BOARD OF GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND

1625 North Market Blvd, Suite N-112, Sacramento, CA 95834 Tel: (916) 574-7825 / Fax: (916) 574-7829 / www.guidedogboard.ca.gov

FACTS AT A GLANCE

BOARD STAFF

Executive Officer Legislative Contact Brian Skewis Brian Skewis

LAWS AND REGULATIONS

Business and Professions Code §§ 7200 – 7217 California Civil Code §§ 54 – 55.32 California Penal Code §§ 346-367g, 600.2 and 600.5 California Vehicle Code § 21963 California Food and Agriculture Code §§ 30850 – 30854 and §§ 31601-31609 Americans with Disabilities Act Title III – Public Accommodations (42 U.S.C. 12181) California Code of Regulations, Title 16, Division 22, §§ 2250 – 2295.3

BUDGET ACT OF 2015: FY 2015-16

$204,000 1.5 Authorized positions

BOARD MEMBERS

Total Members: 7 Public Members: 7 Professional Members: None

SUNSET REVIEW

Last review: 2013 Inoperative/Repeal Date: January 1, 2018

LICENSEE STATISTICS Licensee Category Number of Active Licensees

Licensed Instructors Guide Dog Schools

Total Population

108 3

111

FEES

Guide Dog Instructor License ACTUAL FEE STATUTORY LIMIT

Initial License/Examination Fee $250 $250 Annual Renewal Fee $100 $100

Guide Dog School License* ACTUAL FEE STATUTORY LIMIT

Fundraising License (new schools) $50 $50 Annual renewal Fee .425% .5%

*Guide Dog schools pay up to .005 of total annual expenditures (varies by school). The exact fee set by regulation is currently .00425 of total annual expenditures.

LICENSING REQUIREMENTS

Degree/Professional Schooling Examination

Continuing Education/Competency Fingerprinting Requirements

DETAILS

YES YES YES YES

PROGRAM BACKGROUND

The Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind (Board) was established January 1, 1948, for the specific purpose of providing well-trained guide dogs to blind persons and training blind persons as guide dog consumers. The Board developed licensing examinations for guide dog instructors, and criteria for use in determining whether guide dog school license applicants possess the requisite resources, as well as special capacities important to providing guide dogs to blind persons. California is the only state that has such a regulatory program.

In the 1940s, before the Board was created, there was considerable confusion as to the role and function of guide dogs in public places. A small group of blind people, the California Council of the Blind, and the editors of the Pasadena Star-News, joined with supportive legislators to lay the groundwork for a board that would ensure that blind people would receive competent instruction with properly trained dogs.

LICENSE REQUIREMENTS – Business and Professions Code §7209 and §7210.6

Guide dog instructor: A licensed instructor can (1) train blind persons in the use of guide dog; and (2) train, sell, or supply guide dogs for the blind. Requirements:  Have knowledge of the special problems of the blind and how to teach them.  Be able to demonstrate by actual blindfold test under traffic conditions his ability to train guide dogs with whom a blind person would be safe.  Be suited temperamentally and otherwise to instruct blind persons in the use of guide dogs.  Complete a three year apprenticeship with a licensed instructor at a certified guide dog school or under and instructor in a school satisfactory to the Board.  Verified training of 22 guide dog teams.

Guide dog school: A licensed school which trains person-dog teams. Requirements:  Furnish to the Board satisfactory evidence of financial responsibility.  Holding all funds raised during a one-year period in trust of a bank or trust holding company.  Keeping a record of names and addresses of donors to the fund by the fund raiser and furnishing to the Board on demand with respect to all contributions in excess of $10.

 Sufficient funds must be raised within one year from issuance of license to finance establishment and initial operation of the school.  A fee of $50 shall be paid upon issuance of a license for advance solicitation.

RECIPROCITY

The Board does not have reciprocity.

BOARD MEMBERS** Name Appointment Expiration Date Appointment Authority/Type

Senate Confirmation

Don Brown

June 1, 2016 Governor/Consumer (guide dog user) Catherine Carlton June 1, 2016 Governor/Public NO

NO

Carmen Delgado (Vice President) June 1, 2017 Governor/Public NO

Eric Holm (President) June 1, 2019 Governor/Public (guide dog user) NO

Gwen Marelli June 1, 2017 Governor/Consumer NO

Rosa Gomez Pleasure Designee of DOR (guide dog user) NO

Joan Patche June 1, 2016 Governor / Public (guide dog user) NO

**The Board consists of seven members appointed by the Governor. One member must be the Director of Rehabilitation or a designated representative. The remaining members must have shown a particular interest in dealing with the problems of the blind, and at least two of them must be blind persons who use guide dogs.

COMMITTEES

The following committees have been created by the Board, and consist primarily of Board members, that meet on a regular basis, for the purpose of discussing specific issues in depth, and providing feedback and any recommendations to the full Board.

 Budget Committee  Legislative Committee  Outreach and Education Committee  Practice Task Force (comprised of three licensees and one board member)  Strategic Planning Committee

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

AB 181 (Bonilla, Chapter 430, Statutes of 2015), makes minor changes to provisions pertaining to the Board by removing references to a person as a “blind person” and updates the use of “calendar year” to “fiscal year.”

AB 2264 (Levine, Chapter 502, Statutes of 2014) allows a person to apply for up to $10,000 in compensation to the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board when reckless disregard or intentional actions result in injury or death to a guide, signal, or service dog.

SB 308 (Lieu, Chapter 333, Statutes of 2012) extends the sunset date of the Board to January 1, 2018.

SB 944 (Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee,

Chapter 432, Statutes of 2011) clarifies that (1) the executive officer keeps all records for the Board, (2) the Board processes applications and payments; requires that (1) the certificate must be delivered to the new owner upon assignment of the dog, and (2) schools licensed by the Board are to provide an audit to the Board of the school’s finances within 90 days after the end of a calendar year.

SB 543 (Price, Chapter 448, Statutes of 2011) extends the sunset date for the Board until January 1, 2014.