BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1576
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1576 (Business, Professions & Economic Development Committee)
As Amended August 23, 2012
Majority Vote
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 9-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Hayashi, Bill Berryhill, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Allen, Butler, Eng, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Hagman, Hill, Ma, Smyth | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Solorio, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Makes minor, non-controversial, non-substantive, and
technical changes to various provisions relating to regulatory
boards of the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), the weights
and measures provisions under the jurisdiction of the Department
of Food Agriculture (DFA), and Bureau of Electronic and
Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation
(Bureau). 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)Requires an accounting firm to renew its registration in
active status or convert to an active status, to meet peer
review guidelines, as specified.
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5)Defines "accounting and auditing practice" to include any
services that were performed in the prior three years, using
professional standards defined by the Board of Accountancy in
regulations.
6)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.
7)Authorizes CBA to establish minimum qualifications to place a
license in retired status.
8)Deletes obsolete language requiring the CBA to adopt emergency
regulations to implement specified peer review requirements.
9)Deletes an obsolete reference to the Advisory Committee on
Accounting Ethics Curriculum and its' authority to determine
that a course or portion of a course satisfies ethics study
requirements.
10)Deletes an obsolete reference to an accounting report by the
California Research Bureau and makes other conforming changes.
11)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.
12)Requires biennial renewals for certificates of registration
or authority as a professional engineer to be staged on a
quarterly basis.
13)Revises the penalty for filing a false complaint with the
Contractors' State License Board (CSLB), to authorize the
registrar to issue a citation.
14)Makes a technical clarification by referring to the
"disassociation" rather than the "death" of a limited
partnership.
15)Revises the exemption from the first division of the land
surveyor exam for applicants registered by the CSLB as a
California civil engineer.
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16)Corrects outdated references, and correctly refers to the
"Manual of Surveying Instructions," (2009) published by the
federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
17)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."
18)Allows persons registered under the Bureau to install,
calibrate, service, maintain and monitor ignition interlock
devices.
19)Requires the Bureau to adopt regulations to implement the
provision allowing persons registered under the Bureau to
install, calibrate, service, maintain and monitor ignition
interlock devices, consistent with the standards adopted by
the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) and the Office of
Traffic Safety (OTS).
20)Adds ignition interlock device to the list of work products
that exempt a person licensed under the Bureau from
registration under the BAR.
21)Requires the BAR to cooperate with the OTS to adopt standards
for the installation, maintenance, and servicing of ignition
interlock devices by automotive repair dealers.
22)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.
23)Updates and revises the requirement for every county sealer
to attend a specified annual meeting.
24)Relocates and renumbers a provision pertaining to point of
sale systems.
25)Repeals duplicative provisions of law.
26)Adds chaptering-out language with SB 1405 (De Le�n).
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27)Makes numerous other technical and clarifying changes.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, there are no significant costs associated with this
legislation.
COMMENTS : 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 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
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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
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."
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,
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technical and non-substantive changes.
Analysis Prepared by : Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
FN: 0005403