BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 179 (Bonilla) - Healing arts
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|Version: June 30, 2015 |Policy Vote: B., P. & E.D. 7 - |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Brendan McCarthy |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 179 would extend the statutory sunset on the Dental
Board of California until January 1, 2020 and increase the
statutory caps on fees assessed by the Dental Board. The bill
would extend the statutory sunset of the Board of Vocational
Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians until January 1, 2018 and
merge the Vocational Nurses Account and the Psychiatric
Technician Examiners Account.
Fiscal
Impact:
No significant costs are anticipated due to the extension of
the sunset on the Dental Board of California (State Dentistry
Fund). Current law imposes a sunset on the existence of the
Dental Board as an appointed board. However, there is no
sunset on the larger body of law requiring licensure and
oversight of the practice of dentistry. If the Dental Board
was allowed to sunset, the overall licensing and regulatory
program would still exist in law.
AB 179 (Bonilla) Page 1 of
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Significant increases in licensing fee revenues to the Dental
Board are possible under the bill (State Dentistry Fund). The
bill authorizes the Dental Board, through regulation, to raise
a number of licensing fees currently capped in statute. If the
Board were to raise the fees to the maximum level authorized
in the bill, additional annual revenues would be about $2.8
million per year for dentist licensing fees and $2.7 million
per year for other regulatory fees (State Dentistry Fund). The
actual amount of fee revenue collected by the Board will
depend on the actual fee levels set through regulation.
No significant costs are anticipated due to the extension of
the sunset on the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric
Technicians (Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians
Fund). Current law imposes a sunset on the existence of the
Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians as an
appointed board. However, there is no sunset on the larger
body of law requiring licensure and oversight of the practice
of vocational nurses or psychiatric technicians. If the Board
of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians was allowed
to sunset, the overall licensing and regulatory program would
still exist in law.
Uncertain impact on licensing fee revenues paid by vocational
nurses and psychiatric technicians due to the merger of the
Vocational Nurses Account and the Psychiatric Technician
Examiners Account. The licensing fees assessed on vocational
nurses and psychiatric technicians are currently set at their
statutory caps. The Vocational Nurses Account is projected to
maintain solvent through 2020-21. However, the Psychiatric
Technician Examiners Account has a structural deficit and is
projected to be insolvent by 2017-18. Rather than propose a
statutory change to allow the Board to raise the licensing
fees assessed on psychiatric technicians, this bill would
merge the two accounts, effectively using the licensing fees
paid by vocational nurses to pay for the program costs
associated with licensing and regulating psychiatric
technicians.
Background: Under current law, the Dental Board licenses and regulates the
practice of dentistry in the state. Current law sets statutory
maximums for the various licensing fees assessed by the Dental
AB 179 (Bonilla) Page 2 of
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Board. Current law sunsets the existence of the Dental Board on
January 1, 2016. There is no statutory sunset on the Dental
Practice Act, itself.
Under current law the Board of Vocational Nursing and
Psychiatric Technicians licenses and regulates the professional
practice of vocational nurses and psychiatric technicians.
Current law sets statutory maximums for the various licensing
fees assessed by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric
Technicians. Current law sunsets the existence of the Board of
Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians on January 1,
2016. There is no statutory sunset on the larger bodies of law
requiring licensure of vocational nurses or psychiatric
technicians or regulating their respective practices. Current
law provides for a separate Vocational Nurses Account and a
Psychiatric Technician Examiners Account, both within the
Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians Fund.
Historically, these accounts have been separately budgeted and
displayed in budget documents.
Proposed Law:
AB 179 would extend the statutory sunset on the Dental Board
of California until January 1, 2020 and increase the statutory
caps on fees assessed by the Dental Board. The bill would also
make minor changes to related laws.
The bill would extend the statutory sunset of the Board of
Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians until January 1,
2018 and merge the Vocational Nurses Account and the Psychiatric
Technician Examiners Account.
Related
Legislation: This bill is one of several sunset review bills
relating to licensing boards and bureaus within the Department
of Consumer Affairs.
Staff
Comments: As noted above, the proposal to merge the Vocational
Nurses Account and the Psychiatric Technician Examiners Account
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is intended to restore solvency to the Psychiatric Technician
Examiners Account, using fee revenues in the Vocational Nurses
Account. It appears that this proposal would result in licensing
fees paid by vocational nurses being used to subsidize the
licensure and regulation of psychiatric technicians.
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