SB 641: Department of Consumer Affairs and Department of Real Estate: states of emergency: waivers and exemptions.

Existing law establishes in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency the Department of Real Estate to license and regulate real estate licensees, and the Department of Consumer Affairs, which is composed of various boards that license and regulate various businesses and professions.

This bill would authorize the Department of Real Estate and boards under the jurisdiction of the Department of Consumer Affairs to waive the application of certain provisions of the licensure requirements that the board or department is charged with enforcing for licensees and applicants who reside in or whose primary place of business is in a location damaged by a natural disaster for which a state of emergency is proclaimed by the Governor, as specified, or for which an emergency or major disaster is declared by the President of the United States, including certain examination, fee, and continuing education requirements. The bill would require a board to notify the director of the Department of Consumer Affairs in writing of any waiver approved by that board, and would prohibit the waiver from taking effect for a period of 5 business days after the director receives the notification from the board. The bill would authorize the director to approve or disapprove a waiver within the 5 business days described above, and require the director to notify the board of any decision to approve or disapprove a waiver within those 5 business days. The bill would prohibit a waiver from taking effect if the director disapproves the waiver, and require a waiver that is approved by the director, or that fails to be approved or disapproved by the director within the 5 business days described above, to take effect the following day. The bill would require the Department of Consumer Affairs to, among other things, post each waiver that takes effect on its website.

The bill would exempt the above-described licensees of boards from, among other requirements, the payment of duplicate license fees. The bill would require all applicants and licensees of the boards under the Department of Consumer Affairs to provide the board with an email address. The bill would prohibit a contractor licensed pursuant to the Contractors State License Law from engaging in debris removal unless the contractor has one of specified license qualifications or has been authorized by the registrar of contractors during a declared state of emergency or for a declared disaster area due to a natural disaster. The bill would require a licensee authorized to perform debris removal to pass an approved hazardous substance certification examination, and comply with certain occupational safety and health requirements concerning hazardous waste operations and emergency response, as specified. The bill would require the Real Estate Commissioner, immediately upon the declaration of a natural disaster for which a state of emergency, emergency, or major disaster is proclaimed or declared as described above, to determine the nature and scope of any unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent practices, as specified, and provide specified notice to the public regarding those practices. The bill would authorize the commissioner to suspend or revoke a real estate license if the licensee, until one year following the declaration of a natural disaster for which a state of emergency, emergency, or major disaster is proclaimed or declared as described above, makes an unsolicited offer to an owner of real property to purchase or acquire an interest in the real property, when that property is located in an area included in a declared federal, state, or local emergency or disaster, for an amount less than the fair market value, as defined, of the property or interest of the property, as specified.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.