Bill Text: CA AB2549 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2549 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Department of Consumer Affairs: temporary licenses.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-07-01 - Referred to Com. on B., P. & E.D. [AB2549 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB2549-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly May 18, 2020

Amended IN Assembly March 12, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2549

Introduced by Assembly Member Salas

February 19, 2020

An act to amend Sections 115.6 and 5132 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to professions and vocations, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2549, as amended, Salas. Department of Consumer Affairs: temporary licenses.

Under existing law, the Department of Consumer Affairs, which is under the control of the Director of Consumer Affairs, is comprised of various boards, as defined, that license and regulate various professions and vocations. Existing law requires a board within the department to issue, after appropriate investigation, certain types of temporary licenses to an applicant if the applicant meets specified requirements, including that the applicant supplies evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant is married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is assigned to a duty station in this state under official active duty military orders and the applicant holds a current, active, and unrestricted license that confers upon the applicant the authority to practice, in another state, district, or territory of the United States, the profession or vocation for which the applicant seeks a temporary license from the board. Existing law authorizes a board to adopt regulations necessary to administer these provisions.

This bill would expand that requirement to issue temporary licenses to include licenses issued by the Veterinary Medical Board, the Dental Board of California, the Dental Hygiene Board of California, the California State Board of Pharmacy, the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, the Board of Psychology, the California Board of Occupational Therapy, the Physical Therapy Board of California, and the California Board of Accountancy. The bill would require a board to issue a temporary license within 30 days of receiving the required documentation. The bill would specifically direct revenues from fees for temporary licenses issued by the California Board of Accountancy to be credited to the Accountancy Fund, a continuously appropriated fund. By establishing a new source of revenue for a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require a temporary license to be converted to a standard license if, within 12 months of issuance, the applicant demonstrates having met all of the requirements for a standard license or submits documents demonstrating that the requirements to obtain the out-of-state license were substantially equivalent to the requirements for a standard license as determined by the board in order to protect the public. The bill would require a board to ~~adopt~~ submit to the department for approval draft regulations necessary to administer these provisions ~~and to publish regulations on its internet website and in application materials~~ by January 1, 2022. The bill would exempt from these provisions a board that has a process in place by which an out-of-state licensed applicant in good standing who is married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States is able to receive expedited, temporary authorization to practice while meeting state-specific requirements for a period of at least one year.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: YES Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 115.6 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

115.6.

(a) A Except as provided in subdivision (h), a board within the department shall, after appropriate investigation, issue the following eligible temporary licenses to an applicant within 30 days of receiving the required documentation pursuant to meeting the requirements set forth in subdivision (c):

(1) Registered nurse license by the Board of Registered Nursing.

(2) Vocational nurse license issued by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians of the State of California.

(3) Psychiatric technician license issued by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians of the State of California.

(4) Speech-language pathologist license issued by the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board.

(5) Audiologist license issued by the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board.

(6) All licenses issued by the Veterinary Medical Board.

(7) All licenses issued by the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists.

(8) All licenses issued by the Medical Board of California.

(9) All licenses issued by the Podiatric Medical Board of California.

(10) All licenses issued by the Dental Board of California.

(11) All licenses issued by the Dental Hygiene Board of California.

(12) All licenses issued by the California State Board of Pharmacy.

(13) All licenses issued by the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology.

(14) All licenses issued by the Board of Psychology.

(15) All licenses issued by the California Board of Occupational Therapy.

(16) All licenses issued by the Physical Therapy Board of California.

(17) All licenses issued by the California Board of Accountancy. Revenues from fees for temporary licenses issued under this paragraph shall be credited to the Accountancy Fund in accordance with Section 5132.

(b) The board may conduct an investigation of an applicant for purposes of denying or revoking a temporary license issued pursuant to this section. This investigation may include a criminal background check.

(1) The applicant shall supply evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant is married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is assigned to a duty station in this state under official active duty military orders.

(2) The applicant shall hold a current, active, and unrestricted license that confers upon the applicant the authority to practice, in another state, district, or territory of the United States, the profession or vocation for which the applicant seeks a temporary license from the board.

(3) The applicant shall submit an application to the board that shall include a signed affidavit attesting to the fact that the applicant meets all of the requirements for the temporary license and that the information submitted in the application is accurate, to the best of the applicant’s knowledge. The application shall also include written verification from the applicant’s original licensing jurisdiction stating that the applicant’s license is in good standing in that jurisdiction.

(4) The applicant shall not have committed an act in any jurisdiction that would have constituted grounds for denial, suspension, or revocation of the license under this code at the time the act was committed. A violation of this paragraph may be grounds for the denial or revocation of a temporary license issued by the board.

(5) The applicant shall not have been disciplined by a licensing entity in another jurisdiction and shall not be the subject of an unresolved complaint, review procedure, or disciplinary proceeding conducted by a licensing entity in another jurisdiction.

(6) The applicant shall, upon request by a board, furnish a full set of fingerprints for purposes of conducting a criminal background check.

(d) A temporary license issued pursuant to this section may be immediately terminated upon a finding that the temporary licenseholder failed to meet any of the requirements described in subdivision (c) or provided substantively inaccurate information that would affect the person’s eligibility for temporary licensure. Upon termination of the temporary license, the board shall issue a notice of termination that shall require the temporary licenseholder to immediately cease the practice of the licensed profession upon receipt.

(e) An applicant seeking a temporary license as a civil engineer, geotechnical engineer, structural engineer, land surveyor, professional geologist, professional geophysicist, certified engineering geologist, or certified hydrogeologist pursuant to this section shall successfully pass the appropriate California-specific examination or examinations required for licensure in those respective professions by the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists.

(f) A temporary license issued pursuant to this section shall expire 12 months after issuance, upon issuance of an expedited license pursuant to Section 115.5, a license by endorsement, or upon denial of the application for expedited licensure by the board, whichever occurs first.

(g)A temporary license issued pursuant to this section shall be converted to a standard license if, within 12 months of issuance, the applicant demonstrates having met all of the requirements for a standard license or submits documents demonstrating that the requirements to obtain the out-of-state license were substantially equivalent to the requirements for a standard license as determined by the board in order to protect the public.
~~(h)~~

(g) A board shall ~~adopt~~ submit to the department for approval draft regulations necessary to administer this section ~~and shall publish these regulations on its internet website and in application materials~~ by January 1, 2022. These regulations shall be adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

(h) This section shall not apply to a board that has a process in place by which an out-of-state licensed applicant in good standing who is married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States is able to receive expedited, temporary authorization to practice while meeting state-specific requirements for a period of at least one year.

SEC. 2.

Section 5132 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

5132.

(a) All moneys received by the board under this chapter from any source and for any purpose and from a temporary license issued under Section 115.6 shall be accounted for and reported monthly by the board to the Controller and at the same time the moneys shall be remitted to the State Treasury to the credit of the Accountancy Fund.

(b) The secretary-treasurer of the board shall, from time to time, but not less than once each fiscal year, prepare or have prepared on their behalf, a financial report of the Accountancy Fund that contains information that the board determines is necessary for the purposes for which the board was established.

(c) The report of the Accountancy Fund, which shall be published pursuant to Section 5008, shall include the revenues and the related costs from examination, initial licensing, license renewal, citation and fine authority, and cost recovery from enforcement actions and case settlements.