BILL NUMBER: SB 26 CHAPTERED 10/09/01 CHAPTER 615 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 9, 2001 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 8, 2001 PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 14, 2001 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 13, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 12, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 6, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 5, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 25, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 18, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 6, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 8, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 21, 2001 INTRODUCED BY Senator Figueroa DECEMBER 4, 2000 An act to amend Sections 101, 3750.51, 6704.1, 7011, 7092, and 8027 of, to add Sections 805.2, 1620.1, 8011, and 8027.5 to, to add and repeal Section 1601.3 of, and to repeal and add Section 2475 of, the Business and Professions Code, relating to professions and vocations, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 26, Figueroa. Professions and vocations. (1) Existing law provides for the Department of Consumer Affairs to regulate certain professional boards. This bill would make additions, corrections, and deletions to the list of boards regulated by the department. This bill would also revise licensing requirements relative to the practice of podiatric medicine. (2) Existing law provides a procedure for the professional review of specified healing arts licentiates by a peer review body. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to provide for a comprehensive peer review study to be conducted by the Institute for Medical Quality that would, among other things, review and evaluate the existing peer review process in this state. The bill would require that the institute work with and be under the general oversight of the Medical Director of the Medical Board of California in conducting the study and that the institute submit a written report regarding its findings and recommendations to the board and the Legislature by November 1, 2002. (3) Existing law requires an accusation filed against a licensed respiratory care practitioner to be filed within a specified time period, except under certain conditions. This bill would provide for an extension of the time period to file the accusation if material evidence relevant to the determination of the accusation is unavailable due to a criminal investigation. (4) Existing law requires the Department of Consumer Affairs to conduct a review of specific engineering branch titles and to report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature by September 1, 2001. This bill would instead require the department to report to the Legislature by September 1, 2002. (5) Existing law requiring the Contractors' State License Board to appoint a registrar of contractors becomes inoperative on July 1, 2001, and is repealed on January 1, 2002. This bill would instead provide that the requirement becomes inoperative on July 1, 2003, and is repealed on January 1, 2004. (6) Existing law imposes various requirements on court reporting schools, including, among other things, requiring the filing of a current school catalog with the Court Reporters Board of California. This bill would prohibit a school from requiring more than one 10-minute qualifying examination for a student to be eligible to sit for the examination to be certified as a court reporter. The bill would require the board to submit various regulatory requirements by December 1, 2001, and in place by July 1, 2002. The bill would authorize the board to issue administrative citations or assess fines for the violation of the board's rules and regulations and would make an appropriation by increasing revenues deposited into the Court Reporters Fund which is a continuously appropriated fund. (7) The Osteopathic Act, an initiative measure approved by the electors on June 2, 1913, provides for the regulation and licensing of osteopathic physicians and surgeons in this state by the Osteopathic Medical Board of California. This bill would transfer, effective July 1, 2002, or earlier, as specified, the support of the board's budget, accounting, and personnel functions to the Department of Consumer Affairs. (8) Existing law, the Dental Practice Act, establishes the Dental Board of California within the Department of Consumer Affairs for the purpose of licensing and regulating dental professionals and dental auxiliaries and authorizes the board to appoint an executive officer who exercises and performs specified powers and duties. This bill would also require the department, in conjunction with the board and the Joint Legislative Sunset Review Committee, to review the scope of practice of dental auxiliaries and would require the department to report to the Legislature by September 1, 2002. The bill would also require the Director of Consumer Affairs to appoint a dental board enforcement program monitor by March 31, 2002, whose duties would include the monitoring and evaluation of the dental disciplinary system. The bill would require the monitor to report his or her findings to the department and to the Legislature, and would require the board to pay for the costs of the monitor. Because the bill would result in the payment of the costs associated with the employment of the enforcement program monitor from the State Dentistry Fund, the bill would authorize the use of money from a continuously appropriated fund for a new purpose and thereby make an appropriation. (9) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Appropriation: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 101 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 101. The department is comprised of: (a) The Dental Board of California. (b) The Medical Board of California. (c) The State Board of Optometry. (d) The California State Board of Pharmacy. (e) The Veterinary Medical Board. (f) The California Board of Accountancy. (g) The California Architects Board. (h) The Bureau of Barbering and Cosmetology. (i) The Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. (j) The Contractors' State License Board. (k) The Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education. (l) The Structural Pest Control Board. (m) The Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation. (n) The Board of Registered Nursing. (o) The Board of Behavioral Sciences. (p) The State Athletic Commission. (q) The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. (r) The State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind. (s) The Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. (t) The Court Reporters Board of California. (u) The Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians. (v) The Landscape Architects Technical Committee. (w) The Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair. (x) The Division of Investigation. (y) The Bureau of Automotive Repair. (z) The State Board of Registration for Geologists and Geophysicists. (aa) The Respiratory Care Board of California. (ab) The Acupuncture Board. (ac) The Board of Psychology. (ad) The California Board of Podiatric Medicine. (ae) The Physical Therapy Board of California. (af) The Arbitration Review Program. (ag) The Committee on Dental Auxiliaries. (ah) The Hearing Aid Dispensers Bureau. (ai) The Physician Assistant Committee. (aj) The Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board. (ak) The California Board of Occupational Therapy. (al) The Osteopathic Medical Board of California. (am) Any other boards, offices, or officers subject to its jurisdiction by law. SEC. 2. Section 805.2 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read: 805.2. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for a comprehensive study of the peer review process as it is conducted by peer review bodies defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 805, in order to evaluate the continuing validity of Section 805 and Sections 809 to 809.8, inclusive, and their relevance to the conduct of peer review in California. The Medical Board of California shall contract with the Institute for Medical Quality to conduct this study, which shall include, but not be limited to, the following components: (1) A comprehensive description of the various steps of and decisionmakers in the peer review process as it is conducted by peer review bodies throughout the state, including the role of other related committees of acute care health facilities and clinics involved in the peer review process. (2) A survey of peer review cases to determine the incidence of peer review by peer review bodies, and whether they are complying with the reporting requirement in Section 805. (3) A description and evaluation of the roles and performance of various state agencies, including the State Department of Health Services and occupational licensing agencies that regulate healing arts professionals, in receiving, reviewing, investigating, and disclosing peer review actions, and in sanctioning peer review bodies for failure to comply with Section 805. (4) An assessment of the cost of peer review to licentiates and the facilities which employ them. (5) An assessment of the time consumed by the average peer review proceeding, including the hearing provided pursuant to Section 809.2, and a description of any difficulties encountered by either licentiates or facilities in assembling peer review bodies or panels to participate in peer review decisionmaking. (6) An assessment of the need to amend Section 805 and Sections 809 to 809.8, inclusive, to ensure that they continue to be relevant to the actual conduct of peer review as described in paragraph (1), and to evaluate whether the current reporting requirement is yielding timely and accurate information to aid licensing boards in their responsibility to regulate and discipline healing arts practitioners when necessary, and to assure that peer review bodies function in the best interest of patient care. (7) Recommendations of additional mechanisms to stimulate the appropriate reporting of peer review actions under Section 805. (8) Recommendations regarding the Section 809 hearing process to improve its overall effectiveness and efficiency. (b) The Institute of Medical Quality shall exercise no authority over the peer review processes of peer review bodies. However, peer review bodies, health care facilities, health care clinics, and health care service plans shall cooperate with the institute and provide data, information, and case files as requested in the timeframes specified by the institute. (c) The institute shall work in cooperation with and under the general oversight of the Medical Director of the Medical Board of California and shall submit a written report with its findings and recommendations to the board and the Legislature no later than November 1, 2002. SEC. 3. Section 1601.3 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read: 1601.3. (a) (1) The Director of Consumer Affairs shall appoint a dental board enforcement program monitor no later than March 31, 2002. The director may retain a person for this position by a personal services contract, the Legislature hereby finding, pursuant to Section 19130 of the Government Code, that this is a new state function. (2) The director shall supervise the enforcement program monitor and may terminate or dismiss him or her from this position. (b) (1) The enforcement program monitor shall monitor and evaluate the dental disciplinary system and procedures, with specific concentration on improving the overall efficiency of the enforcement program. The director shall specify further duties of the program monitor. (2) The monitoring duty shall be on a continuing basis for a period of no more than two years from the date of the enforcement program monitor's appointment and shall include, but not be limited to, improving the quality and consistency of complaint processing and investigation and reducing the timeperiods for each, reducing any complaint backlog, assuring consistency in the application of sanctions or discipline imposed on licensees, and shall include the following areas: the accurate and consistent implementation of the laws and rules affecting discipline, staff concerns regarding disciplinary matters or procedures, appropriate utilization of licensed professionals to investigate complaints, the board's cooperation with other governmental entities charged with enforcing related laws and regulations regarding dentists. (3) The enforcement program monitor shall exercise no authority over the board's discipline operations or staff. However, the board and its staff shall cooperate with him or her, and the board shall provide data, information, and case files as requested by the enforcement program monitor to perform all of his or her duties. (4) The director shall assist the enforcement program monitor in the performance of his or her duties, and the enforcement program monitor shall have the same investigative authority as the director. (c) The enforcement program monitor shall submit an initial written report of his or her findings and conclusions to the board, the department, and the Legislature no later than September 1, 2002, and every six months thereafter, and be available to make oral reports to each, if requested to do so. The enforcement program monitor may also provide additional information to either the department or the Legislature at his or her discretion or at the request of either the department or the Legislature. The enforcement program monitor shall make his or her reports available to the public or the media. The enforcement program monitor shall make every effort to provide the board with an opportunity to reply to any facts, findings, issues, or conclusions in his or her reports with which the board may disagree. (d) The board shall pay for all of the costs associated with the employment of an enforcement program monitor. (e) This section shall become inoperative on March 31, 2004, and as of January 1, 2005, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2005, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed. SEC. 4. Section 1620.1 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read: 1620.1. The Department of Consumer Affairs, in conjunction with the board and the Joint Legislative Sunset Review Committee, shall review the scope of practice for dental auxiliaries. The department shall employ the services of an independent consultant to perform this comprehensive analysis. The department shall be authorized to enter into an interagency agreement or be exempted from obtaining sole source approval for a sole source contract. The board shall pay for all of the costs associated with this comprehensive analysis. The department shall report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature by September 1, 2002. SEC. 5. Section 2475 of the Business and Professions Code, as amended by Section 27 of Chapter 655 of the Statutes of 1999, is repealed. SEC. 6. Section 2475 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read: 2475. Unless otherwise provided by law, no postgraduate trainee, intern, resident postdoctoral fellow, or instructor may engage in the practice of podiatric medicine, or receive compensation therefor, or offer to engage in the practice of podiatric medicine unless he or she holds a valid, unrevoked, and unsuspended certificate to practice podiatric medicine issued by the division. However, a graduate of an approved college or school of podiatric medicine upon whom the degree doctor of podiatric medicine has been conferred, who is issued a limited license, which may be renewed annually for up to four years for this purpose by the division upon recommendation of the board, and who is enrolled in a postgraduate training program approved by the board, may engage in the practice of podiatric medicine whenever and wherever required as a part of that program under the following conditions: (a) A graduate with a limited license in an approved internship, residency, or fellowship program may participate in training rotations outside the scope of podiatric medicine, under the supervision of a physician and surgeon who holds a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy degree wherever and whenever required as a part of the training program, and may receive compensation for that practice. If the graduate fails to receive a license to practice podiatric medicine under this chapter within two years from the commencement of the postgraduate training, all privileges and exemptions under this section shall automatically cease. (b) Podiatric hospitals functioning as a part of the teaching program of an approved college or school of podiatric medicine in this state may exchange instructors or resident or assistant resident podiatrists with another approved college or school of podiatric medicine not located in this state, or those hospitals may appoint a graduate of an approved school as such a resident for purposes of postgraduate training. Those instructors and residents may practice and be compensated as provided in subdivision (a), but that practice and compensation shall be for a period not to exceed one year. SEC. 7. Section 3750.51 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 3750.51. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), any accusation filed against a licensee pursuant to Section 11503 of the Government Code shall be filed within three years from the date the board discovers the alleged act or omission that is the basis for disciplinary action, or within seven years from the date the alleged act or omission that is the basis for disciplinary action occurred, whichever occurs first. (b) An accusation filed against a licensee pursuant to Section 11503 of the Government Code alleging the procurement of a license by fraud or misrepresentation is not subject to the limitations set forth in subdivision (a). (c) The limitation provided for by subdivision (a) shall be tolled for the length of time required to obtain compliance when a report required to be filed by the licensee or registrant with the board pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with Section 800) of Chapter 1 is not filed in a timely fashion. (d) If an alleged act or omission involves a minor, the seven-year limitations period provided for by subdivision (a) shall be tolled until the minor reaches the age of majority. (e) The limitation provided by subdivision (a) shall be tolled during any period if material evidence necessary for prosecuting or determining whether a disciplinary action would be appropriate is unavailable to the board due to an ongoing criminal investigation. SEC. 8. Section 6704.1 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 6704.1. (a) The Department of Consumer Affairs, in conjunction with the board, and the Joint Legislative Sunset Review Committee shall review the engineering branch titles specified in Section 6732 to determine whether certain title acts should be eliminated from this chapter, retained, or converted to practice acts similar to civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering, and whether supplemental engineering work should be permitted for all branches of engineering. The department shall contract with an independent consulting firm to perform this comprehensive analysis of title act registration. (b) The independent consultant shall perform, but not be limited to, the following: (1) meet with representatives of each of the engineering branches and other professional groups; (2) examine the type of services and work provided by engineers in all branches of engineering and interrelated professions within the marketplace, to determine the interrelationship that exists between the various branches of engineers and other interrelated professions; (3) review and analyze educational requirements of engineers; (4) identify the degree to which supplemental or "overlapping" work between engineering branches and interrelated professions occurs; (5) review alternative methods of regulation of engineers in other states and what impact the regulations would have if adopted in California; (6) identify the manner in which local and state agencies utilize regulations and statutes to regulate engineering work; and, (7) recommend changes to existing laws regulating engineers after considering how these changes may effect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. (c) The board shall reimburse the department for costs associated with this comprehensive analysis. The department shall report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature by September 1, 2002. SEC. 9. Section 7011 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 7011. The board by and with the approval of the director shall appoint a registrar of contractors and fix his or her compensation. The registrar shall be the executive officer and secretary of the board and shall carry out all of the administrative duties as provided in this chapter and as delegated to him or her by the board. For the purpose of administration of this chapter, there may be appointed a deputy registrar, a chief reviewing and hearing officer and, subject to Section 159.5, other assistants and subordinates as may be necessary. Appointments shall be made in accordance with the provisions of civil service laws. This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2003, and, as of January 1, 2004, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, which becomes effective on or before January 1, 2004, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed. SEC. 10. Section 7092 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 7092. (a) (1) The director shall appoint a Contractors' State License Board Enforcement Program Monitor no later than January 31, 2001. The director may retain a person for this position by a personal services contract, the Legislature finding, pursuant to Section 19130 of the Government Code, that this is a new state function. (2) The director shall supervise the enforcement program monitor and may terminate or dismiss him or her from this position. (b) The director shall advertise the availability of this position. The requirements for this position include experience in conducting investigations and familiarity with state laws, rules, and procedures pertaining to the board and familiarity with relevant administrative procedures. (c) (1) The enforcement program monitor shall monitor and evaluate the Contractors' State License Board disciplinary system and procedures, making as his or her highest priority the reform and reengineering of the board's enforcement program and operations, and the improvement of the overall efficiency of the board's disciplinary system. (2) This monitoring duty shall be on a continuing basis for a period of no more than two years from the date of the enforcement program monitor's appointment and shall include, but not be limited to, improving the quality and consistency of complaint processing and investigation and reducing the timeframes for each, reducing any complaint backlog, assuring consistency in the application of sanctions or discipline imposed on licensees, and shall include the following areas: the accurate and consistent implementation of the laws and rules affecting discipline, staff concerns regarding disciplinary matters or procedures, appropriate utilization of licensed professionals to investigate complaints, and the board's cooperation with other governmental entities charged with enforcing related laws and regulations regarding contractors. (3) The enforcement program monitor shall exercise no authority over the board's discipline operations or staff; however, the board and its staff shall cooperate with him or her, and the board shall provide data, information, and case files as requested by the enforcement program monitor to perform all of his or her duties. (4) The director shall assist the enforcement program monitor in the performance of his or her duties, and the enforcement program monitor shall have the same investigative authority as the director. (d) The enforcement program monitor shall submit an initial written report of his or her findings and conclusions to the board, the department, and the Legislature no later than October 1, 2001, and every six months thereafter, and be available to make oral reports to each, if requested to do so. The enforcement program monitor may also provide additional information to either the department or the Legislature at his or her discretion or at the request of either the department or the Legislature. The enforcement program monitor shall make his or her reports available to the public or the media. The enforcement program monitor shall make every effort to provide the board with an opportunity to reply to any facts, findings, issues, or conclusions in his or her reports with which the board may disagree. (e) The board shall reimburse the department for all of the costs associated with the employment of an enforcement program monitor. (f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 31, 2003, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 31, 2003, deletes or extends that date. SEC. 11. Section 8011 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read: 8011. The board shall promulgate, by regulation, a definition of a "full-time student" for the purposes of this chapter. SEC. 12. Section 8027 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 8027. (a) As used in this section, "school" means a court reporter training program or an institution that provides a course of instruction approved by the board, and is approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, is a public school in this state, or is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. (b) A court reporting school shall be primarily organized to train students for the practice of shorthand reporting, as defined in Sections 8016 and 8017. Its educational program shall be on the postsecondary or collegiate level, and shall not be a correspondence program as defined by the board. It shall be legally organized and authorized to conduct its program under all applicable laws of the state, and shall conform to and offer all components of the minimum prescribed course of study established by the board. Its records shall be kept and shall be maintained in a manner to render them safe from theft, fire, or other loss. The records shall indicate positive daily and clock-hour attendance of each student, apprenticeship and graduation reports, high school transcripts or equivalent, or self-certification of high school graduation or equivalency, transcript of other education, and student progress to date. (c) Any school intending to offer a program in court reporting shall notify the board within 30 days of the date on which it provides notice to, or seeks approval from, the California Department of Education, the Council for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges, or the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, whichever is applicable. The board shall review the proposed curriculum and provide the school tentative approval, or notice of denial, within 60 days of receipt of the notice. The school shall apply for provisional recognition pursuant to subdivision (d) within no more than one year from the date it begins offering court reporting classes. (d) The board may grant provisional recognition to a new court reporting school upon satisfactory evidence that it has met all of the provisions of subdivision (b) and this subdivision. Recognition may be granted by the board to a provisionally recognized school after it has been in continuous operation for a period of no less than three consecutive years from the date provisional recognition was granted, during which period the school shall provide satisfactory evidence that at least one person has successfully completed the entire course of study established by the board and complied with the provisions of Section 8020, and has been issued a certificate to practice shorthand reporting as defined in Sections 8016 and 8017. The board may, for good cause shown, extend the three-year provisional recognition period for not more than one year. Failure to meet the provisions and terms of this section shall require the board to deny recognition. Once granted, recognition may be withdrawn by the board for failure to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. (e) Application for recognition of a court reporting school shall be made upon a form prescribed by the board and shall be accompanied by all evidence, statements, or documents requested. Each branch, extension center, or off-campus facility requires separate application. (f) All recognized and provisionally recognized court reporting schools shall notify the board of any change in school name, address, telephone number, responsible court reporting program manager, owner of private schools, and the effective date thereof, within 30 days of the change. All of these notifications shall be made in writing. (g) A school shall notify the board in writing immediately of the discontinuance or pending discontinuance of its court reporting program or any of the program's components. Within two years of the date this notice is sent to the board, the school shall discontinue its court reporting program in its entirety. The board may, for good cause shown, grant not more than two, one-year extensions of this period to a school. If a student is to be enrolled after this notice is sent to the board, a school shall disclose to the student the fact of the discontinuance or pending discontinuance of its court reporting program or any of its program components. (h) The board shall maintain a roster of currently recognized and provisionally recognized court reporting schools including, but not limited to, the name, address, telephone number, and the name of the responsible court reporting program manager of each school. (i) The board shall maintain statistics which display the number and passing percentage of all first-time examinees, including, but not limited to, those qualified by each recognized or provisionally recognized school and those first-time examinees qualified by other methods as defined in Section 8020. (j) Inspections and investigations shall be conducted by the board as necessary to carry out this section. (k) All recognized and provisionally recognized schools shall print in their school or course catalog the name, address, and telephone number of the board. At a minimum, the information shall be in 8-point bold type and include the following statement: "IN ORDER FOR A PERSON TO QUALIFY FROM A SCHOOL TO TAKE THE STATE LICENSING EXAMINATION, THE PERSON SHALL COMPLETE A PROGRAM AT A RECOGNIZED SCHOOL. FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS THAT A COURT REPORTING PROGRAM MUST MEET IN ORDER TO BE RECOGNIZED, CONTACT: THE COURT REPORTERS BOARD OF CALIFORNIA; (ADDRESS); (TELEPHONE NUMBER)." (l) Each court reporting school shall file with the board, not later than June 30 of each year, a current school catalog which shows all course offerings and staff, and for private schools, the owner, except that where there have been no changes to the catalog within the previous year, no catalog need be sent. In addition, each school shall also file with the board a statement certifying that the school is in compliance with all statutes and the rules and regulations of the board, signed by the responsible court reporting program manager. (m) No school offering court reporting shall make any written or verbal claims of employment opportunities or potential earnings unless those claims are based on verified data and reflect current employment conditions. (n) Any person teaching an academic course, that is a course other than machine shorthand or typing, in a court reporting program shall meet one of the following criteria: (1) Possess a minimum of an Associate of Arts degree and, in addition, either a minimum of two years of experience teaching the subject being taught or at least two years' work experience in a job substantially related to the subject being taught. (2) Possess a current license as a certified shorthand reporter and, in addition, either a minimum of two years of experience teaching the subject being taught or at least two years' work experience in a job substantially related to the subject being taught. (3) Possess a minimum of four years' experience teaching the subject being taught or a minimum of four years' work experience in a job substantially related to the subject being taught. (4) Possess a minimum of a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in the subject being taught. (o) The pass rate of first-time exam takers for each school offering court reporting shall meet or exceed the average pass rate of all first-time test takers for a majority of examinations given for the preceding three years. Failure to do so shall require the board to conduct a review of the program. In addition, the board may place the school on probation and may withdraw recognition if the school continues to place below the above described standard on the two exams that follow the three-year period. (p) A school shall not require more than one 10 minute qualifying examination, as defined in the regulations of the board, for a student to be eligible to sit for the state certification examination. (q) A school shall provide the board the actual number of hours of attendance for each applicant the school qualifies for the state licensing examination. (r) The board shall have the following regulations submitted by December 1, 2001, and in place by July 1, 2002: (1) Establish the format that shall be used by schools to report tracking of all attendance hours and actual timeframes for completed coursework. (2) Require schools to provide a minimum of 10 hours of live dictation class each school week for every full-time student. (3) Require schools to provide students with the opportunity to read back from their stenographic notes a minimum of one time each day to his or her instructor. (4) Require schools to provide students with the opportunity to practice with a school-approved speed-building tape, or other assigned material, a minimum of one hour per day after school hours as a homework assignment and provide the notes from this tape to their instructor the following day for review. (5) Develop standardization of policies on the use and administration of qualifier examinations by schools. (6) Define qualifier exam as follows: The qualifier exam shall consist of 4-voice testimony of 10-minute duration at 200 wpm, graded at 97.5 percent accuracy, and in accordance with the guidelines followed by the board. Schools shall be required to date and number each qualifier and announce the date and number to the students at the time of administering the qualifier. All qualifiers shall indicate the actual dictation time of the test and the school shall catalogue and maintain the qualifier for a period of not less than three years for the purpose of inspection by the board. (7) Require schools to develop a program to provide students with the opportunity to interact with professional court reporters to provide skill support, mentoring, or counseling which they can document at least quarterly. (8) Define qualifications and educational requirements required of instructors and readers that read test material and qualifiers. SEC. 13. Section 8027.5 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read: 8027.5. In addition to the authority to conduct disciplinary proceedings under this chapter, the board, through its duly authorized representatives, shall have authority to issue administrative citations or assess fines for the violation of any rules and regulations adopted by the board under the provisions of this chapter. SEC. 14. The support of the budget, accounting, and personnel functions of the Osteopathic Medical Board of California shall be transferred to the Department of Consumer Affairs, effective July 1, 2002, unless the executive officer of the board and the director agree to an earlier date. SEC. 15. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: This bill makes various changes to the regulation of professions and vocations and in order for these changes to take effect at the earliest possible opportunity, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.