|
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 09, 2018 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Voepel |
February 14, 2018 |
Under existing law, the Department of Consumer Affairs is composed of various boards, bureaus, commissions, committees, and similarly constituted agencies that license and regulate the practice of various professions and vocations for the purpose of protecting the people of California. With certain exceptions, decisions of these entities with respect to setting standards, conducting examinations, passing candidates, and revoking licenses, are final and are not subject to review by the Director of Consumer Affairs.
This bill would establish an Office of Supervision of Occupational Boards within the department to exercise active supervision over a “covered board,” defined as specific licensing and regulatory agencies within the department, to ensure compliance with specific policies established in the bill regarding
licensing and enforcement (established policies). The bill would require the office, in the exercise of active supervision, to be involved in the development of a covered board’s rules and policies, to disapprove the use of any board rule or policy and terminate any enforcement action that is not consistent with the established policies, and to review and affirmatively approve only rules, policies, and enforcement actions consistent with the established policies. The bill would require the office to review and approve or reject any rule, policy, enforcement action, or other occupational licensure action proposed by each covered board before adoption or implementation. The bill would establish procedures for complaints, investigation, remedial action, and appeal relating to a rule, policy, enforcement action, or other occupational licensure action of a covered board inconsistent with the established policies.
The following are policies of the state:
(a)Occupational licensing laws should be construed and applied to increase economic opportunity, promote competition, and encourage innovation.
(b)Regulators should displace competition through occupational licensing only where less restrictive regulation will not suffice to protect consumers from present, significant, and substantiated harms that threaten public health, safety, or welfare.
(c)An occupational licensing restriction should be enforced against an individual only to the extent the individual sells goods and services that are included explicitly in the statute or regulation that
defines the occupation’s scope of practice.
As used in this chapter:
(a)“Covered board” means any entity listed in Section 101.
(b)“Office” means the Office of Supervision of Occupational Boards established in Section 473.2.
(a)There is hereby established an Office of Supervision of Occupational Boards within the department.
(b)(1)Notwithstanding Section 109, the office shall be responsible for exercising active supervision over each covered board to ensure compliance with the policies in Section 473.
(2)In exercising active supervision over covered boards under paragraph (1), the office shall independently do the following:
(A)Play a substantial role in the development of a covered board’s rules and policies to ensure they benefit consumers and do not serve the private interests of providers of goods and
services regulated by the covered board.
(B)Disapprove the use of any rule or policy of a covered board and terminate any enforcement action, including any action pending on January 1, 2019, that is not consistent with Section 473.
(C)Exercise control over each covered board by reviewing and affirmatively approving only rules, policies, and enforcement actions that are consistent with Section 473.
(D)Analyze existing and proposed rules and policies and conduct investigations to gain additional information to promote compliance with Section 473, including, but not limited to, less restrictive regulatory approaches.
(3)In exercising active supervision over covered boards under paragraph (1), the office shall be staffed by not fewer than one attorney
who does not provide general counsel to any covered board.
(c)(1)Notwithstanding Section 109, the office shall review and approve or reject any rule, policy, enforcement action, or other occupational licensure action proposed by each covered board before the covered board may adopt or implement the rule, policy, enforcement action, or other occupational licensure action.
(2)For purposes of paragraph (1), approval by the office shall be express and silence or failure to act shall not constitute approval.
(a)Any person may file a complaint to the office about a rule, policy, enforcement action, or other occupational licensure action of a covered board that the person believes is not consistent with Section 473.
(b)Not later than 90 days after the date on which the office receives a complaint filed under paragraph (1), notwithstanding Section 109, the office shall investigate the complaint, identify remedies, and instruct the covered board to take action as the office determines to be appropriate, and respond in writing to the complainant.
(c)(1)There shall be no right to appeal a decision of the office under subdivision (b) unless the challenged rule,
policy, enforcement action, or other occupational licensure action would prevent the complainant from engaging in a lawful occupation or employing or contracting others for the performance of a lawful occupation and the complainant has taken material steps in an attempt to engage in a lawful occupation or employ or contract others for the performance of a lawful occupation.
(2)Any appeal authorized under paragraph (1) shall be to the superior court.