BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 179|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 179
Author: Bonilla (D), et al.
Amended: 8/31/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 7-1, 7/6/15
AYES: Hill, Block, Galgiani, Hernandez, Jackson, Mendoza,
Wieckowski
NOES: Bates
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-1, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 60-17, 6/1/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Healing arts
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill extends the operation of the Dental Board of
California (DBC) until January 1, 2020; increases statutory fee
caps relating to dentists and dental assistants; extends the
operation of the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric
Technicians (BVNPT) until January 1, 2018; merges the Vocational
Nursing fund and the Psychiatric Technician funds; suspends the
practical exam requirement for licensure as a registered dental
assistant (RDA) until July 1, 2017, during which time the DBC
must evaluate the exam; removes the requirement that the
executive officer of the BVNPT be a licensed vocational nurse,
registered nurse, or psychiatric technician; and requires the
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appointment of an Administrative and Enforcement Program Monitor
to oversee the BVNPT's disciplinary system.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Provides for the licensure and regulation of vocational
nurses and psychiatric technicians by the BVNPT and extends
the operation of the BVNPT until January 1, 2016. (Business
and Professions Code (BPC) §§ 2840-2895.5)
2) Establishes the Dental Practice Act (Act), administered by
the DBC within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), to
license and regulate the practice of dentistry, and sunsets
the DBC on January 1, 2016. (BPC §§ 1600, et seq.)
This bill:
1) Merges the Vocational Nurse Account and the Psychiatric
Technician Examiners Account of the Vocational Nursing and
Psychiatric Technicians Fund on July 1, 2016, to become the
Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians Fund.
2) Expands the exception to all hearing arts licensees that it
is not unprofessional conduct for a healing arts licensee to
engage in consensual sexual conduct with his or her spouse or
person in an equivalent domestic relationship when that
licensee provides medical treatment, other than
psychotherapeutic treatment, for that person.
3) Extends the DBC's sunset until January 1, 2020.
4) Consolidates references to fees in the general fee
provisions section of the Act and increases fee amounts, as
specified.
5) Requires every applicant and licensee who has an electronic
mail address to report to the DBC that electronic mail
address no later than July 1, 2016. The electronic mail
address shall be considered confidential and not subject to
public disclosure.
6) Requires the DBC to annually send an electronic notice to
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each applicant and licensee that requests confirmation from
the applicant or licensee that his or her electronic mail
address is current.
7) Limits the term of a member of the Dental Assisting Council
to no more than two full terms.
8) Extends the sunset date on the BVNPT until January 1, 2018.
9) Suspends the requirement of a practical exam for licensure
as a RDA and related provisions of law until July 1, 2017.
10)Requires the DBC to, in consultation with the Office of
Professional Examination Services, conduct a review to
determine whether a practical examination is necessary to
demonstrate competency of RDAs, and if so, how this
examination should be developed and administered. The DBC
shall submit its review and determination to the appropriate
policy committees of the Legislature on or before July 1,
2017.
11)Removes the requirement that the executive officer of the
BVNPT be a licensed vocational nurse, a licensed professional
nurse, or a licensed psychiatric technician.
12)Extends the sunset date on provisions related to the BVNPT
executive officer until January 1, 2018.
13)Requires the director of the DCA to appoint an
Administrative and Enforcement Program Monitor (AEPM) for
BVNPT no later than March 1, 2016, and authorizes the
director to retain a person for this position by a personal
services contract.
14)Requires the director to supervise the AEPM and authorizes
him or her terminate or dismiss the AEPM from this position.
If the director terminates the AEPM, he or she must appoint a
replacement AEPM within two months.
15)Requires the AEPM to monitor and evaluate the following:
a) BVNPT's administrative processes, with specific
concentration on the management of staff, assistance of
BVNPT members, and working relationship with the
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Legislature, as specified.
b) The BVNPT's disciplinary system and procedures, with
specific concentration on improving the overall efficiency
and consistency of the enforcement program, as specified.
1) Prohibits the AEPM from exercising authority over the
BVNPT's management or staff; however, the BVNPT and its staff
shall cooperate with the AEPM, and shall provide data,
information, and files as requested by the AEPM to perform
all of his or her duties.
2) Requires the director to assist the AEPM in the performance
of his or her duties, and grants the AEPM the same
investigative authority as the director.
3) Requires the director to specify further duties of the AEPM.
4) Requires the AEPM to submit to the DCA, the BVNPT, and the
Legislature an initial written report of his or her findings
and conclusions no later than July 1, 2016, and subsequent
written reports no later than November 1, 2016, and February
1, 2017, and be available to make oral reports to each entity
if requested to do so. The AEPM may also provide additional
information to either the DCA or the Legislature at his or
her discretion or at the request of either the DCA or the
Legislature. The AEPM shall make his or her reports
available to the public or the media. The AEPM shall make
every effort to provide the BVNPT with an opportunity to
reply to any facts, findings, issues, or conclusions in his
or her reports with which the BVNPT may disagree.
5) Requires the AEPM to issue a final report before January 1,
2018 including the final findings and conclusions on the
topics addressed in the initial report.
6) Requires BVNPT to pay for all of the costs associated with
the employment of the AEPM.
7) Requires DCA's internal audit unit to review the BVNPT's
financial needs, fee structure, budget, and expenditures. The
DCA director shall provide to the Legislature a copy of the
review, no later than October 1, 2016. The director shall
include with this report an overview of the estimated costs
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of meeting staffing and other requirements , as specified,
based on findings of the review.
Background
In 2015, the Senate Business, Professions and Economic
Development Committee and the Assembly Business and Professions
Committee (Committees) conducted joint oversight hearings to
review 12 regulatory entities including DBC and BVNPT. This
bill is intended to implement legislative changes as recommended
by staff of the Committees reflected in a Background Paper and
in discussions stemming from an oversight hearing on these
entities.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
No significant costs are anticipated due to the extension of
the sunset on the DBC (State Dentistry Fund). Current law
imposes a sunset on the existence of the DBC 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 DBC was allowed to sunset, the overall
licensing and regulatory program would still exist in law.
Significant increases in licensing fee revenues to the DBC are
possible under this bill (State Dentistry Fund). This bill
authorizes the DBC, through regulation, to raise a number of
licensing fees currently capped in statute. If the DBC were
to raise the fees to the maximum level authorized in this
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 DBC will depend on the
actual fee levels set through regulation.
No significant costs are anticipated due to the extension of
the sunset on the BVNPT (Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric
Technicians Fund). Current law imposes a sunset on the
existence of the BVNPT 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
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technicians. If the BVNPT was allowed to sunset, the overall
licensing and regulatory program would still exist in law.
No significant fiscal impact on licensing fees is anticipated
due to the merger of the Vocational Nurses Account and the
Psychiatric Technician Examiners Account. The BVNPT operates
the licensing and enforcement programs for vocational nurses
and psychiatric technicians as one administrative program.
Thus the current practice of separating licensing fees into
separate accounts does not reflect the BVNPT's current
business practices. Merging the two accounts is not
anticipated to require licensing fees from one group of
licensees to subsidize another group of licensees.
One-time costs of $140,000 to change the information
technology systems used by the DBC to accommodate the
suspension of the practical examination (State Dentistry
Fund). The cost to modify information technology systems
includes changes to the system currently in use by the DBC and
updates to the BreEZe system, which the DBC will begin using
to process licensing applications and renewals in 2016.
No significant additional costs are anticipated to review the
current practical examination in use by the DBC, as it has
already begun this process.
Annual costs of about $180,000 per year to support the
Executive Officer position at the BVNPT, including salary,
benefits, and overhead costs (Vocational Nursing and
Psychiatric Technicians Fund). Existing law sunsets the
statutory authority for the Executive Officer position on
January 1, 2016. This bill extends the authority to employ
this position until January 1, 2018.
Total costs of about $350,000 over three fiscal years to
employ an AEPM over the enforcement program at the BVNPT
(Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians Fund).
SUPPORT: (Verified8/31/15)
Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians
California Dental Assistants Association
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California Dental Assisting Teachers Association
Dental Board of California
Dental Hygiene Committee of California
Foundation for Allied Dental Education
Pasadena City College
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/31/15)
Numerous individuals
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The Dental Board of California writes in
support, "This important measure would extend the licensing and
regulation functions as well as other provisions relating to the
Board until January 1, 2020, increase the allowable maximum fee
ceilings the Board is authorized to assess, and authorize the
Board to collect electronic mail addresses of applicants and
licensees. These provisions will provide the resources
necessary for the Board to continue its mission of protecting
the public."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:Numerous individuals express concern
that the lack of a practical exam will place patients in harm's
way for lack of competency. "Not having an unbiased third party
to evaluate the testing candidate is not in the interest of
public safety (you and myself included). To allow a candidate
the right to become an RDA without a practical exam will prove
to be harmful to the public and paying consumer."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 60-17, 6/1/15
AYES: Alejo, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Mathis,
McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood,
Atkins
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Brough, Chávez, Beth Gaines,
Grove, Harper, Irwin, Lackey, Maienschein, Mayes, Melendez,
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Olsen, Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Dahle, Gallagher, Waldron
Prepared by:Sarah Huchel / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
8/31/15 19:35:13
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