BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 451
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 10, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                 AB 451 (Eggman) - As Introduced:  February 19, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                              Business,  
          Professions and Consumer Protection           Vote: 13-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill postpones by one year (from January 1, 2014 to January  
          1, 2015) the effective date of new licensure requirements for  
          marriage and family therapist (MFT) and professional clinical  
          counselor (PCC) applicants who are licensed or educated in  
          another state.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Unknown, probably minor and absorbable, costs to the Board of  
          Behavioral Sciences (BBS), depending on the extent to which  
          BBS's review of the scheduled changes to the licensure  
          requirements leads to any significant proposal for revision. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  .  The author's office points to concerns that the  
            scheduled changes in requirements for out-of-state applicants  
            "will create significant barriers to licensure."  The one year  
            postponement permits BBS, the bill's sponsor, "to carefully  
            consider the best way to allow additional remediation  
            options."  In particular, to the extent the new requirements  
            are California-specific, they may be difficult for  
            out-of-state applicants to achieve and there may not be an  
            appropriate way to make up required coursework.

           2)Background: Requirements for out-of-state applicants  .  Current  
            law, effective January 1, 2014, revises the education and  
            experience requirements for out-of-state MFT and PCC  
            applicants.  New applicants will be expected to demonstrate  
            experience and education specific to the needs of mental  








                                                                  AB 451
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            health clients in California, including familiarity with the  
            racial, cultural, linguistic, and ethnic backgrounds of people  
            in this state.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Debra Roth / APPR. / (916) 319-2081