BILL NUMBER: AB 1205	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bill Berryhill

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

   An act to amend Sections 4990.02, 4990.12, 4990.18, 4990.30, and
4990.38 of, and to add Chapter 5.2 (commencing with Section 2529.7.1)
to Division 2 of, the Business and Professions Code, relating to
healing arts.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1205, as introduced, Bill Berryhill. Certified applied behavior
analysts.
   Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various
healing arts professions and vocations, including, but not limited
to, marriage and family therapists, licensed educational
psychologists, social workers, and licensed professional clinical
counselors by the Board of Behavioral Sciences.
   This bill would prohibit a person from holding himself or herself
out to be a certified applied behavior analyst or a certified
assistant applied behavior analyst unless licensed by the Board of
Behavioral Sciences. The bill would require the board to issue a
license to a person who meets certain educational requirements and
passes an examination administered by, and is certified by, the
Behavior Analyst Certification Board, a nonprofit corporation, or
another similar entity approved by the board. The bill would describe
the services that may be provided by a certified applied behavior
analyst and a certified assistant applied behavior analyst, subject
to specified supervision. The bill would authorize the board to
regulate these licensees and to enforce these provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Chapter 5.2 (commencing with Section 2529.7.1) is added
to Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 5.2.  CERTIFIED APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSTS


   2529.7.1.  The Board of Behavioral Sciences shall administer and
enforce the provisions of this chapter. For the purposes of this
chapter, it shall be designated as the board.
   2529.7.2.  No person shall hold himself or herself out to be a
certified applied behavior analyst unless the person is licensed by
the board pursuant to this chapter.
   2529.7.3.  The board shall issue a certified applied behavior
analyst license to an applicant who meets all of the following
requirements:
   (a) An applicant for examination shall, at a minimum, meet the
following requirements:
   (1) Possess a baccalaureate and a master's degree from any of the
following:
   (A) A United States or Canadian institution of higher education
fully or provisionally accredited by a regional, state, provincial,
or national accrediting body.
   (B) An institution of higher education located outside the United
States or Canada that, at the time the applicant was enrolled and at
the time the applicant graduated, maintained a standard of training
equivalent to the standards of training of those institutions
accredited in the United States.
   (2) Complete 225 classroom hours of related graduate level
instruction.
   (3) Complete 1,500 hours of supervised independent fieldwork under
the supervision of a certified applied behavior analyst or
initially, until January 1, 2013, under the supervision of a person
who otherwise meets all of the requirements for certification.
   (A) An applicant must be supervised at least 75 hours.
   (B) Appropriate supervised independent fieldwork activities
include all of the following:
   (i) Conducting assessment activities related to the need for
behavioral interventions.
   (ii) Designing, implementing, and monitoring behavior analysis
programs for clients.
   (iii) Overseeing the implementation of behavior analysis programs
by others.
   (iv) Other activities normally performed by a behavior analyst
that are directly related to behavior analysis, such as, but not
limited to, attending planning meetings regarding the behavior
analysis program, researching the literature related to the program,
and talking to individuals about the program.
   (b) An applicant for examination may, subject to approval by the
board, take the examination if the applicant can demonstrate the
equivalent completion of the requirements in subdivision (a).
   (c) Has successfully passed an examination administered by the
Behavior Analyst Certification Board, a nonprofit corporation
pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or
another similar entity approved by the board.
   (d) Is certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, a
nonprofit corporation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code, or another similar entity approved by the board.
   2529.7.4.  No person shall hold himself or herself out to be a
certified assistant applied behavior analyst unless the person is
licensed by the board pursuant to this chapter.
   2529.7.5.  The board shall issue a certified assistant applied
behavior analyst license to an applicant who meets all of the
following requirements:
   (a) An applicant for examination shall, at a minimum, meet the
following requirements:
   (1) Possess a baccalaureate and a master's degree from any of the
following:
   (A) A United States or Canadian institution of higher education
fully or provisionally accredited by a regional, state, provincial,
or national accrediting body.
   (B) An institution of higher education located outside the United
States or Canada that, at the time the applicant was enrolled and at
the time the applicant graduated, maintained a standard of training
equivalent to the standards of training of those institutions
accredited in the United States.
   (2) Complete 135 classroom hours of related instruction through
any of the following:
   (A) College or university courses in behavior analysis, that are
taken from an institution that meets either of the requirements
described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b).
   (B) Noncollege or university courses offered by an educational
institution and approved for this purpose.
   (C) A combination of college or university courses.
   (3) Complete 1,000 hours of supervised independent fieldwork under
the supervision of a certified applied behavior analyst or
initially, until January 1, 2013, under the supervision of a person
who otherwise meets all of the requirements for certification.
   (A) An applicant must be supervised at least 50 hours.
   (B) Appropriate supervised independent fieldwork activities
include all of the following:
   (i) Conducting assessment activities related to the need for
behavioral interventions.
   (ii) Designing, implementing, and monitoring behavior analysis
programs for clients.
   (iii) Overseeing the implementation of behavior analysis programs
by others.
   (iv) Other activities normally performed by a behavior analyst
that are directly related to behavior analysis, such as, but not
limited to, attending planning meetings regarding the behavior
analysis program, researching the literature related to the program,
and talking to individuals about the program.
   (b) An applicant for examination may, subject to approval by the
board, take the examination if the applicant can demonstrate the
equivalent completion of the requirements in subdivision (a).
   (c) Has successfully passed an examination administered by the
Behavior Analyst Certification Board, a nonprofit corporation
pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or
another similar entity approved by the board.
   (d) Is certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, a
nonprofit corporation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code, or another similar entity approved by the board.
   2529.7.6.  (a) A certified applied behavior analyst may provide
all of the following services:
   (1) Design, implement, and evaluate systematic instructional and
environmental modifications to produce socially significant
improvements in human behavior of individuals or groups.
   (2) Apply principles, methods, and procedures of operant and
responding learning.
   (3) Utilize contextual factors, establishing operations,
antecedent stimuli, position reinforcement, and other consequences to
help people develop new behaviors, increase or decrease existing
behaviors, and emit behaviors under specific environmental
conditions.
   (4) Assess functional relations between behavioral and
environmental factors.
   (5) Apply interventions based on scientific research and the
direct observation and measurement of behavior and environment.
   (6) The practice of applied behavior analysis excludes the
practice of psychological testing, neuropsychology, psychotherapy,
cognitive therapy, sex therapy, psychoanalysis, hypnotherapy, and
long-term counseling.
   (b) A certified applied assistant behavior analyst may provide the
services in subdivision (a) under the supervision of a certified
applied behavior analyst.
  SEC. 2.  Section 4990.02 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4990.02.  "Board," as used in this chapter,  Chapter 5.2
(commencing with Section 2529.7.1   )   , 
Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 4980), Chapter 13.5 (commencing
with Section 4989.10), Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 4991), and
Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 4999.10) means the Board of
Behavioral Sciences.
  SEC. 3.  Section 4990.12 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4990.12.  The duty of administering and enforcing this chapter,
 Chapter 5.2 (commencing with Section 2529.7.1   ) 
 ,  Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 4980), Chapter 13.5
(commencing with Section 4989.10), Chapter 14 (commencing with
Section 4991), and Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 4999.10) is
vested in the board and the executive officer subject to, and under
the direction of, the board. In the performance of this duty, the
board and the executive officer have all the powers and are subject
to all the responsibilities vested in, and imposed upon, the head of
a department by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11150) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
  SEC. 4.  Section 4990.18 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4990.18.  It is the intent of the Legislature that the board
employ its resources for each and all of the following functions:
   (a) The licensure of  certified applied behavior analysts,
certified assistant applied behavior analysts,  marriage and
family therapists, clinical social workers, professional clinical
counselors, and educational psychologists.
   (b) The development and administration of licensure examinations
and examination procedures consistent with prevailing standards for
the validation and use of licensing and certification tests.
Examinations shall measure knowledge and abilities demonstrably
important to the safe, effective practice of the profession.
   (c) Enforcement of laws designed to protect the public from
incompetent, unethical, or unprofessional practitioners.
   (d) Consumer education.
  SEC. 5.  Section 4990.30 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4990.30.  (a) A licensed marriage and family therapist, marriage
and family therapist intern, licensed clinical social worker,
associate clinical social worker, licensed professional clinical
counselor, professional clinical counselor intern,  or
 licensed educational psychologist  , certified applied
behavior analyst, or certified assistant applied behavior analyst
 whose license or registration has been revoked, suspended, or
placed on probation, may petition the board for reinstatement or
modification of the penalty, including modification or termination of
probation. The petition shall be on a form provided by the board and
shall state any facts and information as may be required by the
board including, but not limited to, proof of compliance with the
terms and conditions of the underlying disciplinary order. The
petition shall be verified by the petitioner who shall file an
original and sufficient copies of the petition, together with any
supporting documents, for the members of the board, the
administrative law judge, and the Attorney General.
   (b) The licensee or registrant may file the petition on or after
the expiration of the following timeframes, each of which commences
on the effective date of the decision ordering the disciplinary
action or, if the order of the board, or any portion of it, is stayed
by the board itself or by the superior court, from the date the
disciplinary action is actually implemented in its entirety:
   (1) Three years for reinstatement of a license or registration
that was revoked for unprofessional conduct, except that the board
may, in its sole discretion, specify in its revocation order that a
petition for reinstatement may be filed after two years.
   (2) Two years for early termination of any probation period of
three years or more.
   (3) One year for modification of a condition, reinstatement of a
license or registration revoked for mental or physical illness, or
termination of probation of less than three years.
   (c) The petition may be heard by the board itself or the board may
assign the petition to an administrative law judge pursuant to
Section 11512 of the Government Code.
   (d) The petitioner may request that the board schedule the hearing
on the petition for a board meeting at a specific city where the
board regularly meets.
   (e) The petitioner and the Attorney General shall be given timely
notice by letter of the time and place of the hearing on the petition
and an opportunity to present both oral and documentary evidence and
argument to the board or the administrative law judge.
   (f) The petitioner shall at all times have the burden of
production and proof to establish by clear and convincing evidence
that he or she is entitled to the relief sought in the petition.
   (g) The board, when it is hearing the petition itself, or an
administrative law judge sitting for the board, may consider all
activities of the petitioner since the disciplinary action was taken,
the offense for which the petitioner was disciplined, the petitioner'
s activities during the time his or her license or registration was
in good standing, and the petitioner's rehabilitative efforts,
general reputation for truth, and professional ability.
   (h) The hearing may be continued from time to time as the board or
the administrative law judge deems appropriate but in no case may
the hearing on the petition be delayed more than 180 days from its
filing without the consent of the petitioner.
   (i) The board itself, or the administrative law judge if one is
designated by the board, shall hear the petition and shall prepare a
written decision setting forth the reasons supporting the decision.
In a decision granting a petition reinstating a license or modifying
a penalty, the board itself, or the administrative law judge, may
impose any terms and conditions that the agency deems reasonably
appropriate, including those set forth in Sections 823 and 4990.40.
If a petition is heard by an administrative law judge sitting alone,
the administrative law judge shall prepare a proposed decision and
submit it to the board. The board may take action with respect to the
proposed decision and petition as it deems appropriate.
   (j) The petitioner shall pay a fingerprinting fee and provide a
current set of his or her fingerprints to the board. The petitioner
shall execute a form authorizing release to the board or its
designee, of all information concerning the petitioner's current
physical and mental condition. Information provided to the board
pursuant to the release shall be confidential and shall not be
subject to discovery or subpoena in any other proceeding, and shall
not be admissible in any action, other than before the board, to
determine the petitioner's fitness to practice as required by Section
822.
   (k) The board may delegate to its executive officer authority to
order investigation of the contents of the petition.
   (l) No petition shall be considered while the petitioner is under
sentence for any criminal offense, including any period during which
the petitioner is on court-imposed probation or parole or the
petitioner is required to register pursuant to Section 290 of the
Penal Code. No petition shall be considered while there is an
accusation or petition to revoke probation pending against the
petitioner.
   (m) Except in those cases where the petitioner has been
disciplined for violation of Section 822, the board may in its
discretion deny without hearing or argument any petition that is
filed pursuant to this section within a period of two years from the
effective date of a prior decision following a hearing under this
section.
  SEC. 6.  Section 4990.38 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4990.38.  The board may deny an application or may suspend or
revoke a license or registration issued under the chapters it
administers and enforces for any disciplinary action imposed by
another state or territory or possession of the United States, or by
a governmental agency on a license, certificate or registration to
practice marriage and family therapy, clinical social work,
educational psychology, professional clinical counseling, 
applied behavior analysis,  or any other healing art. The
disciplinary action, which may include denial of licensure or
revocation or suspension of the license or imposition of restrictions
on it, constitutes unprofessional conduct. A certified copy of the
disciplinary action decision or judgment shall be conclusive evidence
of that action.