BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1260
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          Date of Hearing:   April 28, 2009

                   ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
                                 Mary Hayashi, Chair
                   AB 1260 (Huffman) - As Amended:  April 20, 2009
           
          SUBJECT  :   Acupuncture.

           SUMMARY  :   Specifies that four members of the Acupuncture Board  
          (Board) constitute a quorum to conduct business.    

           EXISTING LAW  :
           
          1)Provides for the licensure and regulation of the practice of  
            acupuncture and establishes the Board to enforce and  
            administer these provisions.

          2)Specifies the Board is comprised of seven members - three  
            acupuncturists and four public members - and five members  
            constitute a quorum to conduct business.

          3)Requires an affirmative vote of a majority of those present at  
            a meeting of the Board to take any action or pass any motion. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   Unknown

           COMMENTS  :   

           Purpose of the bill  :  According to the author's office, "In  
          January 2003, legislation went into effect changing the  
          Acupuncture Board quorum requirement from 'a majority of the  
          appointed members' to 'five members.'  At that time, the Board  
          consisted of nine members.  In January 2006, the Acupuncture  
          Board was reconstituted with the nine-member board being  
          repealed and a new seven-member board created.  No change was  
          made to the quorum requirement when the board membership was  
          reduced.  This change is necessary for the board to conduct  
          business.  If there are vacancies on the board and/or if one  
          member is unable to make a meeting, there is the potential for  
          not having a quorum to conduct business.  Two meetings had to be  
          cancelled last year due to not having a quorum."

           Background  .  Prior to its repeal in 2006, the then nine member  
          Board consisted of the following members:   three acupuncturists  
          with at least five years of experience and not licensed as  








                                                                  AB 1260
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          physicians and surgeons; one acupuncturist who is also a faculty  
          member of any board approved acupuncture college; one member  
          licensed physician and surgeon with at least two years  
          acupuncture experience; and four public members who are not  
          licensed as a physician and surgeon or an acupuncturist. 

          The current seven member Board, which sunsets on January 1, 2011  
          unless extended, consists of three acupuncturists with at least  
          five years of experience in acupuncture and four public members  
          who do not hold a license or certificate as a physician and  
          surgeon or acupuncturist.  The three acupuncturists are  
          appointed by the Governor, and are to represent a cross section  
          of the cultural backgrounds of licensed members of the  
          acupuncturist profession.  Since the beginning of 2008, there  
          are only five members actually appointed to the board - three  
          public members and two acupuncturists. 

          According to the meeting agendas published by the Board, it met  
          three times in 2008 and cancelled one meeting.  The Board met  
          five times in 2007, including one special meeting via  
          teleconference, and met four times in 2006.  The Board is  
          scheduled to meet four times in 2009. 

           Related legislation  .  SB 821 (Business, Professions and Economic  
          Development Committee) provides, among other things, that four  
          members of the Board, including at least one acupuncturist,  
          shall constitute a quorum.

           Previous legislation  .  SB 248 (Figueroa) Chapter 659, Statutes  
          of 2005 repealed the nine member Board effective January 1, 2006  
          and created a new board of seven members with a revised  
          membership.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Council of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Associations  
          (CAOMA)
          Department of Consumer Affairs Acupuncture Board 

           Opposition 
           
          One individual
           








                                                                 AB 1260
                                                                  Page  3

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Whitney Clark / B. & P. / (916)  
          319-3301