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.
From the guide to the Senate Senate Business and Professions Committee records, 1962-2004, (California State Archives)
