Senate Standing Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development

Okay, we are going to start, and I know we need to start as a Subcommitee here because we don't quite have a quorum, but. Good morning, everyone. We just have three bills, so if you're okay, Senator Jones, with presenting your first, then we'll come back to consent when we have a quorum. Would that be all right with everyone? Mr. Jones, are you ready? Yes, ma'am. Okay, Senator, join us, please.

Then I'll stop you if we get a chance to establish a quorum, but we'll go ahead and start. Thank you, SB 1225.

Thank you, Madam Chair and Members, I'm here to present SB 1225, which would allow the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers to remove notices of disciplinary action from their website if certain conditions are met. In order to be eligible for removal, disciplinary information must be at least 10 years old and determined by the Bureau to no longer be necessary to ensure consumer protection. Licensee disciplinary information is a valuable tool in protecting consumers and promoting transparency.

However, there is currently no way for the bureau to remove the information when it's no longer relevant, such as when the licensee has been rehabilitated, the penalty has been removed, and many years have passed. Outdated disciplinary records draw attention away from current ones that are useful in identifying active threats to consumer protection. SB 1225 will give the bureau the authority it needs to declutter and streamline its database. I ask for an aye vote.

Okay. Thank you very much. I'll first see if any of my colleagues have any questions for you. Don't see any. And then we'll go. oh, yes, sorry.

Mr. Beloda is anxiously raising his hand.

Would you like to hear from the public first? Yes. Okay, that's fine. Sure? All right, go ahead.

Thank you, Madam Chair and Members. Thank you. Mike Belote. On behalf of the Appraisal Institute, the National Association of Real Estate Appraisers. This Bill is premised on the same language in the real estate law relating to brokers and salespersons. We were advised by the Bureau of Real Estate appraisers that in order to make this conformity, we would need a Bill, which is why we're doing it.

It simply gives the discretion to the bureau chief of BREA, based on 10 years and rehabilitation and no credible threat to the public, or if the licensee has been deceased and the request comes from the family, seems simple and fair and recognizes the public interest, and we would ask for an aye vote.

Okay, I appreciate that. Let's see if there's anybody else in the audience who'd like to testify in support of SB 1225. Seeing no one. We'll see if there are any witnesses in opposition to 1225. Seeing no one. I will look to my colleagues. Go ahead, Senator Archuleta.

No, I just wanted to see the correlation between the Department of Real Estate and Real Estate Brokers and Licensees, and I think you answered that.

And in fact, many appraisers have real estate brokers licenses, and so there's sort of a congruity there.

Okay, we are going to take roll now because we have just enough Members for a quorum being our good luck charm.

[Roll Call]

Just in closing, to add on to Senator Archuleta's comments, I did have a roundtable with a bunch of realtors down in San Diego on Friday, mentioned this to them, and they liked the idea, too. So we'll be working on letters of support from them as well.

Great. We could entertain a motion if somebody would like to. All right, so moved. Aye think that was Senator Niello. Yes. All right, we will take the roll then. [Roll Call] Okay, we're going to leave it open for the other Members.

Thank you, Members. Appreciate your support.

All right, I think we can go back to consent now since we have a quorum. Would that be okay? Go ahead and take up our consent item while we have a quorum here. We will leave it open, but we're going to need Senator Dodd soon. Is that moved?

[Roll Call]

Okay, we will need to wait for Senator Dodd to get here, and then we'll hear from him? He has a Bill up. As soon as he gets here, we'll take it up. Okay. We'll list a call for the two items that we've heard. First, consent.

[Roll Call]

So seven. All right, that sits with seven. We'll put that back on call for the other Members, and we will wait for Senator Dodd. All right, Senator Dodd, thanks for joining us. We're going to ask you to present on SB 1384. Now, it's our last item, so just a quick note to the Senators who might be in the building. After we hear from Senator Dodd, we have the two other items on call, and we'll leave those open for a few minutes after he's done presenting. All right, Senator Dodd, go right ahead.

Good morning, Madam Chair and Members. SB 1384 will allow powered wheelchair users to have a viable alternative to costly and time consuming repairs by allowing consumers and independent repair providers access to parts, documentation and software necessary to repair their own vehicles. The limited numbers of CRT, that's complex rehab technology service providers in the state, means that individuals who use powered wheelchairs often have no other option but to rely on the manufacturer for repairs. This can result in extensive delays, thus declining health of mobility users.

This Bill includes important safeguards for consumers defining the scope of repairs that can be safely carried out by independent repair providers and provide a written notice to consumers about their warranty rights. We must prioritize the needs and rights of vulnerable communities, and SB 1384 is an important step to achieving that goal. I have with me today Dan Okenfuss , a public policy manager, and Russell Rawlings, a CRT user and statewide community manager, both from the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers.

I appreciate this and also wanted just to say it's just been a very positive experience not only working with the advocates, but also working with the manufacturers, who have been incredibly cooperative all along the way. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you very much, Senator Dodd and your lead witness.

Good morning. My name is Dan Okenfuss. I am the public policy manager for the California foundation for Independent Living Centers. Happy to be here today. And we are here in sponsorship of Senate Bill 1384 granting power wheelchair users the ability to conduct maintenance and repair services on their own mobility devices. CFIC is a statewide disability rights organization that serves as the Membership Association for California's independent Living Centers, which cover 56 counties in the state providing services and supports for thousands of individuals with disabilities.

And Senate Bill 134 will require manufacturers of power wheelchairs to provide access to items necessary to facilitate repairs on equipment owned by a consumer, therefore making easier and faster and more efficient for the repairs to be made. For these reasons, we're proud to co sponsor. Thank you.

Thank you for being here. Mr. Rawlings. Thanks for being here.

Thank you.

Good morning. Thanks. Madam Chair and Members of the Committee, thank you very much for taking up this important issue. SB 1384 really ensures access for people with disabilities to timely repairs. As someone who's used a CRT powered wheelchair for the entirety of their life, I've known what it's like to wait months for repairs and replacement parts for chairs.

Nice to see you.

There have been frequent times where I've popped into a local mom and pop business to get a screw tightened, but this Bill would allow for me to get more than just that. Sometimes I'm waiting on a part for months. There have been times when I've actually been left immobilized because I've had to wait upwards of six months for repair from the provider of my wheelchair. And there are very limited number of providers that have access to the parts. So SB 1384 would help open this up and give consumers more options. Thank you.

Thank you for being here. It's nice to see you. Okay. Are there others who wish to testify in support of SB 1384? Here in the room. Come on forward. Thanks for being here.

Good morning. Kate Laddish, chair of the Yolo County In Home Supportive Services Advisory Committee and the Yolo County Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee in strong support. Thank you.

Great. Thank you so much. Anyone else here on this one? Okay, how about anybody here wishing to testify in opposition to 1384?

Sorry, I'm in a neutral position. Not in opposition, but in a neutral position. So, John Winger, on behalf of the National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology. So we're the providers and manufacturers of complex rehab technology. Just wanted to thank the author and his staff for all the work that we've done over the last year and a half on this Bill. I think where we're at now with the structure of the Bill, we're comfortable with it.

It strikes the right balance between self repair for some of these items and then also maintaining kind of the clinical oversight for some of the components that are a little bit more complex. But we would just be remiss if we didn't remind the Committee that this is a small piece of the problem with the whole service and repair model. There's a lot more that needs to be done.

We really need a service contract kind of framework in place for preventative maintenance so that we avoid a lot of the catastrophic failures that render some of these vulnerable patients in beds for weeks at a time. We also have significant reimbursement challenges. We don't get paid for travel, even though we spend 86% of our time in the field, we don't get paid for most of our labor. And so it's extremely complicated and difficult service process for us. And so we thank the author again.

A lot of the progress we made last year on prior authorization is getting worked through with the Department. That's going to be helpful. This will be helpful, but there's a lot more we need to do, and so we look forward to continuing that engagement. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Any other folks here in the room want to testify on this? Any colleagues have any comments? Go ahead, Senator Archuleta.

Senator, what a great Bill, and thank you all for being here. But I can't believe that over the years, family Members who have mechanics or friends who are very mechanically oriented could not have worked on some of these chairs and not received the parts. Has it been like that? And had you not brought everybody together, it would continue?

I don't want this to sound like an indictment, necessarily on all the manufacturers. A lot of time. It's the approvals by Medi Cal, too, that take so darn long in the system and everything. So I think it's something. Know everybody could have done a better job, certainly. But I think with COVID we found out just how acute it was and why something needed to be done now. So I appreciate Senator Archuleta.

Thank God you brought it forward, and I'll move the Bill when it's time.

Thank you, ma'am. Chair. Senator, just last year, I joined Mr. John over here in a location in my district where I learned how long individuals have to wait to get something fixed. I am so glad we're moving in the right direction. I know you just whispered into our ear here that next year we need to really help with the reimbursement and shorten that time period. I think this is the step in the right direction.

I hope we get it back to the governor's desk again, and this time he signs it. And I do agree with John over here that we need to do better and move forward in closing the gap here, because there's a lot of barriers to getting a lot of these machinery fixed and into the hands of individuals that need it to move throughout their day. So thank you so much.

Well, I wish that I would be here next year to be able to run that Bill, but that's impossible.

Well, you're welcome to come back and testify. Enjoy. There you go. Okay. Any other. Probably not any other colleagues wishing to speak? All right, Senator Dodd, you want to close?

I just really appreciate the comments and the questions. And to the advocates that have just done an amazing job from day one, I appreciate everybody coming together on this. Respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Okay. And we have a motion from Senator Archuleta, so we will take the roll here. [Roll Call] Okay, 12 on that one. So thank you very much. Thank you for being here.

Your witness there, Mr. Dodd. All right, we have the other two items. I think we'll go back and open the call on those. Probably just a note here to any Senators in the building who'd like to come down. We're going to open all three here and take them through one time, and then we'll wait a couple of minutes and do it again. So thank you to my colleagues who are here and the ones who are on their way down. Go ahead. Item number one.

[Roll Call]

Thanks to all the Members for showing up. That is it for the business, professions and economic development Committee hearing today.