BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 1325
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   January 19, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    AB 1325 (Lara) - As Amended:  January 4, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              Business and 
          Professions  Vote:                            8 - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          Yes    Reimbursable:              Yes

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires that individuals registering fictitious 
          business name (FBN) statements provide proof of identity to the 
          county clerk at the time of the registration.  In addition, the 
          bill adds language to the FBN statement specifying that false 
          declarations are a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to 
          $1,000. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Costs associated with county clerks' offices checking proof of 
          identity and filing a copy of that proof with the FBN statement 
          should be relatively minor. To the extent the costs are not 
          absorbable, current law gives county clerks the authority to 
          increase their filing fees to cover any additional costs.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . The purpose of this bill is to reduce fraudulent 
            activity by requiring that individuals filing an FBN statement 
            provide the county clerk with proof of their identity by 
            presenting a California driver's license or other acceptable 
            form of identification. 

           2)Background  . Current law requires every person who regularly 
            transacts business in California for profit under a FBN to 
            file and maintain a current FBN statement with the county 
            clerk in which the principal place of business is located.  
            This filing is designed to protect consumers who deal with 
            individuals or partnerships that operate under FBNs by making 
            available to the public the identities of people or companies 








                                                                 AB 1325
                                                                  Page  2

            doing business under a fictitious name.

            Businesses must file the FBN statement, which is effective for 
            five years, within 40 days of their first transaction.  An 
            applicant may have more than one FBN and there may be more 
            than one registrant per FBN.  All information on the FBN 
            statement is public record pursuant to the California Public 
            Record Act, including the residence address.

           3)Related Legislation  . AB 1670 (Mendoza; Chapter 716, Statutes 
            of 2007) revises the conditions under which a new FBN must be 
            filed and revises the content of the FBN statement.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916) 
          319-2081