensing boards, bureaus and
professions from the necessity and burden of having
separate measures for a number of non-controversial
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revisions.
Many of the provisions of this bill are minor, technical
and updating changes, while other provisions are
substantive changes intended to improve the ability of
various licensing programs and other entities to
efficiently and effectively administer their respective
laws.
However, as a Committee bill, if controversy or opposition
should arise regarding any provision that cannot be
resolved, then that provision will be removed from the
bill. This will eliminate the chance of placing any of the
other provisions in jeopardy.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/11/09)
California Board of Accountancy
Contractors State License Board
JJA:mw 5/12/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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