BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1467|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1467
Author: Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development
Committee
Amended: 8/18/14
Vote: 21
SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMM. : 9-0, 4/28/14
AYES: Lieu, Wyland, Berryhill, Block, Corbett, Galgiani,
Hernandez, Hill, Padilla
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 36-0, 5/15/14 (Consent)
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett,
Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani,
Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara,
Leno, Lieu, Liu, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen, Padilla,
Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Wolk, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Walters, Wright, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-1, 8/20/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Professions and vocations
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes several non-controversial, minor,
nonsubstantive or technical changes to various provisions within
the Business and Professions Code (BPC) relating to the
regulatory boards of the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).
CONTINUED
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Assembly Amendments remove representation requirements of
specified CBA appointees; incorporate cross-references to
Education Code and Health and Safety Code sections requiring
structural engineers to prepare plans for hospitals and schools;
and add a section to the Geologist and Geophysicist Act relating
to petitions for reinstatement of licenses.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Contains the following provisions relating to the California
Board of Accountancy (CBA):
A. Prohibits a person from engaging in the practice of
public accountancy in California unless he/she holds either
a valid certified public accountant (CPA) license issued by
CBA, or a practice privilege, as specified. An applicant
for registration must furnish satisfactory evidence that
the applicant is entitled to registration.
B. Establishes education, examination, and experience
requirements for a CPA license, and requires an applicant
to show that he/she has one year of qualifying experience.
Requires the experience to have been performed in
accordance with applicable professional standards, and to
be completed under the supervision or employ of a licensed
CPA, as specified.
C. Authorizes, until January 1, 2019, a CPA licensed in
another state to engage in the practice of public
accountancy in California under a practice privilege
without obtaining a California CPA license, as specified.
CPAs who hold a practice privilege must notify CBA of any
pending criminal charges, other than a minor traffic
violation, in any jurisdiction in which they practice.
D. Authorizes CBA to suspend an individual's practice
privilege right by an order issued by CBA or its executive
officer, without prior notice or hearing, in order to
conduct a disciplinary investigation concerning the
individual's competence or qualifications to practice under
a practice privilege. Requires CBA to consult the Public
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Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on a six-month
basis to identify out-of-state licensees who may have
disqualifying conditions, or may be obliged to cease
practice.
1.Contains the following provisions relating to the Board for
Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists
(BPELSG):
A. Provides for BPELSG to issue an engineer's license to an
engineer licensed in another state or country without a
written examination if the applicant's qualification is
equivalent to the requirements of California law. Provides
that an equivalent second division examination must be an
eight-hour written examination, as specified.
B. Authorizes BPELSG to issue a certification as a
petroleum geologist to a geologist that meets certain
requirements.
C. Requires a registered engineer be designated the person
responsible in charge of engineering for each practicing
government department or agency.
D. Provides protections for monuments used for land
surveying.
E. Specifies the requirements for civil engineering plans.
F. Authorizes BPELSG to investigate certificate holders and
suspend or revoke certificates.
1.Provides for the registration of fictitious business names, as
specified.
2.Requires a professional photocopier to have at the time of
certification a valid notary commission.
This bill:
1.Makes the following changes relating to CBA:
A. Authorizes CBA to collect, but not require, a valid
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electronic mail (e-mail) address from applicants or those
renewing a license; provides that an e-mail address
collected by the CBA shall be treated as confidential; and
makes legislative findings and declarations that the
electronic addresses provided to CBA are confidential.
B. Authorizes CBA to, by regulation, allow experience in
academia to satisfy the one-year experience requirement for
a CPA license.
C. Clarifies that a CPA who is licensed in another state
and who holds and exercises a practice privilege in
California, must notify CBA in writing within 30 days of
any pending criminal charges.
D. Requires, until January 1, 2019, that CBA consult with
PCAOB and the SEC regarding practice privilege.
E. Removes the requirement that two of the Governor's seven
appointees to the CBA must represent a small public
accounting firm, and removes the definition of a small
public accounting firm.
1.Makes the following changes relating to BPELSG:
A. Incorporates cross-references to Education Code and
Health and Safety Code sections that require structural
engineers to prepare plans for hospitals and schools;
B. Adds language to specify that the engineer designated as
the person in responsible charge of professional
engineering work of a public agency is responsible for
ensuring compliance with monument preservation
requirements;
C. Requires that at least one person authorized to practice
land surveying be designated as the person in responsible
charge of professional land surveying work practiced in any
public agency;
D. Updates the second division examination requirement for
professional engineers to delete the requirement that the
examination be an eight-hour examination;
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E. Removes references to the obsolete title of "petroleum
geologist;" and
F. Adds a section to the Geologist and Geophysicist Act
which specifically addresses petitions for reinstatement of
revoked licenses and petitions for reduction or
modification of penalty probation orders.
1.Makes the following changes relating to general businesses:
A. Allows unincorporated associations to apply for
fictitious business name registration;
B. Simplifies the process to apply for fictitious business
name registration; and
C. Clarifies that professional photocopiers must maintain a
valid notary commission throughout their certificate of
registration period.
1.Makes other clarifying and technical changes.
Background
This bill is one of two "committee bills" authored by the Senate
Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee and is
intended to consolidate a number of non-controversial provisions
related to various regulatory programs and professions governed
by the BPC. Consolidating the provisions in one bill is
designed to relieve the various licensing boards, bureaus,
professions and other regulatory agencies from the necessity and
burden of having separate measures for a number of
non-controversial revisions.
Many of the provisions of this bill are minor, technical and
updating changes, while other provisions are substantive changes
intended to improve the ability of various licensing programs
and other entities to efficiently and effectively administer
their respective laws.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/12/14) (Unable to reverify at time of
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writing)
California Association of Clerks and Elections Officials
California Board of Accountancy
California Land Surveyors Association
Contractors State License Board
Structural Engineers Association of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Contractors State License Board
writes that this bill provides that all CSLB enforcement
representatives may issue a written NTA which "will benefit
consumers and licensees by providing an opportunity to refer
more criminal complaints to prosecutors through NTAs."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-1, 8/20/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hagman,
Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan,
Patterson, Perea, John A. P�rez, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk,
Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NOES: Donnelly
NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines, Grove, Mansoor, Vacancy
MW:e 8/20/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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