Descriptive Summary
Committee History
Additional Information
Scope and Content
Indexing Terms
Related Collections at the California State Archives
Descriptive Summary
Title: Senate Senate Business and Professions Committee records
Dates: 1962-2004
Collection number: See series description for LP numbers
Creator:
Senate Business and Professions Committee
Collection Size:
71 cubic feet
Repository:
California State Archives
Abstract: The Senate Business and Professions Committee Records consist of 71 cubic feet of records reflecting the activity of the committee
in investigating and introducing legislation related to the California Business and Professions Code. The records cover the
years, 1962-2004, with the bulk from 1970-2004, and are comprised of bill files, hearing files, subject files, investigation
files, chronological correspondence files, and office files.
Physical location: California State Archives
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Administrative Information
Access
While the majority of the records are open for research, any access restrictions are noted in the record series descriptions.
Publication Rights
For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication
is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility
for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives
collections.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Senate Business and Professions Committee Records, LP[number]:[folder number], California State
Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.
Acquisition Information
The California State Archives acquired the Senate Business and Professions Committee records as required by state law.
Committee History
The creation of the Senate Business and Professions Committee was a byproduct of Senate Resolution 150 (1939) which implemented
a study and revision of the Standing Rules of Senate. One outcome of this revision, intended to simplify and expedite Senate
business, was a complete restructuring of Senate committees. Prior to 1939, Senate Rules called for forty standing committees
so that each senator could serve as a committee chair. The new rules reduced the number of standing committees to twenty,
most of them new creations, and brought committee duties in line with the organization of the California Code. The first day
of existence for the Senate Business and Professions Committee was May 24, 1940, the day these new Senate Rules were read
and adopted.
The charge of the newly created Senate Business and Professions Committee was to "investigate all bills amending the Business
and Professions Code and uncodified legislation relating to the same subject." The committee was to be composed of eleven
members but, when members were first appointed on January 20, 1941, the number was reduced to nine where it remained. A standing
committee of the Senate, it was continually active since its creation although its purview contracted as the years progressed.
It continued to review legislation amending and extending the Business and Professions codes. However, in 1955, the review
of legislation relating to horseracing and intoxicating liquors was transferred to the Governmental Efficiency Committee.
In 1972, oil, mining, geothermal, and forestry industries issues were specifically named as not being covered by the Business
and Professions Committee but by the Natural Resources and Wildlife Committee. The committee was succeeded by the Senate
Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee at the start of the 2005-2006 legislative session, per Senate Resolution
4.
For a complete list of committee chairs, please see Appendix A in Additional Information.
Additional Information
Scope and Content
The Senate Business and Professions Committee Records consist of 71 cubic feet of records reflecting the activity of the committee
in investigating and introducing legislation related to the California Business and Professions Code. The records cover the
years, 1962-2004, with the bulk from 1970-2004, and are comprised of bill files, hearing files, subject files, investigation
files, chronological correspondence files, and office files. Although the committee began in 1940, records from the first
twenty years are lacking in the Archives holdings. It is also anticipated that the Archives will receive further records from
the Senate Business and Professions Committee. Researchers should check for recently received, unprocessed records of the
committee.
A strength of the collection is information regarding the California Department of Consumer Affairs and the professional boards
and other entities administered by this agency. Of particular interest to the researcher are files concerning licensing and
treatment of foreign medical school graduates. Complaints about people masquerading as licensed doctors and inconsistent licensing
practices for qualified doctors led to an ongoing investigation of the Board of Medical Quality Insurance (BMQA). Hearing
files, bill files, and subject files all offer insight into this problem and proposed solutions. As a whole, the records clearly
demonstrate how constituent concerns can directly impact legislation and they offer a view of the practices involved in reviewing
and creating legislation as well as the committee process.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
California -- Legislature -- Senate-- Business and Professions Committee
California -- Board of Medical Quality Assurance
Related Collections at the California State Archives
Alan Short Papers
Alfred H. Song Papers
Alex P. Garcia Papers
Joseph B. Montoya Papers
Daniel E. Boatwright Papers
Richard G. Polanco Papers
Liz Figueroa Papers
Related Collections at Other Repositories
Records for Ed Fletcher, first Chair of the Committee, may be found in the Fletcher Family Papers, 1870-1955 at the Mandeville
Special Collections Library; University of California San Diego Libraries 0175S; 9500 Gilman Drive; La Jolla, CA 92093-0175
and in the Papers of Colonel Ed Fletcher at the San Diego Historical Society Research Archives; Casa de Balboa, lower level;
1649 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101.
Oral Histories of Committee Chairs
Arthur H. Breed, Jr., Alameda County and the California Legislature: 1935-1958, Oral History Interview, conducted 1973 by
Gabrielle Morris, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, California for the
Earl Warren Oral History Project.
Hugh M. Burns, Oral History Interview, conducted 1977-1980 by Gabrielle Morris, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft
Library, University of California, Berkeley, California for the Earl Warren Oral History Project.
Alfred H. Song, Oral History Interview, conducted 1986 by Raphael J. Sonenshein, Oral History Program, California State University,
Fullerton for the California State Government Oral History Program.