My name is Francie Koehler. I am the current CALI Legislation Chair, a position in which I have served 6 of the past 8 years. I have also been a member of the CALI Legislation Committee since 1994. As you probably are aware, Chris Reynolds is the Continuing Education Sub-Committee Chair. He and his committee have spent a tremendous amount of time researching the concept of continuing education. I commend both him and Jim Zimmer, CALI's Listserv Chair, for implementing this important CE discussion forum.

I was tasked with preparing a list of answers to frequently asked questions about SB 1282, the CE bill. I reviewed 252 emails I received on this topic, in addition to the emails that have been posted to the CE Discussion Group. The FAQs to follow are a compilation of questions asked. It is also available as an attachment for your convenience since this group allows attachments. Please let me know if I have missed anything.

First, before you read the FAQ, you should know CALI submitted an amendment to the bill to address some of the issues that have come to our attention. The amendment is below.

Contact information for myself:
Francie Koehler, CPI
510 Third St. Ste. 102 Oakland, CA 94607
Tel: 510-987-8114
Email: franciek@pacbell.net

Contact information for Chris Reynolds:
Chris Reynolds
438 First St. Ste. 400 Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Tel: 707-579-1120
Email: cdrpi@comcast.net

AMENDMENT TO SB 1282

This section does not apply to a licensed private investigator who meets either of the following:

a. Is seventy (70) years of age or older and has been a licensee in good standing for a minimum of twenty-five (25) consecutive years.

b. Is an inactive licensed investigator. For the purposes of this subdivision, "inactive licensed investigator" is an individual who: [i] is licensed under this act; [ii] has informed the department that the licensee will not be performing activities that require licensure; [iii] does not perform activities requiring licensure; and [iv] has paid a biennial fee of sixty-two dollars and fifty cents ($62.50. A licensee who is inactive under this subdivision may become active at the beginning of the regular, two-year license registration period upon submission to the department of a statement made under penalty of perjury that he or she has obtained 12 hours of continuing education units, and upon payment of a renewal fee, as set forth in Section 7570, to the department.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Continuing Education, SB 1282

1. How many hours does the bill require?
   

   12 hours per two year renewal period, less than one day per year.

2. Who provides the training?
   

   Any provider approved by BSIS including associations and private entities.

3. What if I am retired but want to maintain my license?
   

   The bill provides an exemption for a PI over 70 with 25 years of continuous licensing as a PI.

4. What if I am unable to work due to personal circumstances?
   

   The bill provides a provision to suspend a license with no CE requirement. 12 hours continuing education would be required to take the license off suspension.

5. How far will I have to travel to obtain CE?
   

   It is anticipated is that there will be a multitude of CE providers, anywhere from attorneys giving training to PI associations to community colleges and private training companies. Providers who provide distance learning through web site access will be sought. The objective is to make the training easily accessible to any investigator who holds an active license either within or outside the State of California.

   For example, here are two web sites that offer distance training.

   http://www.pi-ceu.com/index3.htm
   http://www.pieducation.com/

6. Can training at my District Meeting meet CE requirements?
   

   If the training is submitted and approved by BSIS it can be accomplished through the local District meetings or District sponsored events such as ½ day seminars.

7. What is the purpose for mandating CE?
   

   a. To ensure that every PI understands the parameters of privacy and consumer protection.
   b. To ensure that every PI is current on new laws enacted each year.
   c. To demonstrate to legislators and privacy advocates that PIs are concerned enough about access to information that they are willing to take action.

8. Why can't these things be covered on the state PI exam?
   

   The state test is an entry level test. In addition, it cannot be revised fast enough to keep up with the newly enacted laws.

9. Isn't conducting investigations basically common sense and doing what is right?
   

   It should be! However, if being a PI was based on common sense, we would not see the HP scandal, the California PIs who participated in the ChoicePoint breach, or the recent case in Washington where 10 PIs (one of them from California) were federally indicted. The charges allege that these defendants collected information via pretext from the I.R.S., Social Security Administration, various State Unemployment Insurance Departments, private financial institutions, banks, pharmacies and hospitals by posing as its customers.

10. Why can't CALI have a voluntary CE program and provide training for PIs.
    

    CALI does have a CE program and has been providing training through seminars and conferences for years.

    There are somewhere between 8000 and 10,000 PIs licensed in the State of California. CALI has just under 2000 members, about 20% of total licensees. If all those who belonged to a PI association in California were added together, there are likely less than 40% of the total number of licensees (a very liberal figure) that actually belong to an association.

    None of the people involved in the unlawful activities mentioned in # 9 were members of a PI association.

11. I retired from 25 years in law enforcement and passed the state exam, isn't that enough?
    

    Laws that apply to the private sector vary from those applicable to law enforcement. Just because an individual spent time in law enforcement and passed the test, doesn't mean he or she knows the applicable laws or their applications.

12. How can I afford to take time away from my business to meet the CE requirements?
    

    Your time constraints have been considered, which is why there are so many alternatives available for education. You will be able to receive your education online, at a seminar, in a classroom, from web site training and through many other resources.

13. Why weren't CALI members consulted before the CE bill was introduced? Some members claim CALI drafted and proposed this bill in secret, trying to "ram it through" without consulting with the association they serve.
    

    CALI members were informed soon after the CALI board voted to support the legislation.
    
    President Nick Savala posted a letter September 4, 2007 (appended below) after the CALI Board Meeting, letting people know the Board had voted to go forward with a CE bill and asking for input and suggestions from members. Legislation Chair Francie Koehler posted a message January 9, 2008 asking for assistance with legislators regarding the potential CE bill (appended below).
    
    ____________________________________
    
    From: Nick Savala
    To: CALI Members
    Sent: 9/4/2007 11:34:43 A.M. Pacific Standard Time
    Subj: [calimembers] Board of Directors votes to explore Continuing Education
    
    Esteemed Members,
    
    As many of you know the issue of Continuing Education (CE) requirements is not a new topic for our association or our industry.
    
    I have and continue to be a proponent of CE. At our first Board of Directors meeting for the year held recently in Ontario, CA, CE was once again a topic of discussion. During the meeting our Legislative Chair Francie Koehler presented a motion to move forward and explore options available to us to sponsor a bill requiring CE as part of licensing renewals for Private Investigators. The motion passed.
    
    The early stages of the inquiry include receiving feedback from our members regarding the idea of CE. I ask that after you read the following memorandum, prepared by Chris Reynolds, Legislative CE Sub-committee Chair, you provide any feedback you may have to your District Director, Chris Reynolds,any board member or to me directly. Please do not discuss this on the listserv, open debate and legislative discussion is not part of the listserv purpose.
    
    Continued Education Legislation
    
    The California Association of Licensed Investigators Board of Directors recently approved a plan to introduce legislation in California to require all licensed investigators to receive 12 hours of continuing education commensurate with the renewal of their licenses.
    
    To date, continuing education has already been mandated in Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina and we anticipate more states will mandate investigators in the coming years. CALI wants to be at the forefront of this movement by helping craft legislation that will educate our peers, while still giving us access to legitimate information we need to perform our jobs.
    
    In California the legislature has made it clear they intend to legislate our activities including the restriction of access to public records, online databases, social security numbers, etc. They also intend to put an end to the use of certain tools used by investigators, especially the use of pretexting as a means to gather information for legitimate, lawful purposes. The public perception of private investigators has reached new lows with the revelations in the Hewlett Packard case and the illegal activities of investigators (licensed and unlicensed) in our state. In the last five years there have been dozens of bills proposed by the legislature, which would have driven many of us from our professions. Our association has worked tirelessly to fight these bills while we educate the legislature about our true value to consumers.
    
    Continued Education will serve many purposes. It will insure that every licensed investigator in the state receives training on ethics current laws and legal opinions. It will ensure investigators are continuing to improve their skills to remain at the forefront of the industry.
    
    There are over 8,000 licensed investigators in California. Many have held licenses for many years yet rarely practice their profession. We believe if they want to hold a license they must stay in touch with the current training, techniques and laws. Every time an investigator violates a law or commits an unethical act it reflects on our entire industry. CALI wants to lead the way in the state by proposing a continuing education program that will help eliminate these errors and provide notice to consumers that we are working to police ourselves and reduce the number of untrained investigators that might take advantage of them.
    
    CALI's recent adoption of a new Code of Ethics was well received by the legislature and was another sign that we only want people of integrity involved in this industry.
    
    The Continued Education we propose will take many forms, including the ability to take courses at local community colleges, web based courses, distant learning, seminars and approved meeting of our association. We think this will make it possible for anyone with a license, no matter where they live, to participate in continued education, while not being forced to travel long distances to receive it.
    
    We need your support and hope you will join with us in this mission to provide consumers highly trained, qualified, ethical investigators.
    
    Nick P. Savala, CPI
    Employment Check, Inc.
    www.employment-check.com
    9121 Haven Ave, Suite 160
    Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
    909-987-5115 x-231
    President - California Assoc of Licensed Investigators
    www.cali-pi.org
    
    -----Original Message-----
    
    From: CALI Members On Behalf Of Francie Koehler
    Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 3:12 PM
    To: CALI Members
    Cc: CALI Districts; CALI Board
    Subject: [calimembers] CA Legislators
    
    Folks: If you have a personal relationship with a CA Senator or Assembly person, please advise. We will be contacting legislators on Monday re the CALI sponsored continuing education bill. It always helps to talk to those you know or have pre-established relationship. Please respond privately.
    
    Francie Koehler
    Special Circumstances PI 11539
    510 3rd Street, Suite 102
    Oakland, CA 94607
    510.987.8114 (ofc)
    510.223.9516 (fax)
    

14. Isn't this just a master plan for CALI to force members to attend seminars so CALI can make more money?
    

    No, CALI already offers CE to its members and anyone else who wants to attend. Any group, individual or association that submits a training proposal will benefit. You can submit a request for training to BSIS. If it is approved, you are a provider and can market your training.

15. BSIS has so much else to do, how are they able to administer and support this program?
    

    While it is true that BSIS has a lot to do, they are limited by staff and funding. This bill provides a small increase of $20.00 per two-year renewal period and a $20.00 increase for new licenses to cover two additional staff members needed to handle the increased work.
    
    BSIS has improved greatly over the last several years. They just received funding for a two-year pilot program to tackle unlicensed activities by hiring 3 field personnel to do nothing but address unlicensed activities. One of these three people is a sworn officer.

16. Which states have continuing education and how many hours do they require?
    

    There are at least eleven other states with continued education. Missouri is trying to get their licensing law enacted, one of 6 states currently unlicensed. Missouri's bill includes CE. Each has different requirements and guidelines.
    
    They include:
    
    Georgia – 16 hours every 2 years (2 hrs Homeland Security (Terrorism, cooperation with Homeland Security Agencies, 2 hrs Ethics, 12 hrs Industry related (may include 4 hrs Firearms related)
    
    Iowa – 12 hours every 2 years
    Kansas – 8 hours every 2 years
    Kentucky – 12 hours every 2 years
    Louisiana – 8 hours annually
    Oklahoma – 8 hours annually
    Oregon – 32 hours every 2 years
    South Carolina – 12 hours every 2 years
    Tennessee – 12 hours every 2 years
    Texas – 18 hours every 2 years (Ethics and Board Rules are required)
    Virginia – 8 hours annually

17. How many industries supervised by Department of Consumer Affairs have mandated continuing education?
    

    Sixty percent of industries supervised by Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) have mandated continuing education. Of the 42 Industry groups managed by the Department of Consumer Affairs, the private investigators group is one of only 17 that do not have a mandatory CE requirement. Out of the 17, however, the Physical Therapy Board is considering adopting CE and the Physician Assistant Committee has a national CE requirement.
    
    Some with mandatory CE include Guide Dogs for the Blind, Accountants, Acupuncturists, Behavioral Sciences, Hearing Aid dispensers, Doctors, Therapists, Respiratory Care providers, Speech and Language Pathologists, etc.
    
    Of particular note, if this legislation is passed PI's will have the least amount of required CE of any industry group currently under a mandatory program.

18. I have been in the PI business over 20 years, why do I need remedial training?
    

    CE is not remedial training. It is training on current or newly enacted laws, privacy updates and changing ethics applications. These laws are in every California Code and are not limited to the PI Act. Beyond the mandatory requirements (2 hours privacy, 2 hours legal updates. 2 hours ethics) the balance of the training can be any form of approved training available.

19. Why should I have to pay for additional training? I already have enough expenses.
    

    It is difficult to provide training without an associated cost. However, at less than one day per year required (12 per two year renewal period) there will certainly be affordable training available.

20. Do the majority of licensed PIs want this legislation?
    

    Yes. Well over 80% of attendees at CALI meetings and email respondents support CE once they understand the purpose and implementation criteria.

21. Isn't it just more regulation, serving no useful purpose?
    

    No, it addresses the following:
    
    a. Concerns expressed from legislators and privacy advocates every time we have a contested bill regarding access to information or pretexting or any other area affecting what we do.
    
    b. The lack of easily accessed information about constantly changing privacy issues, consumer protection, newly enacted laws, and ethics applications.
    
    c. The need for providing more education that the state PI test can ever accomplish.

22. Have privacy advocates provided anything specific that should be included in CE?
    

    Yes, for example, here is a quote:
    
    "One of the topics I'd encourage in the Privacy section is information-handling. How to properly store and dispose of sensitive personal information -- locked filed cabinets, encryption of computer-stored files, proper disposal of computer memory devices (usually that means using an industrial "wipe" program and/or simply physically destroying the memory device, cross-cut shredding of papers that are being discarded, etc. It also includes making sure that files containing sensitive personal information are only available to those with a legitimate right of access."

23. How do you know some legislator won't change the bill to increase the hours or make other changes we don't like?
    

    The advantage of sponsoring a bill is that the sponsors have control and have to agree on what language is removed or added.

24. Won't this bill put us out on the radar of legislators?
    

    Not anymore than we already are. We are an ongoing target of privacy legislation. Every year, CALI's Leg Committee addresses over 100 bills impacting PIs and PPO. Most of the bills are privacy related.

25. How can a person become ethical by taking a class?
    

    Ethics are often based on application and understanding consequences. No, it will not make a difference of the few who live their lives in an unethical manner. But, it will make a difference for the rest of us who want to serve our clients in the most honest and ethical manner possible.

26. Will the CA State Bar, the Board of Accountancy, Medical License Board automatically be approved?
    

    The protocol for approving CE providers will be established by the BSIS appointed committee as provided in the bill. The objective is to be inclusive rather than exclusive. We anticipate these providers will want to participate in our programs.

27. Why can't BSIS have training for PIs?
    

    BSIS cannot take any action that is not available to them and mandated by law.

28. Why does the bill include an "Administration Fee?" What is that for?
    

    The administration fee is included to cover the cost of reviewing and processing CE provider applicants and approving CE training providers. This fee is required of the CE provider and won't be determined until it is assigned to the Appropriations Committee. This fee is not required of licensees and is a different fee than the $20.00 bi-annual increase or the $20.00 increase for new private investigator applications.

29. What is the CA State Legislature site where SB 1282 is posted?
    

    Go to http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html and enter SB 1282 in the search window.
    
    You can read the bill as it was introduced, amendments made, analyses prepared or the status of the bill at any time.