BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
SB 305 (Price) - Healing arts: boards.
Amended: April 25, 2013 Policy Vote: B&P 10-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 23, 2013 Consultant: Brendan McCarthy
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 305 would extend the sunsets of the
Naturopathic Medicine Committee, the Respiratory Care Board, and
the Board of Optometry. The bill also makes certain changes to
those boards' authorities and responsibilities.
Fiscal Impact:
Naturopathic Medicine Committee - annual costs of $165,000,
offset by fee revenues (Naturopathic Doctor's Fund).
Optometry Board - annual costs of $1.8 million, offset by
fees (State Optometry Fund).
Respiratory Care Board - annual costs of $3.2 million,
offset by fees (Respiratory Care Fund).
Background: Under current law, various boards and bureaus within
the Department of Consumer Affairs license and regulate certain
profession within the state.
Osteopathic doctors are licensed and regulated by the
Osteopathic Medical Board of California. The Osteopathic Medical
Board was created by a citizen's initiative and is not subject
to a statutory sunset. Within the Osteopathic Medical Board, the
Naturopathic Medicine Committee licenses and regulates
naturopathic doctors. The Naturopathic Medicine Committee was
created by the Legislature in statute and has a January 1, 2014
sunset date.
The California State Board of Optometry licenses and regulates
optometrists in the state. The Board is authorized to designate
an executive director. The authorizing statutes for this board
sunset on January 1, 2014.
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The Respiratory Care Board of California licenses and regulates
respiratory care providers in the state. The board is authorized
to designate an executive officer. The authorizing statutes for
this board sunset on January 1, 2014.
Proposed Law: SB 305 would extend the sunset of several
licensing boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs and
make certain statutory changes to those boards'
responsibilities.
Specific provisions of the bill would:
Extend the sunset of the Naturopathic Medicine Board to
January 1, 2018;
Make the Naturopathic Medicine Board subject to review by
the Legislature;
Extend the sunset of the California State Board of
Optometry and the board's authority to designate an
executive officer;
Make the California State Board of Optometry subject to
review by the Legislature;
Extend the sunset of the Respiratory Care Board and the
board's authority to designate an executive officer to
January 1, 2018;
Make the Respiratory Care Board subject to review by the
Legislature;
Exempt certain individuals with at least 15 years of
experience as a respiratory therapist from licensing
requirements;
Make the Osteopathic Medical Board of California subject to
Legislative review;
Provide that any board under the Department of Consumer
Affairs may receive records from state and local agencies
relating to criminal activity of a licensee;
Authorizes local agencies to provide such information, on
request, to a licensing board.
Related Legislation: This bill is one of several bills
introduced this session to extend the sunset on licensing boards
within the Department of Consumer Affairs - including SB 306
(Price), SB 307 (Price), SB 308 (Price), and SB 309 (Price).
Staff Comments: The additional authority provided in the bill
for boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs to receive
information and records from law enforcement agencies is not
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anticipated to increase investigation costs.