California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 864

Introduced by Assembly Member Skinner

February 21, 2013

An act to add Chapter 5.8 (commencing with Section 2697.2) to Division 2 of, and to repeal Section 2697.8 of, the Business and Professions Code, relating to athletic trainers.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 864, as introduced, Skinner. Athletic trainers.

Existing law provides for the regulation of various professions and vocations, including those of an athlete agent.

This bill would provide for the licensure and regulation of athletic trainers, as defined, by the Athletic Trainer Licensing Committee, to be established by the bill within the Physical Therapy Board of California. Under the bill, the committee would be comprised of 7 members, to be appointed to 4-year terms as specified. Commencing July 1, 2014, the bill would prohibit a person from practicing as an athletic trainer or using certain titles without a license issued by the committee. The bill would specify the requirements for licensure, including the payment of a license application fee established by the committee. The bill would define the practice of athletic training and prescribe supervision requirements on athletic trainers. The bill would establish the Athletic Trainers’ Account within the Physical Therapy Fund for the deposit of license application and renewal fees, and would make those fees available to the committee for the purpose of implementing these provisions upon appropriation by the Legislature.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a) California is one of only two states that does not currently
regulate the practice of athletic training. This continued lack of
regulation creates the risk that individuals who have lost or are
unable to obtain licensure in another state will come to California
to practice, thereby putting the public in danger and degrading the
standards of the profession as a whole.

(b) There is a pressing and immediate need to regulate the
profession of athletic training in order to protect the public health,
safety, and welfare. This need is particularly important because
athletic trainers often work with school-age children.

SEC. 2.  

Chapter 5.8 (commencing with Section 2697.2) is
added to Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, to read:

 

Chapter  5.8. Athletic Trainers

 

2697.2.  

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
Athletic Trainers Practice Act.

2697.4.  

For the purposes of this chapter, the following
definitions shall apply:

(a) “Athletic trainer” means a person who meets the
requirements of this chapter, is licensed by the committee, and
practices under the direction of a licensed physician or surgeon.

(b) “Board” means the Physical Therapy Board of California.

(c) “Committee” means the Athletic Trainer Licensing
Committee.

2697.6.  

(a) No person shall engage in the practice of athletic
training unless licensed pursuant to this chapter.

(b) No person shall use the title “athletic trainer,” “licensed
athletic trainer,” “certified athletic trainer,” “athletic trainer
certified,” “a.t.,” “a.t.l.,” “c.a.t.,” “a.t.c.,” or any other variation of
these terms, or any other similar terms indicating that the person
is an athletic trainer unless that person is licensed pursuant to this
chapter.

(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), a person who
practiced athletic training in California for a period of 15
consecutive years prior to July 1, 2014, and is not eligible for an
athletic training license may use the title “athletic trainer” without
being licensed by the committee, upon registration with the board.
However, on and after January 1, 2017, no person may use the
title “athletic trainer” unless he or she is licensed by the committee
pursuant to this chapter.

(d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2014.

2697.8.  

(a) There is established the Athletic Trainer Licensing
Committee within the Physical Therapy Board of California. The
committee shall consist of seven members.

(b) The seven committee members shall include the following:

(1) Four licensed athletic trainers. Initially, the committee shall
include four athletic trainers who have satisfied the requirements
of subdivision (a) of Section 2697.12 and who will satisfy the
remainder of the licensure requirements described in Section
2697.12 as soon as it is practically possible.

(2) One public member.

(3) One physician and surgeon licensed by the Medical Board
of California or one osteopathic physician and surgeon licensed
by the Osteopathic Medical Board of California.

(4) One physical therapist licensed by the Physical Therapy
Board of California.

(c) Subject to confirmation by the Senate, the Governor shall
appoint two of the licensed athletic trainers, the public member,
and the physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and
surgeon. The Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the
Assembly shall each appoint a licensed athletic trainer. The
Physical Therapy Board of California shall appoint the licensed
physical therapist.

(d) (1) All appointments shall be for a term of four years and
shall expire on June 30 of the year in which the term expires.
Vacancies shall be filled for any unexpired term.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), for initial appointments
made on or after January 1, 2014, the public member appointed
by the Governor shall serve a term of one year. The athletic trainers
appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of
the Assembly shall serve terms of three years, and the remaining
members shall serve terms of four years.

(e) Each member of the committee shall receive per diem and
expenses as provided in Section 103.

(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2019,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends that date. The
repeal of this section renders the committee subject to the review
required by Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 9147.7) of
Chapter 1.5 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government
Code.

2697.10.  

(a) The committee shall adopt, repeal, and amend
regulations as may be necessary to enable it to carry into effect
the provisions of this chapter. All regulations shall be in accordance
with this chapter.

(b) In promulgating regulations, the committee may consult the
professional standards issued by the National Athletic Trainers’
Association (NATA), the Board of Certification, Inc. (BOC), the
Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education
(CAATE), or any other nationally recognized professional
organization.

(c) The committee shall approve programs for the education
and training of athletic trainers.

(d) The committee shall investigate each applicant, before a
license is issued, in order to determine whether the applicant meets
the qualifications required by this chapter.

(e) Protection of the public shall be the highest priority for the
committee in exercising its licensing, regulatory, and disciplinary
functions. Whenever the protection of the public is inconsistent
with other interests sought to be promoted, the protection of the
public shall be paramount.

2697.12.  

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the
committee shall issue an athletic trainer license to an applicant
who meets all of the following requirements:

(a) Has submitted an application developed by the committee
that includes evidence that the applicant has graduated from a
professional degree program in athletic training accredited by the
Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education, or
its predecessors or successors, and approved by the committee, at
an accredited post-secondary institution or institutions approved
by the committee.

(b) Has completed a program of professional education that
includes didactic, clinical, and research experiences in athletic
training using critical thinking and weighing of evidence.

(c) Has passed a written athletic training certification
examination offered by the Board of Certification, Inc., its
predecessors or successors, or another nationally accredited athletic
trainer certification agency approved and recognized by the
committee.

(d) Possesses an emergency cardiac care certification from a
certification body, approved by the committee, that adheres to the
most current international guidelines for cardiopulmonary
resuscitation and emergency cardiac care.

(e) Has paid the application fee established by the committee.

2697.14.  

Notwithstanding Section 2697.12, the committee
shall issue an athletic trainer license to an applicant who did not
graduate from an accredited athletic training education program
as described in subdivision (a) of Section 2697.12, but who
received athletic training via an internship, if the applicant meets
all of the following requirements:

(a) Furnishes evidence satisfactory to the committee of
completion of a degree at an accredited post-secondary institution
that included instruction in basic sciences related to, and on the
practice of, athletic training.

(b) Passes the written examination described in subdivision (c)
of Section 2697.12.

(c) Completes at least 1500 hours of clinical experience under
an athletic trainer certified by the Board of Certification, Inc.

(d) Possesses an emergency cardiac care certification from a
certification body, approved by the committee, that adheres to the
most current international guidelines for cardiopulmonary
resuscitation and emergency cardiac care.

(e) Has paid the application fee established by the committee.

2697.16.  

A license issued by the committee pursuant to Section
2697.12 or 2697.14 shall be valid for two years and thereafter shall
be subject to the renewal requirements described in Sections
2697.18 and 2697.20.

2697.18.  

The committee shall establish license application and
renewal fees in an amount sufficient to cover the reasonable
regulatory costs of carrying out this chapter.

2697.20.  

The committee shall renew a license if an applicant
meets all of the following requirements:

(a) Pays the renewal fee as established by the committee.

(b) Submits proof of all of the following:

(1) Satisfactory completion of continuing education, as
determined by the committee.

(2) Current athletic training certification from a certification
body approved by te committee, including, but not limited to, the
Board of Certification, Inc., or its predecessors or successors.

(3) Current emergency cardiac care certification meeting the
requirements of subdivision (d) of Section 2697.12.

2697.22.  

(a) The practice of athletic training includes all of
the following:

(1) The professional treatment of a patient for risk management
and injury or illness prevention.

(2) The clinical evaluation and assessment of a patient for an
injury or an illness sustained or exacerbated while participating in
physical activity, or both.

(3) The immediate care and treatment of a patient for an injury
or an illness sustained or exacerbated while participating in
physical activity, or both.

(4) The rehabilitation and reconditioning of a patient from injury
or from an illness sustained or exacerbated while participating in
physical activity, or both.

(b) The practice of athletic training does not include the practice
of physical therapy, the practice of medicine, the practice of
osteopathic medicine, the practice of chiropractic medicine, or
medical diagnosis or treatment.

(c) An athletic trainer shall refer a patient to an appropriate
licensed health care provider when the treatment or management
of the injury, illness, or condition does not fall within the practice
of athletic training.

(d) An athletic trainer shall not provide, offer to provide, or
represent that he or she is qualified to provide any treatment that
he or she is not qualified to perform by his or her education,
training, or experience, or that he or she is otherwise prohibited
by law from performing.

(e) For purposes of this section, “injury” or “illness” means an
injury or illness sustained as a result of, or exacerbated by,
participation in athletics or physical activity for which the athletic
trainer has had formal training during his or her professional
education program, including nationally recognized educational
competencies and clinical proficiencies for the entry-level athletic
trainer or advanced post-professional study, and falls within the
practice of athletic training.

(f) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2014.

2697.24.  

(a) An athletic trainer shall render treatment within
his or her scope of practice under the direction of a physician and
surgeon licensed by the Medical Board of California or an
osteopathic physician and surgeon licensed by the Osteopathic
Medical Board of California. This direction shall be provided by
verbal order when the directing physician and surgeon or
osteopathic physician and surgeon is present and by written order
or by athletic training treatment plans or protocols, to be established
by the physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon,
when the directing physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician
and surgeon is not present.

(b) Notwithstanding any other law, and consistent with this
chapter, the committee may establish other alternative mechanisms
for the adequate direction of an athletic trainer.

(c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2014.

2697.26.  

The requirements of this chapter do not apply to the
following:

(a) An athletic trainer licensed, certified, or registered in another
state or county who is in California temporarily, traveling with a
team or organization, to engage in the practice of athletic training
for, among other things, an athletic or sporting event.

(b) An athletic trainer licensed, certified, or registered in another
state who is invited by a sponsoring organization, such as the
United States Olympic Committee, to temporarily provide athletic
training services under his or her state’s scope of practice for
athletic training.

(c) A student enrolled in an athletic training education program,
while participating in educational activities during the course of
his or her educational rotations under the supervision and guidance
of an athletic trainer licensed under this chapter or other licensed
health care provider.

(d) A member or employee of the United States Armed Forces,
licensed, certified, or registered in another state, as part of his or
her temporary federal deployment or employment in California
for a limited time.

2697.28.  

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit,
impair, or otherwise apply to the practice of any person licensed
and regulated under any other chapter of Division 2 (commencing
with Section 500).

2697.30.  

Nothing in this chapter shall require new or additional
third party reimbursement for services rendered by an individual
licensed under this chapter.

2697.32.  

The committee may order any of the following actions
relative to an athletic trainer’s license after a hearing for
unprofessional conduct that includes, but is not limited to, a
violation of this chapter, any regulations adopted by the committee
pursuant to this chapter, or revocation or suspension of an athletic
training license, certification, or registration:

(a) Denial of an application for the athletic trainer’s license.

(b) Issuance of the athletic trainer’s license subject to terms and
conditions.

(c) Suspension or revocation of the athletic trainer’s license.

(d) Imposition of probationary conditions upon the athletic
trainer’s license.

2697.34.  

The Athletic Trainers’ Account is hereby established
in the Physical Therapy Fund. All fees collected pursuant to this
chapter shall be paid into the account. These fees shall be available
to the committee, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the
regulatory purpose of implementing this chapter.