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June 18, 2009
Joanna Gin, Analyst
RE: SB202 - Opposed Dear Ms. Gin and Assembly BP&E Committee Members: This is a perfectly horrid piece of legislation that addresses no legitimate need, takes aim at the wrong people, will not increase CA fee revenue as it superficially appears to...but in fact will dramatically reduce said fees due to the potential loss of thousands of semi-active Private Investigators [PIs]. It was originated by incompetents, at best. This would be a lose, lose, lose proposition for the State, the active PIs, and the semi-active PIs. This is special interest legislation at its worst. The only beneficiaries would be the purveyors of unneeded, unwanted, and inappropriate continuing education...made all the worse by being mandatory. PICA [http://www.pica-association.org/] polled its members and 76% were Opposed. The majority of PIs are PORAC [http://www.porac.org/] and they were so Opposed that they managed to get themselves exempted from SB 202. Then an exemption was made for PIs over age 70 with licenses clean for 25 years. Another exemption from this MCE is made for the great majority of California PI Licensees that are semi-active. No shingle out but do use the ability from time to time as warranted. The State can ill afford to lose the fees from this last group so it has come up with a scheme for these folks to blink off and on as to active status every two years...but that will not fly. You have to be able to go active at will, when the need arises...not two years later! So now what has always been a single body of PIs is being divided into four distinct groups! But wait...it actually gets worse. The real problem is that California is being inundated by unlicensed purveyors of private investigative services being offered on the Internet. This group goes totally unregulated while the Licensed Pis get penalized! If this was a serious attempt to deal with the above situation, the Licensed California PIs would be allowed numbered California PI Badges. The public could be alerted that only legitimate Licensed California PIs were authorized to carry such badges. Any of these unlicensed phantom PIs that used a badge would be subject to criminal prosecution. The bottom line is that SB 202 was promoted and foisted on California State Senators by CALI. CALI is supposed to be a professional organization that represents its members. But that is not what is happening here. This bill was too hastily conceived in the dark and is so faulty that the only reasonable thing to do is to kill it or table it until proper legislation can be put together with the input and approval of the PIs of California. Page 2 of 3 As of this writing State Surge has 68 Comments on SB 202. [http://www.statesurge.com/bills/490984-sb202-california] [Click On: (68) Comments About This Bill - See Comments and Post Your Own] Not a single person voted I Support it! These Comments are detailed and in depth...and well worth reading. They are also backed up at: [http://www.flymonster.com/SB202/StateSurgePostings1to50.html] It would be an all around real shame if this SB 202 should become law as it is now written. It is not even close. Very truly yours,
TAB:al cc: Senator Tom Harman
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Connie Trujillo, Acting Chief
NCISS Administrative Office
P.I.C.A.
Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny
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