BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1899 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 11, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 1899 (Calderon) - As Amended March 16, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Insurance |Vote:|13 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill requires the California Department of Insurance (CDI) to provide the license examinations for life, life-only, and accident and health agents in Spanish. FISCAL EFFECT: 1)Costs to CDI of approximately $230,000 in FY 2017-18 to translate the materials into Spanish, including psychometric testing, and for initial staffing costs (Insurance Fund). AB 1899 Page 2 2)Depending on the increased number of exams administered and licenses issued, the department would also incur additional costs and collect additional revenues, depending on the growth in the number of exams. The examination fee is $50 and license fees are $170 biennially. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, existing law does not require an examination for a license as a life-agent, life-only agent, or accident and health to be provided in Spanish. The author asserts offering the licensing exam in Spanish will increase the number of agents able to serve Spanish-speaking consumers. This bill is supported by various insurance industry stakeholders and has no opposition. 2)License Examinations. California residents who wish to apply for an insurance producer (agent or broker) license issued by CDI must first pass a qualifying license examination. At this time, examinations are offered only in English. 3)Translations. Although the content of an examination can fairly easily be translated to another language, translating examinations so they are useful in practice as a measure of an individual's skill, knowledge, and ability is not a straightforward endeavor. In order to ensure validity and comparability of results with the original language, psychometric testing must be used when a complex item like an examination is translated. Such testing ensures that the translated content can reliably measure an individual's skill, knowledge, and ability, and that the translation did not inadvertently introduce a source of error or systematic bias. AB 1899 Page 3 Analysis Prepared by:Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081