Senate Business and Professions Committee Records, 1962-2004

Summary

Title:

Senate Senate Business and Professions Committee records

Dates:

1962-2004

Creators:

Senate Business and Professions Committee

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.

Extent:

71 cubic feet

Language:

Languages represented in the collection: English

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.

Background

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.

Biographical / historical:

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.

Acquisition information:

The California State Archives acquired the Senate Business and Professions Committee records as required by state law.

Physical location:

California State Archives

Rules or conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Related resources

Related material:

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.

Additional collection guides:

• Appendix A: List of Committee Chairs
• Appendix B: List of Hearing Files
• Appendix C: List of Subject Files
• Appendix D: List of BMQA Investigation Files

Indexed terms

Names:

California -- Legislature -- Senate-- Business and Professions Committee
California -- Board of Medical Quality Assurance

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:

Rebecca Wendt, Justin Salenik, and Archives Staff

Date Prepared:

© 2006

Date Encoded:

Machine-readable finding aid created by Sara Roberson. Machine-readable finding aid derived from MS Word. Date of source: October 26, 2006.

Restrictions:

While the majority of the records are open for research, any access restrictions are noted in the record series descriptions.

Terms of access:

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.

Location of this collection:

California State Archives

1020 "O" Street

Sacramento, CA 95814, US

Contact:

(916) 653-2246

reference@sos.ca.gov

Website