BILL NUMBER: SB 975 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 29, 2012
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 27, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 22, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 14, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 14, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 27, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wright
JANUARY 19, 2012
An act to add Section 101.2 to the Business and Professions Code,
relating to professions and vocations.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 975, Wright. Professions and vocations: regulatory authority.
Existing law, the Business and Professions Code, provides for the
licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by
boards, bureaus, and commissions within the Department of Consumer
Affairs, including, but not limited to, the California Architects
Board and the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and
Geologists. Under existing law, a city or county shall not prohibit a
person or group of persons, authorized by one of these boards,
bureaus, or commissions, as specified, to engage in a particular
business from engaging in that business.
This bill would provide that, beginning July 1, 2013, the
California Architects Board and the Board for Professional Engineers,
Land Surveyors, and Geologists have the sole and exclusive authority
to license and regulate the practice of professions and vocations
regulated by those boards pursuant to provisions of that code, and
that no licensing requirements, as specified, shall be imposed upon a
person licensed to practice one of those professions or vocations
other than under that code or by regulation promulgated by the
applicable board through its authority granted under that code. The
bill would prohibit a city, county, city and county, school district,
other special district, a local or regional agency, joint powers
agency, or state agency, department or other state office, except for
those boards, from imposing a licensing requirement upon a person
licensed to practice a profession or vocation regulated by one of
these boards. The bill would state findings and declarations of the
Legislature.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) The State and Consumer Services Agency contains the Department
of Consumer Affairs, which contains approximately 38 boards,
bureaus, and commissions the mission of which is to regulate
specified professions and vocations. In addition to those boards,
bureaus, and commissions, the state government also is comprised of
dozens of other state agencies, departments, boards, bureaus, and
commissions.
(b) California local government is comprised of 58 counties,
approximately 470 cities, and over 2,000 special districts, local and
regional agencies, and joint powers agencies.
(c) If other state governmental entities or local governmental
entities were to require persons licensed to practice a profession or
vocation by a board, bureau, or commission within the Department of
Consumer Affairs to satisfy additional licensing requirements in
order to practice their professions or vocations, before or within
the respective governmental entity, this would impose enormous
regulatory burdens upon those persons.
(d) The practice of adopting continuing education requirements
through regulatory action, and the imposition of mandatory training
programs to satisfy requirements for licensure, certification, or
registration, is becoming more prevalent with each passing year as
authority is shifted from direct legislative action to increasingly
broad, yet undefined, regulatory mandates.
(e) The imposition of educational and training requirements by
these governmental entities, in addition to state licensing
requirements, inhibits the practice of those professions within or
before those governmental entities.
(f) Further, as additional licensing requirements are imposed, it
is becoming difficult and impractical for the state and local
governmental entities to administer conflicting and diverse
requirements, resulting in greater confusion and increased costs.
(g) It is therefore imperative that the licensed professions and
vocations have a single set of licensing requirements that apply
uniformly throughout the state and apply equally in all state and
local governmental entities, and that licensed professionals clearly
understand the expectations with which they must comply in order to
legally operate within their scopes of practice in the state.
SEC. 2. Section 101.2 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
101.2. (a) (1) The California Architects Board and the Board for
Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists shall have the
sole and exclusive authority to license and regulate the practice of
professions and vocations regulated by those boards pursuant to
provisions of this code.
(2) No city, county, city and county, school district, other
special district, local or regional agency, joint powers agency, or
state agency, department, or other state office, except for the
boards specified in paragraph (1), shall impose a licensing
requirement upon a person licensed to practice a profession or
vocation regulated by a board specified in paragraph (1).
(3) A licensing requirement shall not be imposed upon a person
licensed to practice a profession or vocation regulated by a board
specified in paragraph (1) other than by this code or by regulation
promulgated by the applicable board through its authority granted
under this code.
(b) For purposes of this section, "licensing requirements"
include, but are not limited to, the following with respect to a
profession or vocation licensed and regulated by a board specified in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a):
(1) Additional training or certification requirements to practice
within the scope of practice of a profession or vocation licensed and
regulated by a board specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).
(2) Continuing education requirements for renewal or continuation
of licensure.
(3) Any additional experience or qualification requirements beyond
those provided in this code or pursuant to regulations promulgated
by a board specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) through its
authority granted under this code.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to do the
following:
(1) Prohibit parties from contractually agreeing to additional
experience, qualifications, or training of a licensee subject to a
board specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) in connection
with performance of a contract.
(2) Prohibit a licensee from voluntarily undertaking satisfaction
of certification programs not required by the applicable provisions
of this code for licensure by a board specified in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a).
(3) Prohibit the boards described in paragraph (1) of subdivision
(a) from receiving requests from other state agencies to adopt by
regulation licensing requirements applicable to licensees of those
boards.
(4) Prohibit the boards described in paragraph (1) of subdivision
(a) from reviewing a request described in paragraph (3) and holding
public hearings, after notice to the public and the regulated
community, to determine whether it is necessary to adopt regulations
pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code) to implement the requested licensing requirement in
order to protect the public and promote public health and safety.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
authority of a city, county, city and county, school district, other
special district, local or regional agency, joint powers agency, or
state agency, department, or other state office from imposing a
licensing requirement upon a person who is not licensed to practice a
profession or vocation regulated by a board specified in paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a).
(e) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2013.