BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 333
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
333 (Melendez)
As Amended June 24, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | 74-0 | (May 22, |SENATE: |40-0 | (August 31, |
| | |2015) | | |2015) |
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Original Committee Reference: B. & P.
SUMMARY: Clarifies that a healing arts licensee may earn one
unit of continuing education (CE) credit for attending a course
in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or the proper use of an
automated external defibrillator (AED) and up to two units of CE
credit for conducting CPR or AED training sessions, if the
licensing board includes the courses in its CE requirements.
The Senate amendments provide that the licensee may apply CE
units if the licensee's licensing board includes the courses in
the CE requirements, rather than when the courses and activities
are not excluded.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
AB 333
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COMMENTS:
Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the author. According to
the author, "As cardiac emergencies become more common on school
campuses, it is not only imperative that our schools have
lifesaving resources available to faculty and administration,
but the ability to provide the faculty and administration with
hands-on training with those resources. By incentivizing
licensed medical professionals to provide this training in turn
for continual education credit, we are providing a no-cost
solution that will allow school officials to become familiar
with the technology. This will ultimately lead to less
hesitation in emergency environments and increases in the
success rate of cardiac emergency care."
Background. All 20 healing arts boards under the Department of
Consumer Affairs develop their own CE curriculum for licensees
and approve the providers that offer the CE courses. However,
they are limited to CE that is relevant to the profession.
Current law specifies that the purpose of CE is "to create a
more competent licensing population, thereby enhancing public
protection" (Business and Professions Code (BPC) Section 166).
Further, the boards often have limiting language within their
practice acts. For instance, the Dental Board is permitted to
establish its own CE curriculum within the general areas of
patient care, health and safety, and law and ethics (BPC Section
1645). The Medical Board's standards are aimed at maintaining,
developing, or increasing the knowledge, skills, and
professional performance that licensees use to provide care (BPC
Section 2190.1).
Using the criteria set out in statute, the boards then determine
relevant CE courses and approve the providers that teach the
courses. This bill would clarify that licensees of healing arts
boards to use CPR and AED instructor certification courses and
teaching sessions may earn credit towards the CE requirements
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when included in the licensee's board CE laws and regulations.
Analysis Prepared by:
Vincent Chee / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301 FN:
0001200