Amended in Assembly August 15, 2013

Amended in Assembly August 6, 2013

Amended in Assembly June 27, 2013

Amended in Senate May 24, 2013

Amended in Senate April 16, 2013

Senate Bill No. 570

Introduced by Senator DeSaulnier

February 22, 2013

An act to add Division 10.11 (commencing with Section 11999.40) to the Health and Safety Code, relating to alcohol and other drug counselors.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 570, as amended, DeSaulnier. Alcohol and other drug counselors.

Existing law provides for the registration, certification, and licensure of various healing arts professionals. Existing law provides for various programs to eliminate alcohol and drug abuse, and states the finding of the Legislature that state government has an affirmative role in alleviating problems related to the inappropriate use of alcoholic beverages and other drug use.

This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services, commencing January 1, 2015, to require each person who applies to an approved certifying organization to become registered or certified as an alcohol or other drug counselor (AOD counselor) or any AOD counselor who is registered or certified as of January 1, 2015, to begin delete submit to a criminal background check end delete begin insert obtain a criminal background clearance end insert , as specified. The bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information for the purpose of obtaining information as to the existence of past criminal conduct, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Justice to obtain specified information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation with respect to an applicant’s or AOD counselor’s past criminal conduct, and to provide this information to the State Department of Health Care Services. The bill would require the Department of Justice to charge a reasonable fee begin insert to an individual obtaining a criminal background check, end insert sufficient to cover the cost of processing the criminal background check request begin insert , and would authorize the State Department of Health Care Services to establish a reasonable application fee to be charged to the certifying organization for each applicant or AOD counselor requesting a background check end insert . The bill would begin delete authorize end delete begin insert require end insert the State Department of Health Care Services begin insert , by September 1, 2014, end insert to begin delete establish end delete begin insert adopt end insert regulations to implement the provisions described in the bill, begin delete including establishing an application fee to be charged to the certifying organization for each applicant or AOD counselor requesting a background check end delete begin insert as specified end insert . The bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to establish the Director’s Advisory Panel, and begin insert would require each prospective panel member to obtain a criminal background clearance, as specified. The bill end insert would authorize the panel to advise the department on the development of criteria for baseline decisions regarding AOD counselors, as these decisions relate to criminal background checks, begin delete to review the results of criminal background results, end delete and to make recommendations to the department regarding the criteria for disciplinary guidelines. The bill would require the department and approved certifying organizations to share specified information.

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.  

Division 10.11 (commencing with Section
11999.40) is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

 

Division 10.11.  Alcohol and Other Drug
Counselors

 

11999.40.  

For purposes of this division, the following
definitions apply:

(a) “AOD counselor” means a person registered or certified as
an alcohol or other drug counselor by an approved certifying
organization.

(b) “Approved certifying organization” means an organization
that the department has approved to register begin delete and end delete begin insert or end insert certify AOD
counselors.

(c) “Department” means the State Department of Health Care
Services.

(d) “Director” means the Director of Health Care Services.

(e) “Panel” means the Director’s Advisory Panel established
pursuant to Section 11999.43.

11999.41.  

(a) Commencing January 1, 2015, the department
shall require approved certifying organizations to require each
person who applies to become registered or certified as an AOD
counselor begin delete or end delete begin insert and end insert any AOD counselor who is registered or certified
as an AOD counselor as of January 1, 2015, to submit begin delete to a criminal
background check via LiveScan, identifying the department as the
recipient end delete begin insert fingerprint images via Live Scan for purposes of obtaining
a criminal background clearance under this section end insert .

(b) For persons described in subdivision (a), begin insert and for prospective
members of the Director’s Advisory Panel established in Section
11999.43, end insert the department shall electronically submit to the
Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information
required by the Department of Justice for the purpose of obtaining
both of the following:

(1) The existence and content of a record of state or federal
convictions and state or federal arrests.

(2) Information as to the existence and content of a record of
state or federal arrests for which the Department of Justice
establishes that the person is free on bail or on his or her
recognizance pending trial or appeal.

(c) The Department of Justice shall forward to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation requests for federal summary criminal
history information received pursuant to this section. The
Department of Justice shall review the information returned from
the Federal Bureau of Investigation and compile and disseminate
a response to the department.

(d) The Department of Justice shall provide a state or federal
response to the department pursuant to subdivision (p) of Section
11105 of the Penal Code.

(e) The department shall request from the Department of Justice
subsequent notification service, as provided pursuant to Section
11105.2 of the Penal Code, for persons described in subdivision
(a) begin insert and members of the Director end insert begin insert ’s Advisory Panel end insert .

(f) The Department of Justice shall charge begin insert the subject of the
criminal background check end insert a reasonable fee sufficient to cover
the cost begin insert to the Department of Justice end insert of processing the begin delete request end delete
begin insert requests end insert described in this section.

begin insert

(g) (1) For persons described in subdivision (a), the department
shall review all criminal background information received from
the Department of Justice and determine, based on the regulations
developed pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 11999.42, whether
to deny an application or revoke a registration or certification
based on the criminal background information. The department
shall notify the individual’s certifying organization of the
department’s determination.

end insert begin insert

(2) The department may deny or revoke a registration or
certification pursuant to this subdivision only if the conviction of
a crime is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or
duties of a registered or certified AOD counselor.

end insert begin insert

(h) An applicant or AOD counselor whose application is denied
or whose registration or certification is revoked pursuant to
subdivision (g) shall have the right to appeal the denial or
revocation in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section
11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

end insert begin insert

(i) The department may establish a reasonable application fee
to be charged to the certifying organization for each applicant or
AOD counselor requesting a background check pursuant to this
section, not to exceed the reasonable costs to the department of
implementing this division.

end insert

begin delete

11999.42.  

The department may establish by regulation both of
the following:

(a) Criteria

end delete

begin insert

begin insert 11999.42. end insert   

end insert

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert By September 1, 2014, the department shall
adopt regulations end insert to implement this division, which may include,
but begin delete is end delete begin insert are end insert not limited to, standards, exemptions, and terms of
rehabilitation for eligibility to become or to continue to be
registered or certified as an AOD counselor, including rebuttable
presumptions with respect to the acceptance or rejection of an
applicant or an AOD counselor with a prior criminal conviction.

begin delete

(b) A reasonable application fee to be charged to the certifying
organization for each applicant or AOD counselor requesting a
background check, not to exceed the reasonable cost of
implementing this division.

end delete begin insert

(b) In adopting regulations pursuant to this section, the
department shall convene and consult a stakeholder’s group and
consult the Director’s Advisory Panel established under Section
11999.43.

end insert begin insert

(c) The regulations described in subdivision (a) may be adopted
as emergency regulations. The adoption of these regulations is
deemed to address an emergency and to be necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or
general welfare. Emergency regulations authorized by this
subdivision shall be exempt from review by the Office of
Administrative Law. However, the department shall transmit those
regulations to the Office of Administrative Law for filing with the
Secretary of State and publication in the California Code of
Regulations. Notwithstanding any other law, for purposes of
subdivision (e) of Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, the
180-day period, as applicable to the effective period of an
emergency regulatory action and submission of specified materials
to the Office of Administrative Law, is hereby extended to one
year, by which time the department shall have adopted permanent
regulations.

end insert

11999.43.  

The department shall establish the Director’s
Advisory Panel.

(a) The director shall select the members of the panel in
accordance with the following:

(1) Each panel member shall be a certified AOD counselor and
have at least five years of experience in alcohol and drug treatment
services.

(2)  begin insert (A) end insert begin insert   end insert Each begin insert prospective end insert panel member shall submit begin delete to a
criminal background end delete begin delete check via LiveScan for review by the director
prior to being selected for the panel end delete begin insert fingerprint images via Live
Scan for criminal background clearance under Section 11999.41.
If a prospective panel member has already submitted to a criminal
background end insert begin insert clearance in his or her capacity as a certified AOD
counselor pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 11999.41, that
criminal background clearance meets the requirement prescribed
by this subparagraph end insert .

begin insert

(B) Prior to selecting each member of the panel, the director
shall review the prospective member’s criminal background
information.

end insert

(b) The panel may do begin delete all end delete begin insert both end insert of the following:

(1) Consistent with any applicable regulations established
pursuant to Section 11999.42, advise the department on the
development of criteria for baseline decisions regarding AOD
counselors, as these decisions relate to criminal background checks.
These criteria may include, but are not limited to, begin delete the circumstances
that would warrant the automatic rejection of an applicant or AOD
counselor and end delete the circumstances that would allow for registration
or certification of an applicant or AOD counselor, notwithstanding
an applicant’s or AOD counselor’s prior criminal conviction.

begin delete

(2) Based on the criteria developed pursuant to paragraph (1),
at the department’s request, review an applicant’s or AOD
counselor’s LiveScan results and provide a recommendation to
the director regarding an applicant’s or AOD counselor’s
qualifications to receive a registration or certification.

(3)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  Make recommendations to the department regarding criteria
for disciplinary guidelines.

11999.44.  

An approved certifying organization shall do all of
the following:

(a) Report complaints made against an AOD counselor to the
department, and assist in documenting these complaints.

(b) Comply with the department’s decisions regarding
disciplinary actions, including initial denial of a registration or
certification.

(c) Report any known criminal convictions of an AOD counselor
to the department.

11999.45.  

The department shall report any complaints made
to the department against an AOD counselor to the approved
certifying organization that conferred the individual’s registration
or certification and assist that organization in documenting the
complaint.