BILL ANALYSIS �
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|Hearing Date:June 23, 2014 |Bill No:AB |
| |1758 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Ted W. Lieu, Chair
Bill No: AB 1758Author:Patterson
As Amended:May 27, 2014 Fiscal: Yes
SUBJECT: Healing arts: initial license fees: proration.
SUMMARY: Requires that the fee for an initial temporary or permanent
license or an original license be prorated on a monthly basis and
authorizes a board or committee to impose an additional fee to cover
the reasonable costs of issuing an initial or original license that
expires in less than 12 months. Limits the total amount of the
prorated fee and the additional fee imposed for an initial or original
license, that expires in less than 12 months, to half of the fee for
an initial or original license.
Existing law:
1)Establishes the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), which is
comprised of various boards and bureaus. (Business and Professions
Code Section (BPC) 100 et seq.)
2)Requires the amount of charges and fees for dentists to be
established by the Dental Board of California, and prohibits the
initial license fee and the renewal fee from exceeding four hundred
fifty dollars ($450). (BPC �1724)
3)Requires the Dental Hygiene Committee of California to establish by
resolution licensing fees for dental hygienists, prohibits the
initial license fee from exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250),
and provides that a dental hygienist license, unless specifically
excepted, expires at 12 midnight on the last day of the month of the
legal birth date of the licensee during the second year of a
two-year term, if not renewed. (BPC �� 1935; 1944)
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4)Requires the application and license fee for a physician and surgeon
to be fixed by the Medical Board of California, and prohibits the
initial license fee and the biennial renewal fee from exceeding
seven hundred ninety dollars ($790); provides that all physician and
surgeon's certificates expire at 12 midnight on the last day of the
birth month of the licensee during the second year of a two-year
term, if not renewed, and requires the Division of Licensing to
establish regulatory procedures for the administration of a birth
date renewal program.
(BPC �� 2423; 2435; 2456.1)
5)Prohibits the initial temporary license fee and the fee for renewal
of a temporary license for hearing aid dispenser licensees from
exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) and the initial permanent
license fee and the fee for renewal of a permanent license from
exceeding two hundred eighty dollars ($280), and provides that all
licenses expire at 12 midnight of the last
date of the birth month of the licensee during the second year of a
two-year term, if not renewed. (BPC �� 2535; 2538.57)
6)Requires the California Board of Occupational Therapy (BOT) to
establish the initial license and renewal fee for an occupational
therapist and limits the fee to one hundred fifty dollars ($150) per
year; and provides that any license is subject to renewal as
prescribed by the BOT. (BPC �� 2570.10; 2570.16)
7)Provides that licenses for physical therapists expire at 12 midnight
on the last date of the birth month of the licensee during the
second year of a two-year term, if not renewed, and prohibits the
Physical Therapy Board of California from establishing a license fee
that exceeds one hundred fifty dollars ($150). (BPC �� 2644; 2688)
8)Provides that licenses for psychologists expire at 12 midnight on
the last date of the birth month of the licensee during the second
year of a two-year term, if not renewed, and requires the California
Board of Psychology to establish an initial license fee that is an
amount equal to the renewal fee in effect on the last regular
renewal date before the date on which the license is issued; and to
establish by regulation procedures for the administration of the
birth date renewal program, including the establishment of a pro
rata formula for the payments of fees. (BPC �� 2982; 2987)
9)Requires the California Veterinary Medical Board of (VMB) to set an
initial license fee for veterinarians not to exceed five hundred
dollars ($500), and to set the initial fee for veterinary
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technicians not to exceed three hundred fifty dollars ($350), except
that, if the license is issued less than one year before the date on
which it will expire, then the fee shall be set by the board at not
more than one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175). (BPC �� 4842.5;
4905)
10)Requires VMB to establish by regulation procedures for the
administration of the birth date renewal program, including the
establishment of a pro rata formula for the payments of fees, and
provides that all licenses and registrations expire at 12 midnight
on the last date of the birth month of the registrant during the
second year of a two-year term, if not renewed.
(BPC � 4900)
11)Provides that the initial license fee for an acupuncturist not
exceed three hundred twenty five dollars ($325), provides that
licenses shall expire on the last day of the birth month of the
licensee during the second year of a two-year term, if not renewed,
and requires the California Acupuncture Board to establish and
administer a birth date renewal program.
(BPC �� 4965; 4970)
12)Requires the California Architecture Board to fix the initial
license fee for an architect that is equal to the renewal fee in
effect at the time the license is issued, and provides that license
shall expire at 12 midnight on the last day of the birth month of
the license holder in each
odd-numbered year following the issuance or renewal of the license.
(BPC �� 5600; 5604)
This bill:
1) Authorizes specified boards/committees under the Department of
Consumer Affairs to impose an additional fee, sufficient to cover
the reasonable costs of issuing a license, if the board/committee
makes a determination in writing that the prorated fee for the
initial license is insufficient to cover the reasonable costs of
issuing the license and that the additional fee is necessary to
cover those costs. The total amount of the prorated initial
license fee and any additional fee imposed by the board/committee
for an initial license that expires in less than 12 months shall
not exceed:
a) $225 dollars for the Dental Board of California;
b) $125 dollars for the Dental Hygiene Committee of
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California;
c) $395 for the Medical Board of California;
d) $50 for the initial temporary license and $140 for
the initial permanent license fee for the Speech-Language,
Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board;
e) $140 for the permanent license fee and $75 for the
initial and renewal license fees for the Occupational
Therapy Board of California;
f) $75 for the Physical Therapy Board of California;
g) One half of the licensure fee for the California
Board of Psychology;
h) $175 for the initial registration fee for the
California registered veterinary technician examination and
$250 for the initial license for the California Veterinary
Medicine Board;
i) $162.50 for the California Acupuncture Board; and,
j) One half of the licensure fee for the California
Architecture Board.
FISCAL EFFECT: This measure has been keyed "fiscal" by Legislative
Counsel. According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations
analysis dated May 7, 2014, the bill will result in:
1)"Significant revenue loss to affected boards attributable to lower
average initial licensure fees. Staff analysis shows the Medical
Board of California (MBC), for example, would receive an average of
$428 per initial license as opposed to $790 under the status quo.
Given over 5,300 initial licenses are issued annually; this revenue
loss would equal nearly $2 million annually (Contingent Fund of the
Medical Board of California). Other boards would be similarly
affected. The revenue loss would not be great in proportion to
annual expenditures, for example, for the MBC, the revenue loss
represents 3.5% of annual expenditures of $60 million. However, it
would increase fiscal pressure on boards to raise fees. In some
cases, fees are already set at their statutory maximums.
2)Minor and absorbable costs to affected licensing boards associated
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with changing cashiering procedures, form and materials (various
special funds).
3)$140,000 in Information Technology expenditures due to licensing
system modifications. (various special funds)."
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the Author . According to the
Author, "By basing license expiration and renewal on a licensee's
birth month, California law requires certain licensees to renew
their license based on their date of birth rather than when they
were first issued the license. While this policy was put in place
to expedite license issuance, it can have an adverse financial
effect on licensees who may have to pay the complete license
issuance fee and then pay a full renewal fee once their birth month
occurs after they are first licensed, even if only a few months have
elapsed in between issuance and renew. Because of this renewal
policy, some licenses may last almost a full 2-year licensing term,
while others may only last for a couple of months, yet the licensees
in each case would pay the same initial license fee."
2.Background.
a) Birth Date Renewal Program. Many regulatory entities under
the DCA have implemented a birth date renewal program. Under
this program, a licensee's license expires on the licensee's
birth date or on the last day of the licensee's birth month on
the second year of a two-year renewal term. This program was
conceptualized as many licensees apply for licensure at the same
time resulting in the boards being flooded with applications for
initial licenses during peak times. As a result, most boards
renew licenses based on birth date, rather than the date the
license was issued, which alleviates the boards/committees from
an influx in processing applications or renewals. Under the
birth date renewal program, an initial license period can vary
from just a few months up to 24 months, depending on the
applicant's birth month.
b) DCA Regulatory Entities That Utilize Pro Rata License Fee
Formulas. Some regulatory entities, including the Dental Board
of California (DBC), California Board of Psychology, and
California Veterinary Medicine Board (VMB), are required by
statute to establish a birth date renewal program that includes
the establishment of a pro rata formula for the payment of fees.
Of those boards, both the DBC and the VMB pro-rate initial
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license fees.
The VMB has a yearly pro rata formula in place, under which a
license that is valid for less than one year pays half the
initial license fee, and a license that is valid between one to
two years pays the full license fee. The DBC has a monthly pro
rata formula and provides an initial license fee chart to an
applicant that specifies what his or her initial licensee fee
will be based on how many months the license will be in effect.
Once those applications are processed, the license fees are
manually put into the system, which has already been configured
to meet DBC's needs.
Other boards have adopted, either formally or informally, a pro
rata formula for initial licenses. For example, the California
Acupuncture Board has adopted in regulations a formula that
prorates initial license fees on a monthly basis and that has
been in place for over a decade. According to the California
Acupuncture Board, its pro rata formula has been operating well
and has long been integrated into their licensing program, and
has not received complaints relating to calculation of those fees
from licensees.
3.Arguments in Support. The Chancellor of the State Center Community
College District and the Superintendent at Central Unified School
District similarly write in support, "As the Chancellor?I know how
hard it can be for former vocational education students to afford
their initial payment for their license in their chosen field. The
being said, I urge you to support
AB 1758."
The California Veterinary Medical Association supports the bill and
writes, "AB 1758 allows for relief from compounding costs associated
with licensing fees. This common sense measure is of particular
benefit to the students graduating from our two veterinary colleges
in California who are already burdened with an average of $100,000
of veterinary school debt."
The Fresno Chamber of Commerce supports the bill and shares concerns
about current law, "Expiration on the licensee's birth month is a
policy?that can require some people to renew earlier than others,
therefore paying more. For example, a constituent of the 23rd
district got her dental hygienist's license in August of 2013,
paying a $100 eligibility fee. Just two months later, in October,
she was required to pay an $80 renewal fee because her birthday
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falls in October."
4.Suggested Author's Amendment. In 1997, the Council for Private
Postsecondary and Vocational Education changed its name to the
Bureau for Private Postsecondary Vocational Education. In 2010, the
name was changed again to the Bureau for Private Postsecondary
Education. In order to reflect the updated name and any other
future name change for the BPPE, the following technical amendment
is suggested:
Page 4, lines 36 and 37: "(11) The fee for each review of courses
required for licensure that are not accredited by a
committee-approved agency, the Bureau Council for Private
Postsecondary and Vocational Education or its successor , or the
Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges shall not
exceed three hundred dollars ($300)."
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
State Center Community College District
Central Unified School District
California Veterinary Medical Association
The Fresno Chamber of Commerce
5 individuals
Opposition:
None received as of June 18, 2014.
Consultant:Le Ondra Clark, Ph.D.