BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1474
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1474 (Figueroa)
As Amended June 29, 2006
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :39-0
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS 10-0
APPROPRIATIONS 12-4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Negrete McLeod, Shirley |Ayes:|Chu, Bass, Berg, |
| |Horton, Bass, Koretz, | |Calderon, |
| |Maze, Nation, Tran, | |De La Torre, Karnette, |
| |Vargas, Yee, Saldana | |Klehs, Leno, Oropeza, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Saldana, |
| | | |Yee |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Sharon Runner, Emmerson, |
| | | |Nakanishi, Walters |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Reconstitutes the membership of the Board of Barbering
and Cosmetology (Board), sets the terms of office therein,
provides for licensing of persons from another state or a
foreign country, and makes it a misdemeanor for a person
licensed by the Board to use laser treatment. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Reconstitutes the Board within the Department of Consumer
Affairs (DCA) by repealing and subsequently reinstating the
statute that creates the Board within DCA and provides for the
sunset of the new Board, July 1, 2009.
2)Requires the Board to elect its officers annually.
3)Sets the term of an office for one year and limits an officer
from serving in a particular position for more than two terms.
4)Provides that a person who is licensed in barbering,
cosmetology, or electrolysis by another state or a foreign
country is exempt from the Board examination requirement if
SB 1474
Page 2
his or her license is in good standing and the license has
been active for three of the last five years with no
disciplinary action and no criminal convictions.
5)Makes it a misdemeanor for licensees to use a laser in the
treatment of any human being.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Joint Committee on Boards, Commissions, and
Consumer Protection (Joint Committee), subjects the various
licensing boards of DCA to sunset review by the Joint
Committee, and provides for the elimination of all DCA boards
on a specified schedule. Provides that when any board becomes
inoperative and is repealed (sunsetted), DCA shall succeed to
and be vested with all duties and responsibilities of the
board. It is the intent of the Legislature that all existing
and proposed consumer-related boards or categories of licensed
professionals shall be subject to a review on a four-year
cycle, unless circumstances warrant a longer or shorter
interval with respect to a given board.
2)Creates the Board under DCA to license and regulate barbers,
cosmetologists, and electrologists.
3)Provides for the sunset of the Board on July 1, 2007.
4)Provides that any licensee who uses an X-ray appliance,
apparatus, or machine in the treatment of any human being, as
specified, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Potential minor nonreimbursable costs to cities and counties
for investigation and prosecution of violations of the
prohibition on using a laser, offset to some extent by fine
revenues.
2)Minor absorbable special fund costs for the Board to amend
procedures to accept out-of-state licenses, offset by
increased license revenues. By providing for license
reciprocity, an applicant meeting the Board's requirements
would not need to take the written examination. Because the
SB 1474
Page 3
Board is not charging applicants its actual costs associated
with the examination, fewer examinations will yield minor
costs savings
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill: This bill is one of the sunset review
bills authored by the Chair of the Joint Committee. This bill
is intended to implement legislative changes as recommended by
the Joint Committee for the Board reviewed by the Joint
Committee in 2005-06.
2)Joint Committee recommendations: In 2005-06, the Joint
Committee reviewed four boards. They included the Board of
Barbering and Cosmetology, the Physical Therapy Board, the
Occupational Therapy Board, and the Board of Chiropractic
Examiners, which is outside the jurisdiction of DCA.
In an April 5, 2006 hearing, the Joint Committee recommended
that the current membership of the Board should be sunsetted,
and the Board should be immediately reconstituted.
According to background provided by the Joint Committee, "a
number of issues identified in the previous reviews of the
Board are still ongoing issues. The Board continues to ignore
the intent of the Legislature, as well as the recommendations
of the Joint Committee and DCA, in a number of areas."
Additionally, the Joint Committee and DCA recommended, among
other things, that the Barbering and Cosmetology Act should be
amended to allow for reciprocity with other states. According
to DCA, many of the boards and bureaus within its jurisdiction
have reciprocity provisions that allow individuals licensed
outside of California, who have already demonstrated
competency, to practice in California or obtain a license
without completing unnecessary additional requirements.
Although SB 362 (Figueroa), Chapter 788, Statutes of 2003,
provides for reciprocity, the Board has not yet adopted
regulations to implement the policy. Individuals licensed in
other states must therefore continue to meet
California-specific eligibility requirements and pass both
written and practical examinations, regardless of those
individuals' level of experience.
SB 1474
Page 4
3)Illegal use of lasers by cosmetologists: The use of lasers is
not within a cosmetologist's scope of practice. There have
been instances where cosmetologists are using lasers and have
injured consumers. Right now, the Board can only cite a
person if he or she is actually seen using the laser. Even
then, it is only a $100 fine for a violation of Business and
Professions Code Section 7320, which confers no authority to
practice medicine or surgery.
Even though Food and Drug Administration regulations prohibit
the purchase of a laser by anyone except a licensed medical
practitioner, they are readily available online. By making
the use of lasers a misdemeanor, this bill will give the Board
more authority.
Analysis Prepared by : Tracy Rhine / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301
FN:
0015505