BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1246 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 6, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair SB 1246 (Lieu) - As Amended: June 15, 2014 Policy Committee: Business and Professions Vote: 11-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill modifies statutes related to the California Acupuncture Board (CAB). Specifically, this bill: 1)Extends the sunset date of the CAB and the authorization to appoint an executive officer to January 1, 2017. 2)Revises acupuncture educational program approval requirements, repealing CAB's authority to approve schools and replacing this process with standards that include national accreditation, as well as repealing fees schools currently must pay to CAB for approval. 3)Specifies that any executive officer (EO) appointed on or after January 1, 2015 shall not have served as an executive officer for the CAB prior to January 1, 2015. 4)Requires the CAB to establish standards for the acceptance of educational training and clinical experience received outside of the United States and Canada beginning on January 1, 2017. FISCAL EFFECT 1)Ongoing costs of about $3.3 million per year to support the California Acupuncture Board's licensing activities, supported by licensing fees (all costs/revenues are Acupuncture Fund). 2)Minor reduction in costs and revenues after January 1, 2017 due to the elimination of the Board's authority to approve educational programs. SB 1246 Page 2 3)Staff costs to promulgate regulations, potentially in the range of $100,000, to address internationally trained applicants. 4)By changing the process for accrediting schools by the Board, it is possible that an increased number of individuals would meet the state's licensing requirement to have graduated from an accredited school. This could increase the number of applicants for licensure. This could result in a potential increase in licensing costs in the range of $100,000 or more due to increased applications (Acupuncture Fund), and a commensurate one-time revenue spike due to increased fee revenues from exam fees as well as higher revenues ongoing. COMMENTS 1)Purpose . This bill extends the sunset date of the CAB and makes other in order to address issues identified during the CAB's 2014 sunset review. This bill is author-sponsored. 2)The 2014 sunset review background paper for the CAB identified multiple issues relating to the administration and oversight of the CAB and its ability to properly regulate and license acupuncturists. These issues include: a lack of communication to its licensees through CAB's Web site and listserv, application backlogs, failure to query a National Practitioner Databank to check the history of licensees, failure to complete an audit of a national licensing examination, and concerns with the CAB's school approval process. 3)Main Provisions . The most significant change this bill makes in CAB's authority relates to its approval of schools. Instead of requiring CAB approval of schools, this bill retains CAB's approval of curriculum but requires schools be accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM). In order for a school or training program to be approved, it would need CAB approval of its curriculum and accreditation by the ACAOM, as well as approval by the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education. This bill provides a two-year implementation delay in order to provide schools, CAB and ACAOM time to review standards and implement the joint process. All other states require ACAOM accreditation in lieu of state-specific approval processes. SB 1246 Page 3 This bill also extends the CAB's authority for an additional two years, rather than four, as is typical. The sunset time frame has been shortened due to concerns about whether CAB is addressing numerous issues raised by the Legislature. According to the 2014 Sunset Review background paper, the CAB's report to the Joint Sunset Review Committee indicates little progress in addressing issues identified in the 2012 Sunset Review background paper. 4)Support and Opposition . Several schools, students, practitioners and organizations are in support. A number of organizations oppose the bill due to concerns about changing the current CAB school approval process. Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081