BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          AB 177 (Bonilla) - Professions and vocations:  licensing boards:  
           authority:  extension
          
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          |Version: June 30, 2015          |Policy Vote: B., P. & E.D. 9 -  |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: No                     |
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          |Hearing Date: August 17, 2015   |Consultant: Brendan McCarthy    |
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          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.

          Bill  
          Summary:  AB 177 would extend the statutory sunset of the Board  
          for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists, the  
          California Architects Board, and the Landscape Architects  
          Technical Committee until January 1, 2020.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  
           No significant costs are anticipated due to the extension of  
            the sunset of the Board for Professional Engineers, Land  
            Surveyors and Geologists (Professional Engineer's, Land  
            Surveyor's, and Geologist's Fund). Current law imposes a  
            sunset on the existence of the Board for Professional  
            Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists as an appointed  
            board. However, there is no sunset on the larger body of law  
            requiring licensure and oversight of the practice of  
            engineering, land surveying, and geology. If the Board was  
            allowed to sunset, the overall licensing and regulatory  
            program would still exist in law.







          AB 177 (Bonilla)                                       Page 1 of  
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           Potential one-time costs up to $150,000 for the Board of  
            Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists to  
            develop educational standards for geologists, geophysicists,  
            and geologists-in-training (Professional Engineer's, Land  
            Surveyor's, and Geologist's Fund).

           No significant costs are anticipated due to the extension of  
            the sunset of the California Architects Board (California  
            Architects Board Fund). Current law imposes a sunset on the  
            existence of the California Architects Board as an appointed  
            board. However, there is no sunset on the larger body of law  
            requiring licensure and oversight of the practice of  
            architecture. If the Board was allowed to sunset, the overall  
            licensing and regulatory program would still exist in  law.

           No significant costs are anticipated due to the extension of  
            the sunset of the Landscape Architects Technical Committee  
            (Landscape Architects Fund). Current law imposes a sunset on  
            the existence of the Landscape Architects Technical Committee  
            as an appointed board. However, there is no sunset on the  
            larger body of law requiring licensure and oversight of the  
            practice of landscape architecture. If the Board was allowed  
            to sunset, the overall licensing and regulatory program would  
            still exist in law.


          Background:  Under current law, the Board for Professional Engineers, Land  
          Surveyors, and Geologists licenses and regulates engineers, land  
          surveyors, and geologists. Current law sunsets the operation of  
          the Board on January 1, 2016. Current law specifies that  
          individuals seeking licensure as a geologist must have graduated  
          with a major in geological sciences. Under current law, the  
          Board is supported by license fees deposited in both the Geology  
          and Geophysics Account and the Professional Engineers and Land  
          Surveyors Fund.
          Under current law, the California Architects Board licenses and  
          regulates architects. Current law sunsets the operation of the  
          Board on January 1, 2016.


          Under current law, the Landscape Architects Technical Committee  
          (under the California Architects Board) licenses and regulates  
          landscape architects. Current law sunsets the operation of the  








          AB 177 (Bonilla)                                       Page 2 of  
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          Committee on January 1, 2016.




          Proposed Law:  
            AB 177 would extend the statutory sunset of the Board for  
          Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists, the  
          California Architects Board, and the Landscape Architects  
          Technical Committee until January 1, 2020.
          In addition, the bill would make several minor changes to the  
          operation of the Board for Professional Engineers, Land  
          Surveyors, and Geologists. Specifically, the bill would combine  
          the Geology and Geophysics Account and the Professional  
          Engineers and Land Surveyors Fund (both overseen by the Board)  
          into a new Professional Engineer's, Land Surveyor's, and  
          Geologist's Fund. The bill would give the Board authority to  
          discipline a licensee for failure to respond to a request for  
          information stemming from a complaint. The bill would give the  
          Board the authority to develop education standards for licensure  
          as a geologist, geophysicist, or geologist-in-training, rather  
          than relying exclusively on the degree awarded to an applicant.




          Staff  
          Comments:  Consistent with current practice for the Geology and  
          Geophysics Account and the Professional Engineers and Land  
          Surveyors Fund, the bill would continuously appropriate the  
          monies in the Professional Engineer's, Land Surveyor's, and  
          Geologist's Fund.


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