BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1588|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1588
Author: Atkins (D), et al.
Amended: 6/25/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMM. : 8-0, 7/2/12
AYES: Price, Corbett, Correa, Hernandez, Negrete McLeod,
Strickland, Vargas, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/30/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Professions and vocations: reservist
licensees: fees and continuing education
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill authorizes all boards, commissions,
bureaus, committees, departments, divisions, examining
committees, programs and agencies within the Department of
Consumer Affairs (DCA) to provide waivers from professional
license renewal fees and continuing education requirements
for military reservists called to active duty.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
CONTINUED
AB 1588
Page
2
1. Provides for the regulation of various professions and
vocations by boards, commissions, bureaus, committees,
departments, divisions, examining committees, programs
and agencies within the DCA and for the licensure or
registration of individuals.
2. Authorizes any licensee whose licensed expired while he
or she was on active duty as a member of the California
National Guard of the United States Armed Forces to
reinstate his/her license without examination or penalty
if the following requirements are met: (Business and
Professions Code (BPC) Section 114.3)
A. The licensee was in good standing with the board
at the time the reservist was called to active duty;
B. The renewal fees or continuing education
requirements are waived only for the period during
which the reservist is on active duty service and;
C. The active duty reservist, or the active duty
reservist's spouse or registered domestic partner,
provides written notice satisfactory to the board
that substantiates the reservist's active duty
service.
3. Exempts licensees of the Medical Board from paying
license renewal fees while engaged in full-time training
or active service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines
or in the U.S. Public Health Service. (BPC Section
2440)
4. Permits the Veterinary Medical Board to waive continuing
education requirements for veterinarians who are on
active military duty. (BPC Section 4846.5(h))
5. Permits the Board of Accountancy to waive continuing
education requirements for its licensees who are on
active military duty. (BPC Section 5028)
6. Authorizes the State Bar of California to waive the
membership fees of any member who is a service member if
all of the following requirements are met: (Military
and Veterans Code Section 825)
CONTINUED
AB 1588
Page
3
A. The member was in good standing with the State Bar
of California at the time the member enters into
military service.
B. The membership fees are for the period for which
the service member is in military service.
C. The service member, or the service member's
spouse, provides written notice to the State Bar of
California that substantiates the service member's
military service.
This bill:
1. Adds committees, departments, divisions, examining
committees, programs and agencies (as included in BPC
Section 22) to the list of entities under DCA that can
waive fees and requirements.
2. Requires the boards, commissions, bureaus, committees,
departments, divisions, examining committees, programs
and agencies within DCA to waive the applicable renewal
requirements of any licensee or registrant who is called
to active duty as a member of the U.S. Military Reserve
or the California National Guard.
3. Requires that written documentation substantiating the
licensee or registrant's active duty service be provided
to the board which regulates the licensee or
registrant's profession.
4. Requires that licensees and registrants not engage in
activities that would require a license during the
period that the waivers are in effect.
5. Requires the licensee or registrant to meet all renewal
requirements within one year from the reservist's date
of discharge from active duty service.
Background
Military Reservists . A reservist is a person who is a
member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise
CONTINUED
AB 1588
Page
4
civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the
military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual
basis to refresh their skills. This person is usually a
former active-duty member of the armed forces, and they
remain a reservist either voluntarily, or by obligation.
All five branches of the U.S. armed forces have their own
Reserve Forces, whose reservists can be called upon to
serve anywhere at any time including:
U.S. Army Reserve
Marine Forces Reserve (U.S. Marine Corps)
U.S. Navy Reserve
Air Force Reserve Command (U.S. Air Force)
U.S. Coast Guard Reserve
There is also the U.S. National Guard, which is under dual
Federal/State control, and is traditionally intended for
homeland defense and domestic disaster relief (although
large numbers are currently deployed in Iraq, and as such
the distinction between National Guardsmen and Reservists
has become blurred). The National Guard is divided into:
Army National Guard (U.S. Army)
Air National Guard (U.S. Air Force)
During peacetime, Reservists and National Guardsmen spend
one weekend a month, two weeks a year annually in training.
Under existing law, a member of the California National
Guard or the U.S. Armed Forces is permitted to reinstate
his/her professional license or registration without
examination or penalty if their license expired while the
licensee or registrant was on active duty.
Other States . Numerous states, including Colorado,
Kentucky, Louisiana and Michigan, have introduced or
enacted legislation to provide comparable license fee and
continuing education waivers for active duty military.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/13/12)
CONTINUED
AB 1588
Page
5
AFSCME
American Legion, Department of California
American Nurses Association of California
AMVETS, Department of California
Blood Centers of California
Board of Pharmacy
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California Board of Accountancy
California Optometric Association
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Dental Board of California
Department of Defense State Liaison Office
Hearing HealthCare Providers
Los Angeles County Democratic Party
Respiratory Care Board of California
United States Marine Corps
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Department of
California
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
active duty military members who have valid professional
licenses are not able to perform the duties for which they
are licensed while on active military duty. Therefore,
they cannot receive the benefits of the licenses which they
would pay to renew. Military reservists are in a unique
situation because they are likely to have civilian
vocations which they intend to return to after active duty.
Their active duty status is a temporary departure from
their civilian lives and employment. Therefore, this bill
proposes a temporary waiver of renewal requirements (such
as fee payment and continuing education) to ensure that
reservists will not be penalized for their service by
having their license fall into delinquency and possible
suspension. While the costs to renew individual licenses
vary, they can be hundreds of dollars. It is important to
find ways to support our military reservists' civilian
lives while they serve our nation.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/30/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
CONTINUED
AB 1588
Page
6
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fletcher, Valadao
JJA:k 8/13/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED