BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 333 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 333 (Melendez) As Amended June 24, 2015 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: | 74-0 | (May 22, |SENATE: |40-0 | (August 31, | | | |2015) | | |2015) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Page 2 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 AB 333 Page 3 when included in the licensee's board CE laws and regulations. Analysis Prepared by: Vincent Chee / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301 FN: 0001200