BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 146|
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                              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


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           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.

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          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. 
              


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          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.

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             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.

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             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.


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          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



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          JJA:do  8/23/11   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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