Business and professions.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. (1) Existing law establishes the Bureau of Household Goods and Services within the Department of Consumer Affairs under the supervision and control of the Director of Consumer Affairs. The bureau is responsible for the licensure and regulation of, among others, upholstered furniture retailers, household movers, and electronic and appliance repair dealers. Existing law requires the bureau to disclose prescribed information on the internet regarding its licensees and registrants and to comply with the department's guidelines for access to public records. This bill would additionally require the bureau to disclose information on its permitholders. (2) Under existing law, specified agencies must require an applicant to provide a full set of fingerprints for purposes of conducting criminal history record checks. This bill would include in the list of agencies the Bureau of Household Goods and Services with respect to household movers. (3) Existing law, until January 1, 2023, establishes the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau within the department, and requires the bureau to license and regulate professional fiduciaries. Existing law prescribes specified qualifications, including education and work experience, for licensure as a professional fiduciary. This bill would revise the work experience requirements that an applicant may satisfy to qualify for licensure as a professional fiduciary. (4) Existing law, the Contractors State License Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of contractors by the Contractors State License Board within the department. Existing law establishes an enforcement division within the board that is required to enforce prohibitions against all forms of unlicensed activity, as specified. Existing law authorizes the board's enforcement representatives, recently reclassified as special investigators, who are designated by the Director of Consumer Affairs to issue a written notice to appear in court, as specified. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions by instead referring to the above-described enforcement representatives as special investigators and would make additional conforming changes. Existing law requires the Contractors State License Board to report annually to the Legislature specified statistical information for the prior fiscal year, including, for the board's Investigation Center closures, the total number of complaints closed after referral for a field investigation per enforcement representative. This bill would revise the reporting requirement to instead include the total number of complaints closed after referral for a field investigation per investigator and special investigator. Existing law prohibits a contractor from engaging in asbestos-related work, as specified, without passing an asbestos certification examination. Existing law prohibits the Contractors State License Board from issuing an asbestos certification to a contractor who is not registered with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, as specified. Under existing law, a contractor who is not certified pursuant to these provisions may bid on and contract to perform a project involving asbestos-related work as long as the asbestos-related work is performed by a contractor who is certified and registered, as specified. This bill would additionally permit a contractor who holds a C-22 Asbestos Abatement classification to engage in asbestos-related work, as specified, and to perform the asbestos-related work in connection with the above-described project. Existing law requires a solar energy system company, before completing a sale, financing, or lease of a solar energy system, to provide a consumer with a disclosure document, developed by the board, as specified, that provides a consumer with accurate, clear, and concise information regarding the installation of a solar energy system. Existing law requires the disclosure document to contain specified information, including the consumer's right to a cooling off period of 3 days, pursuant to provisions outlining the contract requirements for projects requiring a home improvement contract. Under existing law, those provisions generally provide for a 3-, 5-, or 7-day right to cancel the contract, depending on the specific circumstances of the consumer. This bill would revise the requirement that the disclosure document include information relating to the consumer's right to a 3-day cooling off period to instead include information relating to the applicable cancellation period, pursuant to the above-described provisions outlining specified contract requirements. (5) Existing law requires a person selling at retail motor vehicle fuel to the public to post and maintain the maximum lawful selling price, as defined under obsolete federal law, of each type and grade of gasoline. This bill would repeal that provision. (6) Existing law prescribes various requirements and fees relating to examinations for licensure for certain professions, including professional engineers, geologists and geophysicists, and land surveyors. This bill would specify that, upon failing in an examination, applicants may be examined again upon filing a new application and the payment of the examination fee fixed by the board. (7) This bill would make other conforming and nonsubstantive changes, including replacing gendered terms with nongendered terms, updating cross-references, and deleting obsolete provisions.