BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 1269
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          Date of Hearing:   May 7, 2013

              ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER  
                                     PROTECTION
                              Richard S. Gordon, Chair
                  AB 1269 (Gray) - As Introduced:  February 22, 2013
           
          SUBJECT  :   Medicine:  special faculty permit.

           SUMMARY  :  Clarifies that the Medical Board of California, and  
          not the nonexistent Division of Licensing, may establish an  
          applicant's eligibility for a special faculty permit to practice  
          medicine exclusively within a medical school and any affiliated  
          institution.

           EXISTING LAW  states that any reference to the "Division of  
          Medical Quality" or to the "Division of Licensing" shall be  
          deemed to refer to the Medical Board of California (MBC).   
          (Business and Professions Code (BPC) Section 2540.1) 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   None.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel. 

           COMMENTS  :   

           1)Purpose of this bill  .  This bill clarifies that MBC is  
            responsible for issuing permits.  Although superfluous,  
            because two other sections of BPC clarify that any references  
            to the divisions previously existing within MBC shall refer  
            instead to MBC, this bill does provide clarity 
            on the issue of the responsible entity.  References to the  
            divisions are typically deleted in technical amendments on  
            bills substantively amending other portions of BPC code.   

           2)Background  . AB 253 (Eng), Chapter 678, Statutes of 2007,  
            eliminated the MBC's 
          ill-starred Division of Licensing and Division of Medical  
            Quality and required the MBC as a licensing body to handle the  
            responsibilities of its two prior divisions.  This bill also  
            added a lateral section to the BPC to clarify that any  
            reference to either division shall mean the MBC.   
            
           3)Author's statement  .  According to the author, "A permitting  
            process exists so that licensed physicians who do not hold a  
            California license can practice as faculty at California  








                                                                  AB 1269
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            medical schools.  This permit must be renewed every two years  
            which matches the renewal time of California issued physician  
            licenses.  The permit only allows the physician to practice at  
            schools of medicine and their affiliated institutions.
             
             "The law stipulates that the Division of Licensing is  
            authorized to issue these permits; however, the Medical Board  
            is the actual entity that has formed the committee and has  
            been granting permits.

            "AB 1269 cleans up this outdated code and clarifies that the  
            Medical Board is the authorized licensing entity."

           4)Arguments in support  .  The California Medical Association  
            writes, "California law allows physicians who do not hold a  
            California license to practice as faculty at a medical school.  
             The permit, which is intended to allow academically eminent  
            physicians to practice at the medical school or at affiliated  
            institutions.  The law authorizes the Division of Licensing as  
            the entity authorized to grant these permits, but the Medical  
            Board is actually the entity that has formed the committee and  
            has been granting permits.

            "This bill cleans up outdated code related to faculty permits  
            to avoid confusion." 

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          California Medical Association (sponsor)

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Sarah Huchel / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)  
          319-3301