BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1070
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 13, 2009 

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                    AB 1070 (Hill) - As Amended:  April 22, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              Business &  
          Professions  Vote:                            7-2

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:  No          

           SUMMARY  

          This bill modifies and clarifies the Medical Board of California  
          (MBC) physician licensee reporting of settlements, arbitration  
          awards, or civil judgments related to medical malpractice.  
          Specifically, this bill: 

          1)Clarifies reporting processes to ensure appropriate and  
            complete reporting. 

          2)Increases the penalty for failure to report specified events  
            from $50 to $500 and increases and establishes a cap on the  
            penalty for failure to comply with the provision of certified  
            medical records to $10,000. The current law penalty is $1,000.  


          3)Authorizes the MBC president to sit on a disciplinary panel. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Absorbable workload to the MBC to continue oversight of  
          settlements, awards, and judgments, and to comply with the  
          reporting requirements pursuant to this bill. 

           COMMENTS  

           Rationale  . This bill is sponsored by the MBC to increase  
          oversight of processes with respect to medical malpractice  
          settlements, arbitration awards, or civil judgments. Under  
          current law providers licensed by the MBC and malpractice  
          insurers are required to report specified events to the MBC if  
          due to provider negligence, error, or omission. According to the  








                                                                  AB 1070
                                                                  Page  2

          author and sponsor, not all providers are complying with current  
          law requirements. This bill increases the incentives to report,  
          clarifies reporting and disciplinary processes, and increases  
          consumer protections. 
           


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081