Bill Text: CA AB569 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Business licensing: Business Master License Center.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-01 - Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution. From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB569 Detail]
Download: California-2011-AB569-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 569 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bill Berryhill
FEBRUARY 16, 2011
An act to add Part 14 (commencing with Section 15987) to Division
3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to business licensing.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 569, as introduced, Bill Berryhill. Business licensing:
Business Master License Center.
Under existing law, businesses are required to obtain various
licenses from regulatory agencies. Existing law also requires state
agencies to take specified actions, including, but not limited to,
designating a small business liaison, to assist small businesses
achieve compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.
This bill would create the Business Master License Center, which
would have prescribed duties, including, but not limited to,
developing and administering a computerized one-stop master license
system capable of storing, retrieving, and exchanging license
information, as well as issuing and renewing master licenses, as
specified. The bill would permit the Governor to appoint a 3rd-party
facilitator from the business community, to provide oversight over
the creation of the center and the development of its master license
system.
This bill would charge license applicants, in addition to any
other fees or deposits required to obtain a particular license, a
master license administrative fee in specified amounts, to be
deposited into the Master License Fund, which this bill would create.
This bill would require that the moneys in the fund, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, be used only to administer the
Business Master License Center.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The number of state licenses required for new businesses and
the renewal of existing licenses place an undue burden on business.
(b) The state can reduce its costs by coordinating and
consolidating application forms, information, and licenses.
(c) By creating the Business Master License Center, the
Legislature intends to provide a convenient, accessible, and timely
one-stop system for the business community to acquire and maintain
the necessary state licenses to conduct business.
SEC. 2. Part 14 (commencing with Section 15987) is added to
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:
PART 14. BUSINESS MASTER LICENSE CENTER
15987. This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Business Master Licensing System Act.
15987.1. As used in this part, the following words shall have the
following meanings:
(a) "Business Master License Center" and "center" mean the
business registration and licensing center established by this part
and located in and under the administrative control of the State and
Consumer Services Agency.
(b) "License" means the whole or part of any agency permit,
license, certificate, approval, registration, charter, or any form or
permission required by law, including agency regulation, to engage
in any business activity.
(c) "Master application" means a document incorporating pertinent
data from existing applications for licenses covered under this part.
(d) "Master license" means the single document designed for public
display issued by the Business Master License Center which certifies
state agency license approval and which incorporates the
endorsements for individual licenses included in the master license
system, which the state requires for any person subject to this part.
(e) "Person" means any individual, sole proprietorship,
partnership, association, cooperative, corporation, nonprofit
organization, state or local government agency, and any other
organization required to register with the state to do business in
the state and to obtain one or more licenses from the state or any of
its agencies.
(f) "Regulatory agency" means any state agency, board, commission,
or division which regulates one or more professions, occupations,
industries, businesses, or activities.
(g) "Renewal application" means a document used to collect
pertinent data for renewal of licenses covered under this chapter.
(h) "System" means the mechanism by which master licenses are
issued and renewed, license and regulatory information is
disseminated, and account data is exchanged by the agencies.
15987.2. (a) There is created within the State and Consumer
Services Agency a Business Master License Center.
(b) The duties of the center shall include, but not be limited to,
all of the following:
(1) Developing and administering a computerized one-stop master
license system capable of storing, retrieving, and exchanging license
information, as well as issuing and renewing master licenses in an
efficient manner.
(2) Developing and administering, as part of the master license
system, a uniform business identification number for each
participating business that shall be recognized by each participating
agency.
(3) Providing a license information service detailing requirements
to establish or engage in business in this state.
(4) Providing for staggered master license renewal.
(5) Identifying types of licenses appropriate for inclusion in the
master license system.
(6) Recommending in reports to the Governor and the Legislature
the elimination, consolidation, or other modification of duplicative,
ineffective, or inefficient licensing or inspection requirements.
(7) Incorporating licenses into the master license system.
(8) Working with other regulatory agencies to develop a system
that permits participating agencies to share information generated
from the master license system.
(c) The Secretary of State and Consumer Services may adopt
regulations, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act
(Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2), as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this
part.
15987.3. (a) The center shall compile information regarding the
regulatory programs associated with each of the licenses obtainable
under the master license system. This information shall include, at a
minimum, a listing of the statutes and administrative regulations
requiring the licenses and pertaining to the regulatory programs that
are directly related to the licensure.
(b) The center shall provide information governed by this section
to any person requesting it. Materials issued by the center
describing the services provided by the center shall indicate that
this information is available upon request.
15987.4. The following agencies shall participate fully in the
implementation of this part:
(a) California Environmental Protection Agency.
(b) Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
(c) Department of Consumer Affairs.
(d) Department of Corporations.
(e) Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
(f) Department of Fish and Game.
(g) Department of Food and Agriculture.
(h) Department of Industrial Relations.
(i) Department of Motor Vehicles.
(j) Department of Parks and Recreation.
(k) Department of Pesticide Regulation.
(l) Department of Toxic Substances Control.
(m) Department of Transportation.
(n) Employment Development Department.
(o) Franchise Tax Board.
(p) Secretary of State.
(q) State Board of Equalization.
(r) State Department of Health Care Services.
(s) Any other agency that the secretary determines has licensing
authority that is consistent with the purposes of this part.
15987.5. (a) A person requiring a license that has been
incorporated into the system shall submit a master application to the
center requesting the issuance of the required licenses. The master
application form shall contain, in consolidated form, the information
necessary for the issuance of the licenses.
(b) The applicant shall include with the application the sum of
all fees and deposits required for each requested license and the
master license administrative fee imposed pursuant to Section
15987.6.
(c) Regardless of any authority delegated to the State and
Consumer Services Agency to implement this part, the authority for
approving issuance and renewal of a requested license that requires a
prelicensing or renewal investigation, inspection, testing, or any
discretionary judgmental review by the regulatory agency otherwise
legally authorized to issue the license, shall remain with that
agency. The center may issue those licenses for which proper fee
payment and a completed application form have been received and for
which no prelicensing or renewal approval action is required by the
regulatory agency.
(d) Upon receipt of the application and proper fee payment for any
license for which issuance is subject to regulatory agency action
pursuant to subdivision (c), the center shall immediately notify the
regulatory agency with authority to approve issuance or renewal of
the license requested by the applicant. Each regulatory agency shall,
within a reasonable time after receiving the notice, advise the
center of one of the following:
(1) That the agency approves the issuance of the requested license
and will advise the applicant of any specific conditions required
for issuing the license.
(2) That the agency denies the issuance of the license and will
provide the applicant reasons for the denial.
(3) That the application is pending with the agency.
(e) The center shall issue a master license endorsed for all the
approved licenses to the applicant and advise the applicant of the
status of other requested licenses. It is the responsibility of the
applicant to contest a decision regarding conditions imposed or
licenses denied through the normal process established by statute or
by the agency with the authority for approving issuance of the
license.
(f) Regulatory agencies shall be provided information from the
master application for their licensing and regulatory functions.
15987.6. (a) The Master License Fund is hereby created in the
State Treasury. The administrative fees imposed pursuant to
subdivision (b) shall be deposited into the fund and, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, shall be used only to administer
the Business Master License Center.
(b) The center shall collect a master license administrative fee
of fifteen dollars ($15) on each master application and a master
license administrative fee of nine dollars ($9) on each master
renewal application. The entire master license administrative fee
shall be deposited in the Master License Fund.
(c) Any license fee collected under the master license system,
except for the master license administrative fee imposed pursuant to
subdivision (b), that is imposed by the authorizing agency that
approves the license, shall be deposited with the Treasurer. Upon
issuance or renewal of the master license, the Treasurer shall
allocate the fees to the appropriate accounts, pursuant to the
applicable statutes, for those agencies' licenses.
15987.7. (a) The center shall assign an expiration date for each
master license. All renewable licenses endorsed on that master
license shall expire on that date. License fees shall be prorated to
accommodate the staggering of expiration dates.
(b) All renewable licenses endorsed on a master license shall be
renewed by the center under conditions originally imposed unless a
regulatory agency advises the center of conditions or denials to be
imposed before the endorsement is renewed.
15987.8. The center shall not issue or renew a master license to
a person if any of the following occur:
(a) The person does not have a valid tax registration, if
required.
(b) The person is a corporation delinquent in fees or penalties
owing to the Secretary of State.
(c) The person is not validly registered under any statute giving
corporate or business licensing responsibilities to the Secretary of
State.
(d) The person has not submitted the sum of all fees and deposits
required for the requested individual license endorsements and the
master license administrative fee imposed pursuant to Section
15987.6.
15987.9. The Governor may appoint a third-party facilitator from
the business community, who shall report directly to, and serve at
the pleasure of, the Governor. The facilitator shall provide
oversight over the creation of the center and the development of its
master license system.
15987.10. A valid license already in effect prior to the
effective of the act adding this subdivision need not be registered
under the master license system until the renewal or expiration date
of that license.
15987.11. Nothing in this part shall be construed to eliminate or
reduce the authority of an agency that is legally authorized to
issue a license from determining if a requested license shall be
issued.
