BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1576
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Date of Hearing: June 19, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
SB 1576 (Business, Professions & Economic Development) - As
Amended: June 11, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
SUBJECT : Professions and vocations.
SUMMARY : Makes minor, non-controversial, non-substantive, and
technical changes to various provisions relating to regulatory
boards of the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) and to the
weights and measures provisions under the jurisdiction of the
Department of Food and Agriculture (DFA). Specifically, this
bill :
1)Recasts the provision requiring the California Board of
Accountancy (CBA) to print rules of professional conduct on
applications to instead require an applicant for certificate
or registration to acknowledge that the applicant has read and
understands the rules of professional conduct.
2)Authorizes the CBA to deny an applicant's application to place
a license in retired status if the permit is subject to an
outstanding order of the CBA, as specified.
3)Allows the holder of a license that was canceled, because it
was not renewed within five years of its expiration, to apply
for the placement of that license in a retired status, and
allows the CBA to reissue the license in retired status.
4)Provides that the holder of a canceled license placed in
retired status between January 1, 1994, and January 1, 1999,
is not required to meet specified conditions of the CBA.
5)Authorizes CBA to establish minimum qualifications to place a
license in retired status.
6)Deletes obsolete language requiring the CBA to adopt emergency
regulations to implement specified peer review requirements.
7)Deletes an obsolete reference to the Advisory Committee on
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Accounting Ethics Curriculum and its' authority to determine
that a course or portion of a course satisfies ethics study
requirements.
8)Deletes an obsolete reference to an accounting report by the
California Research Bureau and makes other conforming changes.
9)Authorizes the CBA to renew or reinstate, for a maximum of
three years, the permit or certificate of a holder who
demonstrates financial hardship and who enters into a formal
agreement with the CBA to repay the costs associated with a
disciplinary action within a three year period.
10)Revises the penalty for filing a false complaint with the
Contractors' State License Board (CSLB), to authorize the
registrar to issue a citation.
11)Makes a technical clarification by referring to the
"disassociation" rather than the "death" of a limited
partnership.
12)Revises the exemption from the first division of the land
surveyor exam for applicants registered by the CSLB as a
California civil engineer prior to January 1, 1982.
13)Corrects outdated references, and correctly refers to the
"Manual of Surveying Instructions," (2009) published by the
federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
14)Clarifies the requirement for a land surveyor to file a
record of survey by expanding the definition of establishment
to include "location, relocation, establishment
reestablishment or retracement."
15)Makes changes to correctly refer to the "Secretary" of the
DFA, and to the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST), American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) to
ASTM International, and Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
to SAE International.
16)Updates and revises the requirement for every county sealer
to attend a specified annual meeting.
17)Relocates and renumbers a provision pertaining to point of
sale systems.
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18)Repeals duplicative provisions of law.
19)Makes numerous other technical and clarifying changes.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes within the CBA the DCA.
2)Requires the CBA to print the rules of professional conduct on
its applications.
3)Allows the CBA to establish, by regulation, a system for the
placement of a license on retired status.
4)Establishes requirements for accountancy partnerships, as
specified.
5)Establishes criteria for an applicant to obtain a Certified
Public Accountant (CPA) license, including specific ethics
course requirements, as specified.
6)Establishes peer review requirements for CBA licensees and
requires CBA to adopt emergency regulations to implement them.
7)Authorizes the CBA to conditionally renew or reinstate for a
maximum of one year the permit or certificate of a holder who
demonstrates financial hardship and who enters into a formal
agreement with the board to reimburse the board within that
one-year period for those unpaid costs
8)Provides that any person who files a false complaint with the
CSLB is guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine not to
exceed $1,000.
9)Establishes procedures for the cancellation of a contractor's
license upon the death or disassociation of a partner in a
partnership, as defined.
10)Provides an exemption for the first division of the land
surveyor examination if specified conditions are met.
11)Makes references to a land surveyor manual published by the
federal BLM.
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12)Establishes criteria for a land surveyor to file a record of
survey.
13)Provides for the regulation of point of sale systems.
14)References the word "Director" to mean "Secretary" of the
DFA.
15)Requires county sealers to attend the annual meeting of the
California Association of Weights and Measures Officials and
other meetings as required by the DFA or a county Board of
Supervisors, as specified.
16)Establishes administrative and civil penalties by a sealer
for specified reasons.
17)Authorizes the DFA to establish specifications for automotive
spark-ignition engine fuels and allows the DFA to adopt the
latest standards established by a recognized consensus
organization or standard writing organization.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author, "This bill
consolidates a number of non-controversial provisions related to
various regulatory programs and professions governed by the
Business and Professions Code. Consolidating the provision in
one bill is designed to relieve the various licensing boards,
agencies and professions from the necessity and burden of having
separate measures for a number of non-controversial revisions.
"As amended in 1957, the law requires the CBA to print the
adopted rules of professional conduct on its applications.
However, the provision was never implemented. The new language
would place on the application a statement that the applicant
has read and understands the rules of professional conduct.
"The law allows persons to form accountancy partnerships
registered by the CBA. However the provision that a partner be
"personally engaged" in the partnership has caused confusion as
to whether two corporations may form a partnership.
"The law makes outdated references to the CBA adopting emergency
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regulations implementing peer review, an Advisory Committee on
Accounting Ethics Curriculum, and a specified report by the CRB.
"The law allows the CBA to conditionally renew or reinstate a
license for one year to allow time for a license holder with a
financial hardship to pay costs under a disciplinary order. The
CBA, by historical practice, has allowed such cases to have up
to three years to pay these costs.
"In 1993, SB 839 (Ayala), Chapter 262, Statutes of 1993, created
a "retired seal" program that allowed California licensed CPAs
to call themselves "retired CPAs." There were no requirements
for this seal, and following implementation it was discovered
that it could be used to avoid paying fees and avoid discipline.
In 1998, SB 2239 (Senate Committee on Business and
Professions), Chapter 878, Statutes of 1998, repealed the
program. All the licensees who had taken advantage of the
program who did not renew their license eventually had their
license canceled. In 2011, AB 431 (Ma), Chapter 395, Statutes
of 2011, authorized the CBA to establish a retired status for
its licensees. However, it did not provide for the CBA to issue
a retired license to a licensee who previously had a retired
seal. This bill revises the retired status provisions and
authorizes a licensee who is no longer actively engaged in
practice, or who previously held a retired seal, upon
application to the CBA and meeting specified requirements, to
obtain a retired status license.
"The contractor law provides that a person who files a false
complaint with the CSLB is guilty of an infraction, and further
provides that CSLB may notify the appropriate district or city
attorney that a false report has been filed. Since enacted in
1992, a violation of these provisions has never been pursued.
The law incorrectly refers to the "death" of a partner rather
than to the "disassociation" of the partner.
"When the existing engineer exemption language was adopted in
1979, the educational curriculum requirements for engineers
generally included courses that taught a fundamental knowledge
of surveying, mathematics, and basic science. At the time, it
was justified to exclude an engineer with a postsecondary degree
from the first division of the land surveyor examination because
it was assumed that the postsecondary curriculum adequately
taught and tested this knowledge. In recent years, these
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provisions have been found to be so vague that any professional
engineer licensed by the Board for Professional Engineers, Land
Surveyors and Geologists would arguably be exempt from the first
division of the land surveyor examination. This bill would
instead provide an exemption from taking the first part of the
land surveyor examination for applicants who have passed the
engineer-in-training examination, or who hold a professional
engineer registration.
"The law refers to an outdated document published by the BLM
that could potentially mislead applicants preparing for the land
surveyor exam and practicing land surveyors when identifying a
lost corner in preparation of a corner record.
"The word establishment creates confusion for practicing land
surveyors because of the multiple interpretations of the word,
and thereby impacts decisions regarding when to file a record of
survey.
"According to the DFA, there are many references in the code to
the Director of DFA. This Governor's Cabinet level position was
reclassified to "Secretary" of the DFA and the code has not been
updated. Other references that are no longer current include
the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), is now NIST, ASTM is now
ASTM International, SAE is now SAE International."
Background . The CBA was created by statute in 1901. Its legal
mandate is the regulation of the accounting profession by
establishing and maintaining standards of conduct within the
accounting profession. Currently, the CBA regulates over 81,000
licensees.
The CSLB licenses and regulates California's construction
industry. There are approximately 300,000 licensed contractors
in 43 different licensing classifications. In addition to
educating consumers about contractors and construction law, CSLB
administers examinations to test prospective licensees, issues
licenses, investigates complaints against licensed and
unlicensed contractors, issues citations, suspends or revokes
licenses, and seeks administrative, criminal, and civil
sanctions against violators.
There is a County Sealer of Weights and Measures in each county,
under the general direction and oversight of the Secretary of
DFA. These individuals enforce the laws and regulations of the
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California Business and Professions Code and the California Code
of Regulations. Enforcement programs are designed to protect and
promote the local economy and commerce of each county.
This bill attempts to address outdated code references and
clarify existing law with respect to the CBA, CSLB and the
DFA's, division of weights and measures. It further addresses
out-of-date report titles and makes additional conforming,
technical and non-substantive changes.
Previous Legislation . SB 773 (Negrete McLeod), Chapter 344,
Statutes of 2011, established requirements for ethics courses
that CPAs must complete to gain licensure.
AB 431 (Ma), Chapter 395, Statutes of 2011, authorized the CBA
to establish a retired status license for CPAs and public
accountants (PA's).
SB 2239 (Senate Committee on Business and Professions), Chapter
878, Statutes of 1998, was an omnibus committee bill that made
various changes to the regulation of several health care
professionals, accountants, funeral directors, barbering and
cosmetology instructors, and land surveyors.
SB 839 (Ayala), Chapter 262, Statutes of 1993, provided that an
individual who holds a license to practice public accountancy,
including an expired license that remains subject to renewal,
may be issued a seal as evidence of the individual's status as a
retired CPA or retired PA.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Contractors' State License Board
Opposition
None on File.
Analysis Prepared by : Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
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