Geologists and geophysicists: fees.

Existing law, the Geologist and Geophysicist Act, provides for the registration and regulation of geologists and geophysicists by the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. Existing law requires the board to fix various license, renewal, and document fees in accordance with a specified schedule. Existing law requires fees and civil penalties received pursuant to the act to be deposited in the Professional Engineer's, Land Surveyor's, and Geologist's Fund and continuously appropriates those funds to the board for purposes of the act. This bill would require the board to fix the fee for filing an application for certification as a geologist-in-training at no more than $100. The bill would delete a provision setting the license fee for a geologist or geophysicist and for certification in a specialty required to be paid in addition to the application fee. The bill would delete a provision limiting the examination fee for licensure as a geophysicist or certification as an engineering geologist or hydrogeologist to $100, and would instead require the fee to be fixed at an amount equal to the board's costs to administer the examination. The bill would increase the maximum renewal fee for a specialty geologist or specialty geophysicist to $400. The bill would delete a provision fixing the amount of a duplicate certificate fee and would require the board to set all other document fees by regulation in an amount not to exceed a reasonable regulatory cost. The bill would make other nonsubstantive, conforming changes. Because the bill would authorize additional fee money to be deposited into the Professional Engineer's, Land Surveyor's, and Geologist's Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.