BILL ANALYSIS SB 1050 Page 1 Date of Hearing: June 30, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair SB 1050 (Yee) - As Amended: April 22, 2010 Policy Committee: Business & Professions Vote: 11-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill revises the membership of the Osteopathic Medical Board of California (OMBC) and the Naturopathic Medicine Committee (Committee) established by ABX4 20 (Strickland), Chapter 18, Statutes of 2009. Specifically, this bill: 1)Shifts two naturopathic doctors from OMBC membership to Committee membership, adds two members of the public to the OMBC and reduces Committee membership by one physician and one member of the public. 2)Provides the Committee the responsibility for reviewing the quality of the practice of naturopathic medicine. FISCAL EFFECT Annual professional fee-supported special fund costs of $20,000 to $30,000 to the Naturopathic Committee. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . This bill clarifies membership of the OMBC and the Naturopathic Committee to address confusion caused by actions last year to subsume the Committee under the OMBC. Previously the Naturopathic Doctors Act was administered by a separate bureau. According to the author, having both osteopathic doctors and naturopathic doctors on the OMBC causes confusion as the public may be led to believe the two professional classifications have equivalent training and scope of practice. 2)Background . The training of osteopathic physicians is similar to the training of medical doctors under the jurisdiction of the Medical Board of California (MBC). Osteopathic physicians SB 1050 Page 2 rely on conventional methods of diagnosis and treatment and place emphasis on body mechanics as the foundation to good health. There are 5,000 licensed osteopathic physicians practicing statewide. In contrast, naturopathic practitioners focus on natural remedies and healing strategies. Naturopathic approaches favor a holistic approach and minimize the use of surgery and prescription drugs. Statewide, 350 professionals are licensed as Naturopathic doctors. 3)Related Legislation . SB 907 (Burton), Chapter 485, Statutes 2003 established the Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine within the Department of Consumer Affairs to administer the Naturopathic Doctors Act. Analysis Prepared by : Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081