AB 213, as amended, Logue. Healing arts: licensure and certification requirements: military experience.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various healing arts professions and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires the rules and regulations of these healing arts boards to provide for methods of evaluating education, training, and experience obtained in military service if such training is applicable to the requirements of the particular profession or vocation regulated by the board. Under existing law, specified other healing arts professions and vocations are licensed or certified and regulated by the State Department of Public Health. In some instances, a board with the Department of Consumer Affairs or the State Department of Public Health approves schools offering educational course credit for meeting licensing or certification qualifications and requirements.
This bill
would require the State Department of Public Health, upon the presentation of evidence by an applicant for licensure or certification, to accept education, training, and practical experience completed by an applicant in military service toward the qualifications and requirements to receive a license or certificate for specified professions and vocations if that education, training, or experience is equivalent to the standards of the department. If a board within the Department of Consumer Affairs or the State Department of Public Health accredits or otherwise approves schools offering educational course credit for meeting licensing and certification qualifications and requirements, the bill would, not later thanbegin delete July 1, 2014,end deletebegin insert January 1, 2015end insertbegin insert,end insert
require those schools seeking accreditation or approval to have procedures in place to evaluate an applicant’s military education, training, and practical experience toward the completion of an educational program that would qualify a person to apply for licensure or certification, as specified.
Under existing law, the Department of Veterans Affairs has specified powers and duties relating to various programs serving veterans. Under existing law, the Chancellor of the California State University and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges have specified powers and duties relating to statewide health education programs.
With respect to complying with the bill’s requirements and obtaining specified funds to support compliance with these provisions, this bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Chancellor of the California State University, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to provide technical assistance to the healing arts boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs, the State Department of Public Health, and to the schools offering, or seeking to offer, educational course credit for meeting licensing qualifications and requirements.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
This act shall be knownbegin insert,end insert and may be citedbegin insert,end insert as the
2Veterans Health Care Workforce Act of 2013.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
4following:
P3 1(1) Lack of health care providers continues to be a significant
2barrier to access to health care services in medically underserved
3urban and rural areas of California.
4(2) Veterans of the United States Armed Forces and the
5California National Guard gain invaluable education, training, and
6practical experience through their military service.
7(3) According to the federal Department of Defense, as of June
82011, one million veterans were unemployed
nationally and the
9jobless rate for post-9/11 veterans was 13.3 percent, with young
10
male veterans 18 to 24 years of age experiencing an unemployment
11rate of 21.9 percent.
12(4) According to the federal Department of Defense, during the
132011 federal fiscal year, 8,854 enlisted service members with
14medical classifications separated from active duty.
15(5) According to the federal Department of Defense, during the
162011 federal fiscal year, 16,777 service members who separated
17from active duty listed California as their state of residence.
18(6) It is critical, both to veterans seeking to transition to civilian
19health care professions and to patients living in underserved urban
20and rural areas of California, that the Legislature ensures that
21veteran applicants for licensure by healing arts boards within the
22Department
of Consumer Affairs or the State Department of Public
23Health are expedited through the qualifications and requirements
24process.
25(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that boards within
26the Department of Consumer Affairs and the State Department of
27Public Health and schools offering educational course credit for
28meeting licensing qualifications and requirements fully and
29expeditiously recognize and provide credit for an applicant’s
30military education, training, and practical experience.
Section 712 is added to the Business and Professions
32Code, to read:
(a) Not later thanbegin delete July 1, 2014,end deletebegin insert January 1, 2015,end insert if a board
34under this division accredits or otherwise approves schools offering
35educational course credit for meeting licensing qualifications and
36requirements, the board shall require a school seeking accreditation
37or approval to submit to the board proof that the school has
38procedures in place to evaluate, upon presentation of satisfactory
39evidence by the applicant, the applicant’s military education,
40training, and practical experience toward the completion of an
P4 1educational program that would qualify a person to
apply for
2licensure if the school determines that the education, training, or
3practical experience is equivalent to the standards of the board. A
4board that requires a school to be accredited by a national
5organization shall not impose requirements on the school that
6conflict with the standards of the national organization.
7(b) With respect to complying with the requirements of this
8section including the determination of equivalency between the
9education, training, or practical experience of an applicant and the
10board’s standards, and obtaining state, federal, or private funds to
11support compliance with this section, the Department of Veterans
12Affairs, the Chancellor of the California State University, and the
13Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall provide
14technical assistance to the boards under this division and to the
15schools
under this section.
Section 131136 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
17to read:
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
19department shall, upon the presentation of satisfactory evidence
20by an applicant for licensure or certification in one of the
21professions described in subdivision (b), accept the education,
22training, and practical experience completed by the applicant as a
23member of the United States Armed Forces or Military Reserves
24of the United States, the national guard of any state, the military
25reserves of any state, or the naval militia of any state, toward the
26qualifications and requirements for licensure or certification by
27the department if the department determines that the education,
28
training, or practical experience is equivalent to the standards of
29the department.
30(b) The following professions are subject to this section:
31(1) Medical laboratory technician as described in Section 1260.3
32of the Business and Professions Code.
33(2) Clinical laboratory scientist as described in Section 1261 of
34the Business and Professions Code.
35(3) Radiologic technologist as described in Chapter 6
36(commencing with Section 114840) of Part 9 of Division 104.
37(4) Nuclear medicine technologist as described in Chapter 4
38(commencing with Section 107150) of Part 1 of Division 104.
39(5) Certified nurse assistant as described in Article 9
40(commencing with Section 1337) of Chapter 2 of Division 2.
P5 1(6) Certified home health aide as described in Section 1736.1.
2(7) Certified hemodialysis technician as described in
Section
31247.61 of the Business and Professions Code.
4(8) Nursing home administrator as described in Section 1416.2.
5(c) Not later thanbegin delete July 1, 2014,end deletebegin insert January 1, 2015,end insert if the
6department accredits or otherwise approves schools offering
7educational course credit for meeting licensing and certification
8qualifications and requirements, the department shall require a
9school seeking accreditation or approval to submit to the board
10proof that the school has procedures in place to fully accept an
11applicant’s military education, training, and practical experience
12toward the completion of an educational program
that would
13qualify a person to apply for licensure or certification if the school
14determines that the education, training, or practical experience is
15equivalent to the standards of the department. If the department
16requires a school to be accredited by a national organization, the
17requirement of the department shall not, in any way, conflict with
18standards set by the national organization.
19(d) With respect to complying with the requirements of this
20section including the determination of equivalency between the
21education, training, or practical experience of an applicant and the
22department’s standards, and obtaining state, federal, or private
23funds to support compliance with this section, the Department of
24Veterans Affairs, the Chancellor of the California State University,
25and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall
26provide
technical assistance to the department, to the State Public
27Health Officer, and to the schools described in this section.
O
97