BILL NUMBER: SB 305 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 19, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 14, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 25, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 15, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Price
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Gordon)
FEBRUARY 15, 2013
An act to amend Sections 1000, 2450, 2450.3, 2530.2, 2531,
2531.75, 2533, 2570.19, 2602, 2607.5, 3010.5, 3014.6, 3685, 3686,
3710, 3716, 3765, 4938, and 4939 and 3765
of, and to add Section 144.5 to, the Business and Professions
Code, relating to healing arts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 305, as amended, Price. Healing arts: boards.
Existing
(1) Existing law requires
specified regulatory boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs
to require an applicant for licensure to furnish to the board a full
set of fingerprints in order to conduct a criminal history record
check.
This bill would additionally authorize those boards to request and
receive from a local or state agency certified records of all
arrests and convictions, certified records regarding probation, and
any and all other related documentation needed to complete an
applicant or licensee investigation and would authorize a local or
state agency to provide those records to the board upon request.
The
(2) The Chiropractic Act, enacted
by an initiative measure, provides for the licensure and regulation
of chiropractors in this state by the State Board of Chiropractic
Examiners. Existing law specifies that the law governing
chiropractors is found in the act.
This bill would require that the powers and duties of the board,
as provided, be subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature as if these provisions were scheduled
to be repealed on January 1, 2018. This bill would also make
nonsubstantive changes to conform with the Governor's Reorganization
Plan No. 2.
Existing
(3) Existing law, the Osteopathic
Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of osteopathic
physicians and surgeons by the Osteopathic Medical Board of
California.
This bill would require that the powers and duties of the board,
as provided, be subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature. The bill would require that the review
be performed as if these provisions were scheduled to be repealed as
of January 1, 2018.
Existing
(4) Existing law, the
Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists and Hearing Aid
Dispensers Licensure Act, provides for the licensure and regulation
of speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and hearing aid
dispensers by the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing
Aid Dispensers Board. The act authorizes the board to appoint an
executive officer. Existing law repeals these provisions on January
1, 2014, and subjects the board to review by the Joint Committee on
Boards, Commissions, and Consumer Protection.
This bill would extend the operation of these provisions until
January 1, 2018, and provide that the repeal of these provisions
subjects the board to review by the appropriate policy committees of
the Legislature.
The Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists and Hearing Aid
Dispensers Licensure Act also authorizes the board to refuse to
issue, or issue subject to terms and conditions, a license on
specified grounds, including, among others, securing a license by
fraud or deceit.
This bill would additionally authorize the board to refuse to
issue, or issue subject to terms and conditions, a license for a
violation of a term or condition of a probationary order of a license
issued by the board, as provided.
Existing
(5) Existing law, the
Occupational Therapy Practice Act, provides for the licensure and
regulation of occupational therapists, as defined, by the California
Board of Occupational Therapy. Existing law repeals those provisions
on January 1, 2014, and subjects the board to review by the Joint
Committee on Boards, Commissions, and Consumer Protection.
This bill would extend the operation of these provisions until
January 1, 2018, and provide that the repeal of these provisions
subjects the board to review by the appropriate policy committees of
the Legislature.
Existing
(6) Existing law, the Physical
Therapy Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of
physical therapists by the Physical Therapy Board of California. The
act authorizes the board to appoint an executive officer. Existing
law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2014.
This bill would extend the operation of these provisions until
January 1, 2018.
Existing
(7) Existing law, the
Naturopathic Doctors Act, until January 1, 2014, provides for the
licensure and regulation of naturopathic doctors by the Naturopathic
Medicine Committee within the Osteopathic Medical Board of
California. Existing law also specifies that the repeal of the
committee subjects it to review by the appropriate policy committees
of the Legislature.
This bill would extend the operation of these provisions until
January 1, 2018, and make conforming changes.
Existing
(8) Existing law, the Optometry
Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of
optometrists by the State Board of Optometry. The Respiratory Care
Act provides for the licensure and regulation of respiratory care
practitioners by the Respiratory Care Board of California. Each of
those acts authorizes the board to employ an executive officer.
Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2014, and
subjects the boards to review by the Joint Committee on Boards,
Commissions, and Consumer Protection.
This bill would extend the operation of these provisions until
January 1, 2018, and provide that the repeal of these provisions
subjects the boards to review by the appropriate policy committees of
the Legislature.
The
(9) The Respiratory Care Act also
prohibits a person from engaging in the practice of respiratory care
unless he or she is a licensed respiratory care practitioner.
However, the act does not prohibit specified acts, including, among
others, the performance of respiratory care services in case of an
emergency or self-care by a patient.
This bill would additionally authorize the performance of
pulmonary function testing by persons who are currently employed by
Los Angeles County hospitals and have performed pulmonary function
testing for at least 15 years.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute for the persons described above.
The Acupuncture Licensure Act provides for an Acupuncture Board
within the Department of Consumer Affairs to license and regulate the
practice of acupuncture. Existing law requires the board to issue a
license to practice acupuncture to a person who files an application,
pays a fee, and, among other things, passes a written examination
administered by the board. Existing law also requires the board to
establish standards for the approval of schools and colleges offering
education and training in the practice of an acupuncturist, as
specified.
This bill would instead require an applicant to pass a written
examination administered by the board or, beginning on January 1,
2015, an examination or examinations administered by the National
Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, as
specified. The bill would, beginning January 1, 2017, require
acupuncture schools and colleges approved by the board to be
accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and
Oriental Medicine.
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. Section 144.5 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
144.5. Notwithstanding any other law, a board described in
Section 144 may request, and is authorized to receive, from a local
or state agency certified records of all arrests and convictions,
certified records regarding probation, and any and all other related
documentation needed to complete an applicant or licensee
investigation. A local or state agency may provide those records to
the board upon request.
SEC. 2. Section 1000 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
1000. (a) The law governing practitioners of chiropractic is
found in an initiative act entitled "An act prescribing the terms
upon which licenses may be issued to practitioners of chiropractic,
creating the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners and declaring its
powers and duties, prescribing penalties for violation hereof, and
repealing all acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith," adopted
by the electors November 7, 1922.
(b) The State Board of Chiropractic Examiners is within the
Department of Consumer Affairs.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, the powers and duties of the
State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, as set forth in this article
and under the act creating the board, shall be subject to review by
the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature. The review
shall be performed as if this chapter were scheduled to be repealed
as of January 1, 2018.
SEC. 3. Section 2450 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2450. There is a Board of Osteopathic Examiners of the State of
California, established by the Osteopathic Act, which shall be known
as the Osteopathic Medical Board of California which enforces this
chapter relating to persons holding or applying for physician's and
surgeon's certificates issued by the Osteopathic Medical Board of
California under the Osteopathic Act.
Persons who elect to practice using the term of suffix "M.D.," as
provided in Section 2275, shall not be subject to this article, and
the Medical Board of California shall enforce the provisions of this
chapter relating to persons who made the election.
Notwithstanding any other law, the powers and duties of the
Osteopathic Medical Board of California, as set forth in this article
and under the Osteopathic Act, shall be subject to review by the
appropriate policy committees of the Legislature. The review shall be
performed as if this chapter were scheduled to be repealed as of
January 1, 2018.
SEC. 4. Section 2450.3 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2450.3. There is within the jurisdiction of the Osteopathic
Medical Board of California a Naturopathic Medicine Committee
authorized under the Naturopathic Doctors Act (Chapter 8.2
(commencing with Section 3610)). This section shall become
inoperative on January 1, 2018, and, as of that date is repealed,
unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1,
2018, deletes or extends that date. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the repeal of this section renders the Naturopathic
Medicine Committee subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.
SEC. 5. Section 2530.2 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2530.2. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
requires:
(a) "Board" means the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and
Hearing Aid Dispensers Board.
(b) "Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation,
limited liability company, or other organization or combination
thereof, except that only individuals can be licensed under this
chapter.
(c) A "speech-language pathologist" is a person who practices
speech-language pathology.
(d) The practice of speech-language pathology means all of the
following:
(1) The application of principles, methods, instrumental
procedures, and noninstrumental procedures for measurement, testing,
screening, evaluation, identification, prediction, and counseling
related to the development and disorders of speech, voice, language,
or swallowing.
(2) The application of principles and methods for preventing,
planning, directing, conducting, and supervising programs for
habilitating, rehabilitating, ameliorating, managing, or modifying
disorders of speech, voice, language, or swallowing in individuals or
groups of individuals.
(3) Conducting hearing screenings.
(4) Performing suctioning in connection with the scope of practice
described in paragraphs (1) and (2), after compliance with a medical
facility's training protocols on suctioning procedures.
(e) (1) Instrumental procedures referred to in subdivision (d) are
the use of rigid and flexible endoscopes to observe the pharyngeal
and laryngeal areas of the throat in order to observe, collect data,
and measure the parameters of communication and swallowing as well as
to guide communication and swallowing assessment and therapy.
(2) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as a diagnosis.
Any observation of an abnormality shall be referred to a physician
and surgeon.
(f) A licensed speech-language pathologist shall not perform a
flexible fiberoptic nasendoscopic procedure unless he or she has
received written verification from an otolaryngologist certified by
the American Board of Otolaryngology that the speech-language
pathologist has performed a minimum of 25 flexible fiberoptic
nasendoscopic procedures and is competent to perform these
procedures. The speech-language pathologist shall have this written
verification on file and readily available for inspection upon
request by the board. A speech-language pathologist shall pass a
flexible fiberoptic nasendoscopic instrument only under the direct
authorization of an otolaryngologist certified by the American Board
of Otolaryngology and the supervision of a physician and surgeon.
(g) A licensed speech-language pathologist shall only perform
flexible endoscopic procedures described in subdivision (e) in a
setting that requires the facility to have protocols for emergency
medical backup procedures, including a physician and surgeon or other
appropriate medical professionals being readily available.
(h) "Speech-language pathology aide" means any person meeting the
minimum requirements established by the board, who works directly
under the supervision of a speech-language pathologist.
(i) (1) "Speech-language pathology assistant" means a person who
meets the academic and supervised training requirements set forth by
the board and who is approved by the board to assist in the provision
of speech-language pathology under the direction and supervision of
a speech-language pathologist who shall be responsible for the
extent, kind, and quality of the services provided by the
speech-language pathology assistant.
(2) The supervising speech-language pathologist employed or
contracted for by a public school may hold a valid and current
license issued by the board, a valid, current, and professional clear
clinical or rehabilitative services credential in language, speech,
and hearing issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, or
other credential authorizing service in language, speech, and hearing
issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing that is not issued
on the basis of an emergency permit or waiver of requirements. For
purposes of this paragraph, a "clear" credential is a credential that
is not issued pursuant to a waiver or emergency permit and is as
otherwise defined by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Nothing
in this section referring to credentialed supervising
speech-language pathologists expands existing exemptions from
licensing pursuant to Section 2530.5.
(j) An "audiologist" is one who practices audiology.
(k) "The practice of audiology" means the application of
principles, methods, and procedures of measurement, testing,
appraisal, prediction, consultation, counseling, instruction related
to auditory, vestibular, and related functions and the modification
of communicative disorders involving speech, language, auditory
behavior or other aberrant behavior resulting from auditory
dysfunction; and the planning, directing, conducting, supervising, or
participating in programs of identification of auditory disorders,
hearing conservation, cerumen removal, aural habilitation, and
rehabilitation, including, hearing aid recommendation and evaluation
procedures including, but not limited to, specifying amplification
requirements and evaluation of the results thereof, auditory
training, and speech reading, and the selling of hearing aids.
(l) A "dispensing audiologist" is a person who is authorized to
sell hearing aids pursuant to his or her audiology license.
(m) "Audiology aide" means any person meeting the minimum
requirements established by the board. An audiology aid may not
perform any function that constitutes the practice of audiology
unless he or she is under the supervision of an audiologist. The
board may by regulation exempt certain functions performed by an
industrial audiology aide from supervision provided that his or her
employer has established a set of procedures or protocols that the
aide shall follow in performing these functions.
(n) "Medical board" means the Medical Board of California.
(o) A "hearing screening" performed by a speech-language
pathologist means a binary puretone screening at a preset intensity
level for the purpose of determining if the screened individuals are
in need of further medical or audiological evaluation.
(p) "Cerumen removal" means the nonroutine removal of cerumen
within the cartilaginous ear canal necessary for access in
performance of audiological procedures that shall occur under
physician and surgeon supervision. Cerumen removal, as provided by
this section, shall only be performed by a licensed audiologist.
Physician and surgeon supervision shall not be construed to require
the physical presence of the physician, but shall include all of the
following:
(1) Collaboration on the development of written standardized
protocols. The protocols shall include a requirement that the
supervised audiologist immediately refer to an appropriate physician
any trauma, including skin tears, bleeding, or other pathology of the
ear discovered in the process of cerumen removal as defined in this
subdivision.
(2) Approval by the supervising physician of the written
standardized protocol.
(3) The supervising physician shall be within the general
vicinity, as provided by the physician-audiologist protocol, of the
supervised audiologist and available by telephone contact at the time
of cerumen removal.
(4) A licensed physician and surgeon may not simultaneously
supervise more than two audiologists for purposes of cerumen removal.
SEC. 6. Section 2531 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2531. (a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs the
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers
Board in which the enforcement and administration of this chapter are
vested. The Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid
Dispensers Board shall consist of nine members, three of whom shall
be public members.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date. Notwithstanding any other law, the repeal of this section
renders the board subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.
SEC. 7. Section 2531.75 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2531.75. (a) The board may appoint a person exempt from civil
service who shall be designated as an executive officer and who shall
exercise the powers and perform the duties delegated by the board
and vested in him or her by this chapter.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 8. Section 2533 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2533. The board may refuse to issue, or issue subject to terms
and conditions, a license on the grounds specified in Section 480, or
may suspend, revoke, or impose terms and conditions upon the license
of any licensee for any of the following:
(a) Conviction of a crime substantially related to the
qualifications, functions, and duties of a speech-language
pathologist or audiologist or hearing aid dispenser, as the case may
be. The record of the conviction shall be conclusive evidence
thereof.
(b) Securing a license by fraud or deceit.
(c) (1) The use or administering to himself or herself of any
controlled substance; (2) the use of any of the dangerous drugs
specified in Section 4022, or of alcoholic beverages, to the extent
or in a manner as to be dangerous or injurious to the licensee, to
any other person, or to the public, or to the extent that the use
impairs the ability of the licensee to practice speech-language
pathology or audiology safely; (3) more than one misdemeanor or any
felony involving the use, consumption, or self-administration of any
of the substances referred to in this section; or (4) any combination
of paragraph (1), (2), or (3). The record of the conviction shall be
conclusive evidence of unprofessional conduct.
(d) Advertising in violation of Section 17500. Advertising an
academic degree that was not validly awarded or earned under the laws
of this state or the applicable jurisdiction in which it was issued
is deemed to constitute a violation of Section 17500.
(e) Committing a dishonest or fraudulent act that is substantially
related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a licensee.
(f) Incompetence, gross negligence, or repeated negligent acts.
(g) Other acts that have endangered or are likely to endanger the
health, welfare, and safety of the public.
(h) Use by a hearing aid dispenser of the term "doctor" or
"physician" or "clinic" or "audiologist," or any derivation thereof,
except as authorized by law.
(i) The use, or causing the use, of any advertising or promotional
literature in a manner that has the capacity or tendency to mislead
or deceive purchasers or prospective purchasers.
(j) Any cause that would be grounds for denial of an application
for a license.
(k) Violation of Section 1689.6 or 1793.02 of the Civil Code.
(l) Violation of a term or condition of a probationary order of a
license issued by the board pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code.
SEC. 9. Section 2570.19 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2570.19. (a) There is hereby created a California Board of
Occupational Therapy, hereafter referred to as the board. The board
shall enforce and administer this chapter.
(b) The members of the board shall consist of the following:
(1) Three occupational therapists who shall have practiced
occupational therapy for five years.
(2) One occupational therapy assistant who shall have assisted in
the practice of occupational therapy for five years.
(3) Three public members who shall not be licentiates of the
board, of any other board under this division, or of any board
referred to in Section 1000 or 3600.
(c) The Governor shall appoint the three occupational therapists
and one occupational therapy assistant to be members of the board.
The Governor, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Speaker of the
Assembly shall each appoint a public member. Not more than one member
of the board shall be appointed from the full-time faculty of any
university, college, or other educational institution.
(d) All members shall be residents of California at the time of
their appointment. The occupational therapist and occupational
therapy assistant members shall have been engaged in rendering
occupational therapy services to the public, teaching, or research in
occupational therapy for at least five years preceding their
appointments.
(e) The public members may not be or have ever been occupational
therapists or occupational therapy assistants or in training to
become occupational therapists or occupational therapy assistants.
The public members may not be related to, or have a household member
who is, an occupational therapist or an occupational therapy
assistant, and may not have had, within two years of the appointment,
a substantial financial interest in a person regulated by the board.
(f) The Governor shall appoint two board members for a term of one
year, two board members for a term of two years, and one board
member for a term of three years. Appointments made thereafter shall
be for four-year terms, but no person shall be appointed to serve
more than two consecutive terms. Terms shall begin on the first day
of the calendar year and end on the last day of the calendar year or
until successors are appointed, except for the first appointed
members who shall serve through the last calendar day of the year in
which they are appointed, before commencing the terms prescribed by
this section. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment for the
unexpired term. The board shall annually elect one of its members as
president.
(g) The board shall meet and hold at least one regular meeting
annually in the Cities of Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
The board may convene from time to time until its business is
concluded. Special meetings of the board may be held at any time and
place designated by the board.
(h) Notice of each meeting of the board shall be given in
accordance with the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9
(commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(i) Members of the board shall receive no compensation for their
services, but shall be entitled to reasonable travel and other
expenses incurred in the execution of their powers and duties in
accordance with Section 103.
(j) The appointing power shall have the power to remove any member
of the board from office for neglect of any duty imposed by state
law, for incompetency, or for unprofessional or dishonorable conduct.
(k) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date. Notwithstanding any other law, the repeal of this section
renders the board subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.
SEC. 10. Section 2602 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2602. The Physical Therapy Board of California, hereafter
referred to as the board, shall enforce and administer this chapter.
This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2018,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the repeal of this
section renders the board subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.
SEC. 11. Section 2607.5 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2607.5. (a) The board may appoint a person exempt from civil
service who shall be designated as an executive officer and who shall
exercise the powers and perform the duties delegated by the board
and vested in him or her by this chapter.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 12. Section 3010.5 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
3010.5. (a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs a
State Board of Optometry in which the enforcement of this chapter is
vested. The board consists of 11 members, five of whom shall be
public members.
Six members of the board shall constitute a quorum.
(b) The board shall, with respect to conducting investigations,
inquiries, and disciplinary actions and proceedings, have the
authority previously vested in the board as created pursuant to
Section 3010. The board may enforce any disciplinary actions
undertaken by that board.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date. Notwithstanding any other law, the repeal of this section
renders the board subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.
SEC. 13. Section 3014.6 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
3014.6. (a) The board may appoint a person exempt from civil
service who shall be designated as an executive officer and who shall
exercise the powers and perform the duties delegated by the board
and vested in him or her by this chapter.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 14. Section 3685 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
3685. Notwithstanding any other law, the repeal of this chapter
renders the committee subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.
SEC. 15. Section 3686 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
3686. This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 16. Section 3710 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
3710. (a) The Respiratory Care Board of California, hereafter
referred to as the board, shall enforce and administer this chapter.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date. Notwithstanding any other law, the repeal of this section
renders the board subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.
SEC. 17. Section 3716 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
3716. The board may employ an executive officer exempt from civil
service and, subject to the provisions of law relating to civil
service, clerical assistants and, except as provided in Section
159.5, other employees as it may deem necessary to carry out its
powers and duties.
This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2018,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 18. Section 3765 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
3765. This act does not prohibit any of the following activities:
(a) The performance of respiratory care that is an integral part
of the program of study by students enrolled in approved respiratory
therapy training programs.
(b) Self-care by the patient or the gratuitous care by a friend or
member of the family who does not represent or hold himself or
herself out to be a respiratory care practitioner licensed under the
provisions of this chapter.
(c) The respiratory care practitioner from performing advances in
the art and techniques of respiratory care learned through formal or
specialized training.
(d) The performance of respiratory care in an emergency situation
by paramedical personnel who have been formally trained in these
modalities and are duly licensed under the provisions of an act
pertaining to their speciality.
(e) Respiratory care services in case of an emergency. "Emergency,"
as used in this subdivision, includes an epidemic or public
disaster.
(f) Persons from engaging in cardiopulmonary research.
(g) Formally trained licensees and staff of child day care
facilities from administering to a child inhaled medication as
defined in Section 1596.798 of the Health and Safety Code.
(h) The performance by a person employed by a home medical device
retail facility or by a home health agency licensed by the State
Department of Public Health of specific, limited, and basic
respiratory care or respiratory care related services that have been
authorized by the board.
(i) The performance of pulmonary function testing by persons who
are currently employed by Los Angeles County hospitals and have
performed pulmonary function testing for at least 15 years.
SEC. 19. Section 4938 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
4938. The board shall issue a license to practice acupuncture to
any person who makes an application and meets the following
requirements:
(a) Is at least 18 years of age.
(b) Furnishes satisfactory evidence of completion of one of the
following:
(1) An educational and training program approved by the board
pursuant to Section 4939.
(2) Satisfactory completion of a tutorial program in the practice
of an acupuncturist which is approved by the board.
(3) In the case of an applicant who has completed education and
training outside the United States and Canada, documented educational
training and clinical experience which meets the standards
established pursuant to Sections 4939 and 4941.
(c) Passes a written examination administered by the board or,
beginning on January 1, 2015, passes an examination or examinations
administered by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture
and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), provided that the office of
Professional Exam Services of the Department of Consumer Affairs
determines that the examination or examinations administered by
NCCAOM comply with Section 139. The examinations shall test the
applicant's ability, competency, and knowledge in the practice of an
acupuncturist. The written examination administered by the board
shall be developed by the Office of Professional Examination
Services.
(d) Is not subject to denial pursuant to Division 1.5 (commencing
with Section 475).
(e) Completes a clinical internship training program approved by
the board. The clinical internship training program shall not exceed
nine months in duration and shall be located
in a clinic in this state, which is approved by the
board pursuant to Section 4939. The length of the clinical internship
shall depend upon the grades received in the examination and the
clinical training already satisfactorily completed by the individual
prior to taking the examination. On and after January 1, 1987,
individuals with 800 or more hours of documented clinical training
shall be deemed to have met this requirement. The purpose of the
clinical internship training program shall be to ensure a minimum
level of clinical competence.
Each applicant who qualifies for a license shall pay, as a
condition precedent to its issuance and in addition to other fees
required, the initial licensure fee.
SEC. 20. Section 4939 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
4939. (a) The board shall establish standards for the approval of
schools and colleges offering education and training in the practice
of an acupuncturist, including standards for the faculty in those
schools and colleges and tutorial programs, completion of which will
satisfy the requirements of Section 4938.
(b) Standards for the approval of training programs shall include
a minimum of 3,000 hours of study in curriculum pertaining to the
practice of an acupuncturist. This subdivision shall apply to all
students entering programs on or after January 1, 2005.
(c) Beginning January 1, 2017, all training programs approved by
the board shall be accredited by the Accrediting Commission for
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
(d) Within three years of initial approval by the board, each
program so approved by the board shall receive full institutional
approval under Article 6 (commencing with Section 94885) of Chapter 8
of Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education Code in the
field of traditional Asian medicine, or in the case of institutions
located outside of this state, approval by the appropriate
governmental educational authority using standards equivalent to
those of Article 6 (commencing with Section 94885) of Chapter 8 of
Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education Code, or the board'
s approval of the program shall automatically lapse.
SEC. 21. SEC. 19. The Legislature
finds and declares that a special law, as set forth in Section 18 of
this act, is necessary and that a general law cannot be made
applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the
California Constitution because of the unique circumstances relating
to persons who are currently employed by Los Angeles County hospitals
and have performed pulmonary function testing for at least 15 years.