Bill Text: CA AB836 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Tour guides: regulation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB836 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB836-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 836 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Rendon and Low
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to add Chapter 18 (commencing with Section 9400) to
Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to tour
guides.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 836, as amended, Rendon. Tour guides: regulation.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various
professionals, including, but not limited to, advertisers, attorneys,
interior designers, barbers, and cosmetologists.
This bill would provide for the licensure and regulation of tour
guides by the California Travel and Tourism Commission, as specified,
with certain exceptions. The bill would require applicants for
certification, among other things, to be 21
18 years of age or older, meet specified educational criteria,
pay fees required by the commission, and provide fingerprints for
submission to the Department of Justice for a criminal background
check. The act would require the department to review specified
information and provide fitness determinations and other specified
information to the commission. The bill would also authorize local
governments to establish local tour guide certification programs and
require the commission to certify applicants licensed through those
programs.
This bill would allow the commission to take disciplinary action
against certificate holders or applicants, as specified. The bill
would prohibit unlicensed persons from leading tour groups into state
parks or other state facilities for compensation as part of a
multisite tour.
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. Chapter 18 (commencing with Section 9400) is added to
Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, to read:
CHAPTER 18. CALIFORNIA TOUR GUIDE ACT
9400. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
California Tour Guide Act.
9401. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Approved school" or "approved tour guide school" means a
facility that is approved by the commission and meets minimum
standards for training and curriculum in California tour guiding and
related subjects and meets any of the following requirements:
(1) Approval by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education.
(2) Approval by the Department of Consumer Affairs.
(3) Accreditation by the Accrediting Commission for Senior
Colleges and Universities or the Accrediting Commission for Community
and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and
Colleges and that is any of the following:
(A) A public institution.
(B) An institution incorporated and lawfully operating as a
nonprofit public benefit corporation pursuant to Part 2 (commencing
with Section 5110) of Division 2 of Title 1 of the Corporations Code,
and that is not managed by any entity for profit.
(C) A for-profit institution.
(4) A college or university of the state higher education system,
as defined in Section 100850 of the Education Code.
(5) A school requiring equal or greater training than the
requirements established by this chapter and recognized by the
corresponding agency in another state or accredited by an agency
recognized by the United States Department of Education.
(b) "Certificate" means a valid certificate issued by the
commission pursuant to this chapter.
(c) "Commission" means the California Travel and Tourism
Commission established pursuant to Section 13995.40 of the Government
Code.
(d) "Compensation" means anything of value, including, but not
limited to, a payment, loan, advance, donation, contribution,
deposit, or gift of money.
(e) "Tour guide business" means a business or
establishment that provides tour guides in California for
compensation.
(f) "Tour guide professional" or "tour guide" means a person who
is certified by the commission pursuant to this chapter and who
practices tour guiding for compensation.
9402. The commission shall establish a tour guide certification
program pursuant to this chapter, and shall provide for the promotion
of certified tour guides to persons or organizations seeking to hire
tour guides in California. The commission may collect fees not to
exceed the reasonable cost of the commission's certification of tour
guides and approval of tour guide schools pursuant to this chapter.
9404. The commission shall issue a certificate to an individual
applicant who satisfies the requirements of this chapter or holds a
current and valid registration, certification, or license to work as
a tour guide from any city, county, or city and county in California.
The commission may issue a certificate to an individual applicant
who holds a current and valid registration, certification, or license
from another state, and who demonstrates knowledge of tour group
safety and California geography, history, and culture, as defined by
the commission. If an applicant has received education at a school
that is not an approved school, the commission shall have the
discretion to give credit for comparable academic work completed by
an applicant in a program outside of California.
9406. In order to obtain certification as a tour guide
professional, an applicant shall submit a written application and
provide the commission with satisfactory evidence that he or she or
meets all of the following requirements:
(a) The applicant is 21 18 years of
age or older.
(b) The applicant has successfully completed a curriculum in
California tour guiding and related subjects, as defined by the
commission. The curriculum shall include information on tour guide
safety and California geography, history, and culture.
Successful completion of a program from an approved school shall be
deemed to satisfy this requirement.
(c) The applicant has passed a California tour guide competency
assessment examination that meets generally recognized principles and
standards and that is approved by the commission. The successful
completion of this examination may have been accomplished before the
date the commission is authorized by this chapter to begin issuing
certificates.
(d) All fees required by the commission have been paid.
9408. A certificate issued pursuant to this chapter shall expire
after two years unless renewed in a manner prescribed by the
commission. The commission may provide for the late renewal of a
certificate.
9410. (a) The commission shall have the responsibility to
determine whether the school from which an applicant has obtained the
education required by this chapter meets the requirements of this
chapter. If the commission has any reason to question whether or not
the applicant received the education that is required by this chapter
from the school or schools that the applicant is claiming, the
commission shall investigate the facts to determine whether the
applicant received the required education prior to issuing a
certificate.
(b) For purposes of this section and any other provision of this
chapter that authorizes the commission to receive factual information
as a condition of taking action, the commission may conduct oral
interviews of the applicant and others or conduct any investigation
the commission deems necessary to establish that the information
received is accurate and satisfies the criteria established by this
chapter.
9412. (a) Before issuing a certificate to an applicant, or
designating a custodian of records, the commission shall require the
applicant or the custodian of records candidate to submit fingerprint
images as directed by the commission and in a form consistent with
the requirements of this section.
(b) The commission shall submit the fingerprint images and related
information to the Department of Justice for the purpose of
obtaining information as to the existence and nature of a record of
state and federal level convictions and of state and federal level
arrests for which the Department of Justice establishes that the
applicant or candidate was released on bail or on his or her own
recognizance pending trial.
(c) Requests for federal level criminal offender record
information received by the Department of Justice pursuant to this
section shall be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation by
the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice shall review the
information returned from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and
shall compile and disseminate a fitness determination regarding the
applicant or candidate to the commission. The Department of Justice
shall provide information to the commission pursuant to subdivision
(p) of Section 11105 of the Penal Code.
(d) The Department of Justice and the commission shall charge a
fee not to exceed the reasonable cost of processing the request for
state and federal level criminal offender record information.
9413. The commission may require its employees, volunteers, and
members to undergo the background investigation process described in
Section 9412.
9415. It is a violation of this chapter and grounds for
discipline or denial of an application for a certificate for a
certificate holder or applicant to commit any of the following acts:
(a) Unprofessional conduct.
(b) Procuring a certificate by fraud, misrepresentation, or
mistake.
(c) Impersonating an applicant or acting as a proxy for an
applicant in any examination referred to in this chapter for the
issuance of a certificate.
(d) Impersonating a certificate holder, or permitting or allowing
a noncertified person to use a certificate.
(e) Violating or attempting to violate, directly or indirectly, or
assisting in or abetting the violation of, or conspiring to violate,
any provision of this chapter or any rule or bylaw adopted by the
commission.
(f) Committing any fraudulent, dishonest, or corrupt act that is
substantially related to the qualifications or duties of a
certificate holder.
(g) Committing any act punishable as a sexually related crime.
(h) Committing any act that results in denial of licensure,
revocation, suspension, restriction, citation, or any other
disciplinary action against an applicant or certificate holder by
another a state or territory of the
United States, by any other government agency, or by another
California health care professional licensing board.
States. A certified copy of the decision, order, judgment, or
citation shall be conclusive evidence of these actions.
(i) Being convicted of any felony or misdemeanor that is
substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of
a certificate holder. A record of the conviction shall be conclusive
evidence of the crime.
9416. (a) The commission may discipline a certificate holder by
any, or a combination, of the following methods:
(1) Placing the certificate holder on probation.
(2) Suspending the certificate and the rights conferred by this
chapter on a certificate holder for a period not to exceed one year.
(3) Revoking the certificate.
(4) Suspending or staying the disciplinary order, or portions of
it, with or without conditions.
(5) Taking other action as the commission deems proper, as
authorized by this chapter or the commission's bylaws.
(b) The commission may issue an initial certificate on probation,
with specific terms and conditions, to any applicant.
9417. (a) An applicant for a certificate shall not be denied a
certificate, and a certificate holder shall not be disciplined
pursuant to this chapter, except according to procedures that satisfy
the requirements of this section. Denial or discipline that is not
in accord with this section shall be void and without effect.
(b) Any denial or discipline shall be decided upon and imposed in
good faith and in a fair and reasonable manner. Any procedure that
conforms to the requirements of subdivision (c) is fair and
reasonable, but a court may also find other procedures to be fair and
reasonable when the full circumstances of the denial or discipline
are considered.
(c) A procedure is fair and reasonable if all of the following
apply:
(1) The provisions of the procedure are set forth in the articles
or bylaws of the commission or copies of those provisions are
annually sent to all of the members of the commission.
(2) The procedure provides 15 business days prior notice of the
denial or discipline and the reasons for the denial or discipline.
(3) The procedure provides an opportunity for the applicant or
certificate holder to be heard, orally or in writing, not less than
five days before the effective date of the denial or discipline, by a
person or body authorized to decide whether the proposed denial or
discipline should go into effect.
(d) (1) Any notice required under this section may be given by any
method reasonably calculated to provide actual notice. Any notice
given by mail shall be given by first-class or certified mail sent to
the last address of the applicant or certificate holder shown on the
commission's records.
(2) It is the responsibility of the certificate holder or
applicant to notify the commission of his or her home address, as
well as the address of any business establishment where he or she
regularly works as a tour guide professional, whether as an employee
or as an independent contractor.
(e) A certificate holder or applicant who is denied or disciplined
shall be liable for any charges, dues, assessments, and fees
incurred by, services or benefits actually rendered to, and
obligations arising from contract or otherwise of, the certificate
holder or applicant before the denial or discipline.
(f) Any action challenging a denial or discipline, including any
claim alleging defective notice, shall be commenced within one year
after the effective date of the denial or discipline. If the action
is successful, the court may order any relief, including
reinstatement, that it finds equitable under the circumstances.
(g) This section governs only the procedures for denial or
discipline decision and not the substantive grounds for the denial or
discipline. Denial or discipline based upon substantive grounds that
violates contractual or other rights of the applicant or certificate
holder, or is otherwise unlawful, is not made valid by compliance
with this section.
9419. (a) Upon the request of any law enforcement agency or any
other representative of a local government agency with responsibility
for regulating or administering a local ordinance relating to
California tour guide businesses, the commission shall provide
information concerning a certificate holder, including, but not
limited to, any of the following:
(1) The current status of a certificate.
(2) Any history of disciplinary actions taken against the
certificate holder.
(3) The home and work addresses of the certificate holder.
(4) Any other information in the commission's possession that is
necessary to verify facts relevant to administering the local
ordinance.
(b) The commission shall accept information provided by any law
enforcement agency or any other representative of a local government
agency with responsibility for regulating or administering a local
ordinance relating to California tour guide businesses. The
commission shall have the responsibility to review any information
received and take any actions authorized by this chapter that are
warranted by that information.
9421. (a) The commission shall maintain an accurate list of
certified tour guides and shall provide the list to tour guide
businesses and other persons or organizations seeking to hire tour
guides in California.
(b) A person who is not certified pursuant to this chapter shall
not lead a tour group in a state park or other state facility for
compensation as part of a multisite tour.
9423. This chapter does not interfere with a person's exercise of
his or her right to freedom of speech provided by the First
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
9425. This chapter only applies to tour guides who offer
themselves for hire to take travelers on multisite tours in
California. This chapter does not apply to tour guides who work for a
museum, amusement park, or other organization that invites tourists
to visit its facility.
9427. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a
certificate holder has the right, consistent with this chapter and
the qualifications established by his or her certification, to
perform tour guides in any city, county, or city and county in the
state and shall not be required to obtain any other license, permit,
or other authorization to engage in that practice.
(b) A city, county, or city and county may establish a tour guide
certification program that applies only to the jurisdiction of that
city, county, or city and county, and may seek the commission's
recognition of its program in order for its certified tour guides to
obtain statewide certification, as provided by the commission.
(c) This section does not preclude a city, county, or city and
county from requiring a tour guide business or establishment to file
copies or provide other evidence of a certificate held by a person
providing tour guide services at the business.
(d) A city, county, or city and county may charge a tour guide
business or establishment a business licensing fee sufficient to
cover the costs of the business licensing activities established by a
local ordinance pursuant to this section.
(e) This section does not prohibit a city, county, or city and
county from adopting land use and zoning requirements applicable to
tour guide businesses or establishments unless those requirements
differ from requirements uniformly applied to other professional or
personal services businesses.
(f) This section does not preclude a city, county, or city and
county from doing any of the following:
(1) Requiring an applicant for a business license to operate a
tour guide business or establishment to fill out an application that
requests relevant information.
(2) Making reasonable investigations into that information.
(3) Denying or restricting a business license if the applicant
provides materially false information.
(g) An owner or operator of a tour guide business or establishment
subject to subdivision (f) shall be responsible for the conduct of
all of the employees or independent contractors working on the
premises of the business.
(h) This section does not preclude a city, county, or city and
county from authorizing the suspension, revocation, or other
restriction of a license or permit issued to a tour guide
establishment or business if violations of this chapter or a local
ordinance occur on the premises of that establishment or business.
9429. This chapter does not restrict or limit in any way the
authority of a city, county, or city and county to adopt a local
ordinance governing any person who is not certified pursuant to this
chapter.
9431. This chapter does not affect the rights of any person
licensed by the state to practice or perform any functions or
services pursuant to that license.
