BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 146| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 146 Author: Wyland (R) Amended: 8/18/11 Vote: 21 SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/11/11 AYES: Price, Emmerson, Corbett, Correa, Hernandez, Negrete McLeod, Vargas, Walters, Wyland SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 4/26/11 AYES: Evans, Harman, Blakeslee, Corbett, Leno SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 5/16/11 (Consent) AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman, Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Strickland, Walters, Wyland ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 66-7, 8/22/11 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Healing arts: professional clinical counselors SOURCE : California Association for Licensed Prof. Clinical Counselors CONTINUED SB 146 Page 2 DIGEST : This bill revises various provisions relating to the practice of mental health professionals to also include the practice of licensed professional clinical counselors, clinical counselor trainees, and clinical counselor interns; makes technical updating and conforming changes. Assembly Amendments add licensed professional clinical counselors the list of licensees exempted from the general requirement that health care practitioners communicate to patients their name, license type, and highest level of academic degree in writing or in a prominent display in an area of their office visible to patients, and add double-jointing language with SB 704 (Negrete McLeod) and SB 368 (Liu). ANALYSIS : Existing law : 1. Beginning January 1, 2012, licenses and regulates professional clinical counselors (LPCC) under the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act (Act), by the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). The Act also regulates clinical counselor trainees and clinical counselor interns. 2. Requires certain health-related licensees to complete training in human sexuality and authorizes the boards regulating those licensees to adopt education and training requirements related to chemical dependency and the assessment and treatment of AIDS. 3. Requires boards to provide specified information on the Internet about the status of every license issued by the respective boards. 4. Requires liability insurers, and state or local government agencies that self-insure specified licensees, to report settlement or arbitration awards above $10,000, or a claim or action for damages for death or personal injury by that licensee's negligence, error, or omission in practice, or by rendering unauthorized services. CONTINUED SB 146 Page 3 5. Establishes peer review for certain healing arts licensees. 6. Provides a cause of action against a psychotherapist, as defined, for injury caused by sexual contact with the psychotherapist. 7. Requests public postsecondary colleges and universities in California to develop standards and guidelines for curriculum in gerontology, nursing, social work, psychology, marriage and family therapy, and rehabilitation therapies. 8. Permits testimony in a criminal proceeding of a witness who has previously undergone hypnosis, by specified licensees, for the purpose of recalling events. 9. Provides that a patient has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent another from disclosing, a confidential communication between the patient and a psychotherapist. 10.Authorizes the superior court family law division to contract with specified providers for supervised visitation and exchange services, education, and group counseling. 11.Establishes provisions regarding mental health treatment or counseling services and residential shelter services by specified professionals. 12.Prohibits the license requirements of healing arts professionals in state and other licensed governmental health facilities from being any less than those of professional personnel in privately-owned health facilities, as specified. 13.Requires health care service plans licensed by the Department of Managed Health Care that operates, or contracts for telephone medical advice services to ensure that those providing those services are licensed. CONTINUED SB 146 Page 4 14.Requires health care service plans to provide, upon request, a list of contracting providers within a plan of enrollee's general geographic area. 15.Prohibits a health care service plan, or insurance carrier from prohibiting an enrollee from selecting certain types of licensees for mental health services. 16.Establishes requirements governing patient records and the responsibilities of health care providers regarding those records when practicing at institutions for the developmentally disabled or mental hospitals. 17.Requires a person who provides mental health services in local mental health facilities to be licensed, but allows the licensure requirement to be waived in local facilities for psychologists, clinical social workers, and marriage and family therapists who are gaining experience required for licensure. 18.Makes certain persons mandated reporters under the Child Abuse Neglect and Reporting Act. 19.Establishes staffing requirements for mental health regional facilities, including requiring that the staff include a pediatrician, dentist, and marriage and family therapist, on an as-needed basis. This bill: 1. Revises various provisions relating to the practice of mental health professionals to also include the practice of professional clinical counselors, clinical counselor trainees, and clinical counselor interns. 2. Specifically, this bill does the following: A. Extends the requirements for training in human sexuality, chemical dependency and the assessment and treatment of AIDS to LPCCs. B. Requires BBS to disclose information on licensed professional clinical counselors on its Internet site. CONTINUED SB 146 Page 5 C. Adds LPCCs to the list of licensees exempted from the general requirement that health care practitioners communicate to patients their name, license type, and highest level of academic degree in writing or in a prominent display in an area of their office visible to patients. D. Applies the requirement to report to the BBS settlement or arbitration awards involving LPCCs. E. Includes LPCCs within the peer review requirements. F. Authorizes the BBS to charge a fee of $20 for rescoring an examination, $20 for issuance of a replacement license or registration, and $25 for issuance of a certificate or letter of good standing. G. Authorizes the formation of LPCC corporations for purposes of rendering professional services, and makes conforming changes to the Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act, authorizing professional clinical counselors to be shareholders, officers, directors, or professional employees of other professional corporations, as specified. H. Includes LPCCs and LPCC interns and trainees within the definition of psychotherapist as it relates to injury caused by sexual contact with a psychotherapist. I. Requires colleges and universities to develop standards and guidelines for LPCC curriculum. J. Includes LPCCs with those licensees that may perform hypnosis upon a witness who testifies in a criminal proceeding. K. Extends the patient-psychotherapist confidentiality relationship to LPCCs, LPCC interns and trainees. CONTINUED SB 146 Page 6 L. Authorizes the superior court family law division to contract with LPCCs. M. Authorizes mental health treatment or counseling services at residential shelters to be provided by LPCCs or LPCC interns. N. Prohibits the LPCC license requirements in state or other governmental health facilities from being any less than for those in privately-owned health facilities. O. Requires health care service plans providing telephone medical advice services to ensure any LPCCs providing those services are licensed. P. Requires health care service plans to provide a list of LPCCs within a plan enrollee's geographic area. Q. Adds LPCCs to those mental health professionals that a health care service plan or insurance carrier may not prohibit an enrollee from selecting for mental health services. R. Applies the provisions regarding patient records to LPCCs and LPCC interns. S. Waives the license requirement for providing mental health services in local mental health facilities professional clinical counselors who are gaining experience required for licensure. T. Requires LPCCs, LPCC interns and trainees to be mandated reporters. U. Revises the staffing requirements for a regional facility to include a LPCC on an as-needed basis, and authorizes the director of local mental health services to be a LPCC. 3. Makes other technical updating and conforming changes. CONTINUED SB 146 Page 7 4. Contains double-jointing language with SB 704 (Negrete McLeod) and SB 368 (Liu). Background This bill makes conforming and clean up changes relating to the provisions to SB 788 (Wyland), Chapter 619, Statutes of 2009, which enacted the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act, providing for the licensing and regulation of professional clinical counselors in California. That bill was the final step in a multi-year effort to establish professional counselor licensure in California. Prior licensing efforts include AB 1486 (Calderon) in 2008, and AB 894 (La Suer) in 2005. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes SUPPORT : (Verified 8/23/11) California Association for Licensed Prof. Clinical Counselors (source) ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 66-7, 8/22/11 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Nestande, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NOES: Donnelly, Grove, Halderman, Knight, Logue, Morrell, Nielsen NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Butler, Furutani, Galgiani, Gorell, Mansoor, Miller CONTINUED SB 146 Page 8 JJA:do 8/23/11 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED