BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 404
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 404 (Eggman)
As Introduced February 15, 2013
Majority vote
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 13-0APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Gordon, Jones, Bocanegra, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Campos, Dickinson, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Eggman, Hagman, Holden, | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| |Maienschein, Mullin, | |Gomez, Hall, Holden, |
| |Skinner, Ting, Wilk | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Wagner, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Reduces from five to three the number of years a
licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT), educational
psychologist (EP), licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and
licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC) licensee may
have to restore his or her retired license to active status
without reapplication or re-examination, and clarifies that an
inactive license may be eligible for a retired license, as
specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Board of Behavioral Science (BBS) to issue, upon
application and payment of a fee, a retired license to a LMFT,
EP, LCSW and LPCC who holds a license that is current and
active or a license that is inactive, and whose license is not
suspended, revoked or otherwise punitively restricted by the
BBS or subject to disciplinary action, as specified.
2)Permits the holder of a retired LMFT, EP, LCSW or LPCC license
to restore his or her license to active status if the retired
license was issued less than three years prior to the
application date, instead of five years under existing law,
and the applicant meets specified requirements including no
disqualifying criminal record, payment of renewal fees,
compliance with continuing education requirements, and
compliance with fingerprint submission requirements.
3)Permits the holder of a retired LMFT, EP, LCSW or LPCC license
to restore his or her license to active status if the retired
AB 404
Page 2
license was issued more than three years prior to the
application date, instead of five years under existing law,
and the applicant meets specified requirements including no
disqualifying criminal record, application for licensure and
payment of the required fees, passage of the licensure
examination, and compliance with fingerprint submission
requirements.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Permits the BBS, upon application and payment of a fee to
issue a retired license to a LMFT, EP, LCSW or LPCC who holds
a license that is current and active or capable of being
renewed, and whose license is not suspended, revoked or
otherwise punitively restricted by the BBS or subject to
disciplinary action as specified. (Business and Professions
Code (BPC) Sections 4984.41, 4989.45, 4997.1, and 4999.113)
2)Provides that the holder of a retired license can apply to
restore his or her license to active status if the retired
license was issued less than five years prior to the
application date and the applicant meets specified
requirements including no disqualifying criminal record,
payment of renewal fees, compliance with continuing education
requirements, and compliance with fingerprint submission
requirements. (BPC Sections 4984.41, 4989.45, 4997.1, and
4999.113)
3)Provides that the holder of a retired license can apply to
restore his or her license to active status if the retired
license was issued more than five years prior to the
application date and the applicant meets specified
requirements including no disqualifying criminal record,
application for licensure, payment of the required fees,
passage of the licensure examination, and compliance with
fingerprint submission requirements. (BPC Sections 4984.41,
4989.45, 4997.1, and 4999.113)
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, negligible costs to the Board of Behavioral Sciences
(BBS).
COMMENTS :
AB 404
Page 3
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill reduces the time limit, from
five years to three, for a retired licensee to restore his or
her license to active status before the licensee is required
to reapply for licensure and satisfy examination requirements.
Currently, a license must be "current and active and capable
of being renewed" prior to obtaining a retired license. This
bill will replace the term "capable of being renewed" with "a
license that is inactive" to help clarify the license status
an individual needs to have in order apply for a retired
license. This bill is sponsored by the BBS.
2)Author's statement . According to the author, "Current law
states that retired licenses are only to be granted to those
licensees who have an active license or to a licensee who
potentially could have their license become active. The latter
implies that those who have a suspended license may apply for
a retired license because they potentially could have their
license become active. However, current law also states that
an applicant for a retired license may not have their license
suspended, revoked, or in any type of disciplinary action.
This had led to uncertainty on the part of the BBS because
they are unsure of who actually qualifies for a retired
license. This bill will clarify that only those applicants
who either have an active license or an inactive license that
is not suspended, revoked, or in disciplinary status may apply
for a retired license. The benefit of obtaining a retired
license is that there is only a one-time fee of $40 instead of
a yearly fee of $75. The BBS estimates that since 2011 they
have issued 584 retired licenses since they were given
authority to do so."
3)Non-active licenses . Non-active BBS licenses are generally of
three types: retired, inactive, and delinquent/expired.
A retired license allows a practitioner to reference his or
her professional title, but does not permit the licensee to
engage in the practice of his or her profession. Prior to the
passage of AB 2191 (Emmerson), Chapter 548, Statutes of 2010,
a licensee regulated under BBS was unable to obtain a retired
license. If a licensee wanted to retire or discontinue
practicing they would need to either obtain an inactive
license that had to be renewed biannually, or allow his or her
license to become delinquent and subsequently canceled after
three years. Current law permits the holder of a retired
AB 404
Page 4
license to reactivate their license within five years of
issuance (see below) before they are subject to specified
continuing education and examination requirements. The
requirements for a retired license were developed to provide
current licensees with an option to "retire" their license as
opposed to their license becoming inactive or delinquent.
An inactive license, which must be applied for, does not
permit the licensee to engage in practice, but may be
reactivated. In order to reactivate a license, an individual
pays a renewal fee that is one half the cost of the standard
renewal fee and may not have a disqualifying criminal record.
The licensee is not required to take continuing education
courses during the inactive period, although the licensee will
be required to take between 18 to 36 hours of continuing
education in order to reactivate, depending on the length of
time to the next renewal.
A delinquent or expired license may be renewed at any time
within three years of expiration. To renew an expired license,
a licensee files an application for renewal, pays all the fees
that would have been paid if the license had not become
delinquent, complies with specified continuing education
requirements and has no disqualifying criminal record.
4)Reactivating a retired license . Under current law, licensees
holding a retired license are required to pay a one-time fee
of $40 for issuance of the retired license and are exempt from
continuing education requirements. Licensees may reactivate
their licenses within five years if they wish to practice, and
are then subject to continuing education requirements. After
five years, licensees are required to meet specific continuing
education requirements, apply for licensure, and pass the
current examination before their license is restored to active
status.
This bill shortens the time period for a licensee to
reactivate a retired license in order to be consistent with
the current provisions for reactivating a delinquent or
expired license. Individuals holding an inactive or
delinquent license must reapply for licensure and pass a new
licensing exam after only three years. This bill would be the
same educational and testing timeframe for retired licensees
after three years.
AB 404
Page 5
5)Arguments in Support . The BBS writes in support, "The use of
the term 'current and active or capable of being renewed' in
law has been a source of confusion for licensees and [BBS]
staff since the retired license law went into effect in 2011.
For this reason the [BBS] proposes clarifying this language.
In addition, current law allows a holder of a retired license
to apply to restore his or her license to active state if he
or she was issued the retired license less than five years
ago. The [BBS] believes three years is a sufficient time
frame for a licensee to change his or her mind about wanting
their license to have a retired status."
Analysis Prepared by : Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
FN: 0000156