BILL NUMBER: AB 684 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 30, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 11, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 30, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Alejo and Bonilla
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
An act to amend Section 3137 of, and to add and repeal
Sections 655.1 and 2556.1 of, Sections 2546.2, 2546.9,
2550.1, 2556, 2567, 3010.5, 3011, and 3013 of, to add Sections
2556.1 and 3020 to, to add and repeal Section 2556.2 of, and to
repeal and add Section 655 of, the Business and Professions
Code, relating to healing arts, and declaring the urgency thereof, to
take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 684, as amended, Alejo. Healing arts: licensees:
disciplinary actions. State Board of Optometry:
optometrists: nonresident contact lens sellers: registered dispensing
opticians.
Existing law prohibits a licensed optometrist and a registered
dispensing optician from having any membership, proprietary interest,
coownership, landlord-tenant relationship, or any profit-sharing
arrangement in any form, directly or indirectly, with each other.
Existing law prohibits a licensed optometrist from having any
membership, proprietary interest, coownership, landlord-tenant
relationship, or any profit-sharing arrangement in any form, directly
or indirectly, either by stock ownership, interlocking directors,
trusteeship, mortgage, trust deed, or otherwise with any person who
is engaged in the manufacture, sale, or distribution to physicians
and surgeons, optometrists, or dispensing opticians of lenses,
frames, optical supplies, optometric appliances or devices or kindred
products. Existing law makes a violation of these provisions by a
licensed optometrist and any other persons, whether or not a healing
arts licensee, who participates with a licensed optometrist
optometrist, subject to a crime.
Under existing law, the Medical Board of California is responsible
for the registration and regulation of nonresident contact lens
sellers and dispensing opticians. Existing law requires
fees collected from nonresident contact lens sellers to be deposited
in the Dispensing Opticians Fund, and to be available, upon
appropriation, to the Medical Board of California. Existing law
requires fees collected from registered dispensing optician to be
paid into the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of
California. Existing law makes a violation of the registered
dispensing optician provisions a crime. Existing law
law, the Optometry Practice Act, makes the State
Board of Optometry responsible for the licensure and regulation
of optometrists. A violation of the Optometry Practice
Act is a crime. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan
Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health
care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes
a willful violation of the act a crime.
This bill would repeal those prohibitions. The bill would prohibit
a licensed optometrist from having any membership, proprietary
interest, coownership, or any profit-sharing arrangement, either by
stock ownership, interlocking directors, trusteeship, mortgage, or
trust deed, with any registered dispensing optician or any person who
is engaged in the manufacture, sale, or distribution to physicians
and surgeons, optometrists, or registered dispensing opticians of
lenses, frames, optical supplies, optometric appliances or devices or
kindred products, except as otherwise authorized. The bill would
authorize a registered dispensing optician to operate, own, or have
an ownership interest in a licensed health care service plan and to
directly or indirectly provide products and services to the health
care service plan or its contracted providers and enrollees, if the
health care service plan meets certain requirements. The bill would
authorize an optometrist, a registered dispensing optician, and a
health care service plan to execute a lease or other written
agreement giving rise to a direct or indirect landlord-tenant
relationship if specified conditions are contained in a written
agreement, as provided. The bill would require a landlord or tenant
to comply with an enforcement entity's request to inspect a lease
agreement. Because the failure to comply with that request would be a
crime under specified acts, the bill would impose a state-mandated
local program. The bill would prohibit a registered dispensing
optician from having any membership, proprietary interest,
coownership, or profit sharing arrangement either by stock ownership,
interlocking directors, trusteeship, mortgage, or trust deed, with
an optometrist, except as authorized. The bill would make a violation
of these provisions a crime. By creating a new crime, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would instead make the State Board of Optometry
responsible for the registration and regulation of nonresident
contact lens sellers and dispensing opticians. The bill would direct
fees collected from registered dispensing opticians and persons
seeking registration as a dispensing optician to be paid into the
Dispensing Opticians Fund, and to be available, upon appropriation,
to the State Board of Optometry.
Existing law makes it unlawful to, among other things, advertise
the furnishing of, or to furnish, the services of a refractionist, an
optometrist, or a physician and surgeon, or to directly or
indirectly employ or maintain on or near the premises used for
optical dispensing, a refractionist, an optometrist, a physician and
surgeon, or a practitioner of any other profession for the purpose of
any examination or treatment of the eyes.
This bill, except as specified, would make it unlawful for a
registered dispensing optician to, among other things, advertise the
furnishing of, or to furnish, the services of an optometrist or a
physician and surgeon or to directly employ an optometrist or
physician and surgeon for the purpose of any examination or treatment
of the eyes. The bill would authorize the State Board of Optometry,
by regulation, to impose and issue administrative fines and citations
for a violation of these provisions, as specified. The bill would
authorize the State Board of Optometry to inspect any premises at
which the business of a registered dispensing optician is co-located
with the practice of an optometrist for the purposes of determining
compliance with the aforementioned written lease agreement
provisions. The bill would also authorize the State Board of
Optometry to take disciplinary action against a party who fails to
comply with the inspection and would require the State Board of
Optometry to provide specified copies of the inspection results.
Because the failure to comply with the inspection would be a crime
under the registered dispensing provisions, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program
This bill, until January 1, 2017, would exempt a licensed
optometrist or an individual, corporation, or firm operating as a
registered dispensing optician licensed or registered before the
effective date of the bill, or an employee of such an entity, from
being subject to any action by the Medical Board of California, the
State Board of Optometry, another state agency, or a district
attorney with enforcement authority for engaging in any of the
aforementioned business relationships. The bill, with respect to an
action subject to the exemption, would toll, for the effective period
of the exemption, specific limitation periods imposed on the filing
of accusations.
Existing law makes it unlawful to, among other things, advertise
the furnishing of, or to furnish, the services of a refractionist, an
optometrist, or a physician and surgeon, or to directly or
indirectly employ or maintain on or near the premises used for
optical dispensing, a refractionist, an optometrist, a physician and
surgeon, or a practitioner of any other profession for the purpose of
any examination or treatment of the eyes.
This bill, until January 1, 2017, 2019,
would prohibit an individual, corporation, or firm operating as
a registered dispensing optician before the effective date of the
bill, or an employee of such an entity, from being subject to any
action for engaging in that aforementioned unlawful
conduct.
Under existing law, the State Board of Optometry consists of 11
members, 6 licensee members and 5 public members.
This bill would require one of the nonpublic members to be a
registered dispensing optician and would require the Governor to make
that appointment. The bill would establish within the State Board of
Optometry a Registered Dispensing Optician Committee to oversee the
registration and enforcement of registered dispensing opticians, as
provided.
This bill would make various conforming changes.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 655 of the Business
and Professions Code is repealed.
655. (a) No person licensed under Chapter 7 (commencing with
Section 3000) of this division may have any membership, proprietary
interest, coownership, landlord-tenant relationship, or any
profit-sharing arrangement in any form, directly or indirectly, with
any person licensed under Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 2550)
of this division.
(b) No person licensed under Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section
2550) of this division may have any membership, proprietary interest,
coownership, landlord-tenant relationship, or any profit sharing
arrangement in any form directly or indirectly with any person
licensed under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 3000) of this
division.
(c) No person licensed under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section
3000) of this division may have any membership, proprietary interest,
coownership, landlord-tenant relationship, or any profit-sharing
arrangement in any form, directly or indirectly, either by stock
ownership, interlocking directors, trusteeship, mortgage, trust deed,
or otherwise with any person who is engaged in the manufacture,
sale, or distribution to physicians and surgeons, optometrists, or
dispensing opticians of lenses, frames, optical supplies, optometric
appliances or devices or kindred products.
Any violation of this section constitutes a misdemeanor as to such
person licensed under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 3000) of
this division and as to any and all persons, whether or not so
licensed under this division, who participate with such licensed
person in a violation of any provision of this section.
SEC. 2. Section 655 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
655. Notwithstanding any other law:
(a) No optometrist licensed under Chapter 7 (commencing with
Section 3000) may have any membership, proprietary interest,
coownership, or any profit-sharing arrangement, either by stock
ownership, interlocking directors, trusteeship, mortgage, or trust
deed, with any registered dispensing optician, as described in
Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 2550), or any person who is
engaged in the manufacture, sale, or distribution to physicians and
surgeons, optometrists, or registered dispensing opticians of lenses,
frames, optical supplies, optometric appliances or devices or
kindred products, except as otherwise permitted under this section.
(b) A registered dispensing optician may operate, own, or have an
ownership interest in a health care service plan licensed pursuant to
Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the
Health and Safety Code and may directly or indirectly provide
products and services to the health care service plan or its
contracted providers and enrollees if the health care service plan
has a current and active license with the Department of Managed
Health Care and is in compliance with all laws and regulations
applicable to the health care service plan. Any complaints received
by the Department of Managed Health Care related to the services
provided by an optometrist or any findings by the Department of
Managed Health Care that reflect substandard care or a potential
violation of the Optometry Practice Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with
Section 3000)) by an optometrist shall be forwarded to the State
Board of Optometry.
(c) An optometrist, a registered dispensing optician, and a health
care service plan may execute a lease or other written agreement
giving rise to a direct or indirect landlord-tenant relationship if
all of the following conditions are contained in a written agreement
establishing the landlord-tenant relationship:
(1) The optometry practice shall be owned by the optometrist and
in every aspect be under the optometrist's exclusive control,
including, but not limited to, the selection and supervision of
optometric staff, the scheduling of patients, the amount of time the
optometrist spends with patients, fees charged for optometric
products and services, the examination procedures and treatment
provided to patients, and the optometrist's contracting with health
care service plans. This paragraph shall not preclude a lease from
including commercially reasonable terms that do any of the following:
(A) Require the provision of optometric services at the premises
during certain days and hours.
(B) Restrict the use of the premises for the sale or offer for
sale of spectacles, frames, lenses, contact lenses, or other
ophthalmic products, except that the optometrist shall be permitted
to sell therapeutic ophthalmic products if the landlord does not
offer any substantially similar therapeutic ophthalmic products for
sale.
(C) Enter the optometrist into an agreement with a health care
service plan or health insurer.
(D) Permit the landlord to directly or indirectly provide
furnishings and equipment in the leased space.
(2) The patient records shall be the sole property of the
optometrist. Only the optometrist and those persons who have been
authorized, in writing, by the optometrist shall have access to the
patient records and the examination room, except as otherwise
provided by law.
(3) The optometrist's leased space shall be definite and distinct
from the space occupied by the other occupants of the premises, have
a sign designating that the leased space is occupied by an
independent optometrist or optometrists, and be accessible to the
optometrist after hours or in the case of an emergency, subject to
the facility's general accessibility. This paragraph shall not
require a separate entrance to the optometrist's leased space.
(4) All signs, advertising, and displays shall be separate and
distinct from that of the other occupants and shall have the
optometrist's name and the word "optometrist" prominently displayed
in connection therewith. This paragraph shall not prohibit
optometrists or registered dispensing opticians, individually or
jointly, from advertising their practice locations in the leased
premises, their participation in any health care service plan's
network, or the health care service plan's products in which they
participate.
(5) There shall be no signs displayed on any part of the premises
or in any advertising indicating that the optometrist is employed or
controlled by the landlord.
(6) Except for a statement that an independent Doctor of Optometry
is located on the premises and in-store pricing signs, as permitted
by this subdivision, the landlord shall not link its advertising with
the optometrist's name, practice, or fees.
(7) The optometrist shall not be precluded from collecting fees
for services that are not included in a health care service plan's
products and services contained in the health care service plan's
provider agreement with the optometrist, subject to any disclosure
requirements to the patients and enrollees.
(8) The term of the lease shall be no less than one year and shall
not require the optometrist to contract exclusively with a health
care service plan. The optometrist may terminate the lease according
to the terms of the lease. The landlord may terminate the lease for
any of the following reasons:
(A) The imposition of restrictions, suspension, or revocation of
the optometrist's license or if the optometrist is or becomes
ineligible to participate in state or federal government-funded
programs.
(B) The termination of any underlying lease where the optometrist
has subleased space, or the optometrist's failure to comply with the
underlying lease provisions that are made applicable to the
optometrist.
(C) Other reasons pursuant to the terms of the lease or permitted
under the Civil Code, unrelated to the practice of optometry or the
sale of optical goods, except as otherwise provide by this section.
(9) The landlord shall act in good faith in terminating the lease,
and in no case shall the landlord terminate the lease for reasons
that constitute interference with the practice of optometry.
(10) The lease or lease terms and payments shall not be based on
the number of eye exams performed, prescriptions written, patient
referrals, or the sale or promotion of the products of a registered
dispensing optician or an optical company.
(11) The landlord shall not terminate the lease solely because of
a report, complaint, or allegation filed by the optometrist against
the landlord, a registered dispensing optician, or a health care
service plan to the State Board of Optometry, the Medical Board of
California, the Department of Managed Health Care, or any law
enforcement or regulatory agency.
(12) The landlord shall not interfere with an outgoing optometrist'
s efforts to inform the optometrist's patients, in accordance with
customary practice and professional obligations, of the relocation of
the optometrist's practice.
(13) The State Board of Optometry, the Medical Board of
California, or the Department of Managed Health Care may inspect,
upon request, an individual lease agreement pursuant to its
investigation authority, and if such a request is made, the landlord
or tenant, as applicable, shall promptly comply with the request.
Failure or refusal to comply with the request for a lease agreement
within 30 days of receiving the request shall constitute
unprofessional conduct, grounds for disciplinary action by the
appropriate regulatory agency and a violation of the Optometry
Practice Act and the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975,
as applicable. Only personal information as defined in Section
1798.3 of the Civil Code may be redacted prior to dispatch of the
lease or agreement.
(d) No registered dispensing optician may have any membership,
proprietary interest, coownership, or profit-sharing arrangement
either by stock ownership, interlocking directors, trusteeship,
mortgage, or trust deed, with an optometrist, except as permitted
under this section.
(e) Any violation of this section constitutes a misdemeanor as to
such person licensed as an optometrist under Chapter 7 (commencing
with Section 3000) and as to any and all persons, whether or not so
licensed under this division, who participate with an optometrist in
a violation of any provision of this section.
SEC. 3. Section 2546.2 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
2546.2. (a) All references in this chapter
to the division shall mean the Medical Board of California.
State Board of Optometry.
(b) Unless contrary to the provisions of this chapter, regulations
adopted by the Medical Board of California shall continue to apply
to nonresident contact lens sellers until other regulations are
adopted by the State Board of Optometry. All references in those
regulations to "board" shall mean the State Board of Optometry, which
shall solely enforce the regulations with respect to nonresident
contact lens sellers.
SEC. 4. Section 2546.9 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
2546.9. The amount of fees prescribed in connection with the
registration of nonresident contact lens sellers is that established
by the following schedule:
(a) The initial registration fee shall be one hundred dollars
($100).
(b) The renewal fee shall be one hundred dollars ($100).
(c) The delinquency fee shall be twenty-five dollars ($25).
(d) The fee for replacement of a lost, stolen, or destroyed
registration shall be twenty-five dollars ($25).
(e) The fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited
in the Dispensing Opticians Fund, and shall be available, upon
appropriation, to the Medical Board of California
State Board of Optometry for the purposes of this chapter.
SEC. 5. Section 2550.1 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
2550.1. (a) All references in this chapter
to the board or the Board of Medical Examiners or division shall mean
the Medical Board of California State Board
of Optometry .
(b) Unless contrary to the provisions of this chapter, regulations
adopted by the Medical Board of California shall continue to apply
to registered dispensing opticians until other regulations are
adopted by the State Board of Optometry. All references in those
regulations to "board" shall mean the State Board of Optometry, which
shall solely enforce the regulations with respect to registered
dispensing opticians.
SEC. 6. Section 2556 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
2556. It (a) Except
as authorized by Section 655, it is unlawful for a
registered dispensing optician to do any of the following: to
advertise the furnishing of, or to furnish, the services of
a refractionist, an optometrist,
optometrist or a physician and surgeon;
surgeon, to directly or indirectly employ
or maintain on or near the premises used for optical
dispensing, a refractionist, an optometrist, a physician and surgeon,
or a practitioner of any other profession an
optometrist or physician and surgeon for the purpose of any
examination or treatment of the eyes; eyes,
or to duplicate or change lenses without a prescription or
order from a person duly licensed to issue the same. For the
purposes of this section, "furnish" does not mean to enter into a
landlord-tenant relationship of any kin d.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 125.9, the board may, by regulation,
impose and issue administrative fines and citations for a violation
of this section or Section 655, which may be assessed in addition to
any other applicable fines, citations, or administrative or criminal
actions.
SEC. 7. Section 2556.1 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
2556.1. The board shall have the authority to inspect any
premises at which the business of a registered dispensing optician is
co-located with the practice of an optometrist for the purposes of
determining compliance with Section 655. The inspection may include
the review of any written lease agreement between the registered
dispensing optician and the optometrist. Failure to comply with the
inspection or any request for information by the board may subject
the party to disciplinary action. The board shall provide a copy of
its inspection results, if applicable, to the optician, optometrist,
and the Department of Managed Health Care.
SEC. 8. Section 2556.2 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
2556.2. (a) Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided
in Section 655, any individual, corporation, or firm operating as a
registered dispensing optician under this chapter before the
effective date of this section, or an employee of such an entity,
shall not be subject to any action for engaging in conduct prohibited
by Section 2556 as it read prior to the effective date of the act
adding this section, except that a registrant shall be subject to
discipline for duplicating or changing lenses without a prescription
or order from a person duly licensed to issue the same.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to imply or suggest
that a person registered under this chapter is in violation of or in
compliance with the law.
(c) This section shall not apply to any business relationships
prohibited by Section 2556 registered and operating on or after the
effective date of this section.
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit an individual,
corporation, or firm operating as a registered dispensing optician
from engaging in a business relationship with an optometrist licensed
pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 3000) before the
effective date of this section at locations registered with the
Medical Board of California before the effective date of this
section.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 9. Section 2567 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
2567. (a) The provisions of Article 19 (commencing with Section
2420) and Article 20 (commencing with Section 2435) of Chapter 5
which are not inconsistent or in conflict with this chapter apply to
the issuance and govern the expiration and renewal of certificates
issued under this chapter. All fees collected from persons registered
or seeking registration under this chapter shall be paid into the
Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California.
Dispensing Opticians Fund, and shall be available,
upon appropriation, to the State Board of Optometry for the purposes
of this chapter.
(b) The board may employ, subject to civil service regulations,
whatever additional clerical assistance is necessary for the
administration of this chapter.
SEC. 10. Section 3010.5 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
3010.5. (a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs a
State Board of Optometry in which the enforcement of this chapter is
vested. The board consists of 11 members, five of whom shall be
public members and one of whom shall be a registered dispensing
optician. The registered dispensing optician shall be registered
pursuant to Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 2550) and in good
standing with the board .
Six members of the board shall constitute a quorum.
(b) The board shall, with respect to conducting investigations,
inquiries, and disciplinary actions and proceedings, have the
authority previously vested in the board as created pursuant to
former Section 3010. The board may enforce any disciplinary actions
undertaken by that board.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date. Notwithstanding any other law, the repeal of this section
renders the board subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.
SEC. 11. Section 3011 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
3011. Members of the board, except the public members and
the registered dispensing optician member , shall be appointed
only from persons who are registered optometrists of the State of
California and actually engaged in the practice of optometry at the
time of appointment or who are members of the faculty of a school of
optometry. The public members shall not be a licentiate of the board
or of any other board under this division or of any board referred to
in Sections 1000 and 3600.
No person except the registered dispensing optician member
, including the public members, shall be eligible to membership
in the board who is a stockholder in or owner of or a member of the
board of trustees of any school of optometry or who shall be
financially interested, directly or indirectly, in any concern
manufacturing or dealing in optical supplies at wholesale.
No person, including the public members,
person shall serve as a member of the board for more than two
consecutive terms.
A member of the faculty of a school of optometry may be appointed
to the board; however, no more than two faculty members of schools of
optometry may be on the board at any one time. Faculty members of
the board shall not serve as public members.
SEC. 12. Section 3013 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
3013. (a) Each member of the board shall hold office for a term
of four years, and shall serve until the appointment and
qualification of his or her successor or until one year shall have
elapsed since the expiration of the term for which he or she was
appointed, whichever first occurs.
(b) Vacancies occurring shall be filled by appointment for the
unexpired term.
(c) The Governor shall appoint three of the public
members and the six members, five members
qualified as provided in Section 3011 , and the registered
dispensing optician member as provided in Section 3010.5 . The
Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each
appoint a public member.
(d) No board member serving between January 1, 2000, and June 1,
2002, inclusive, shall be eligible for reappointment.
(e) For initial appointments made on or after January 1, 2003, one
of the public members appointed by the Governor and two of the
professional members shall serve terms of one year. One of the public
members appointed by the Governor and two of the professional
members shall serve terms of three years. The remaining public member
appointed by the Governor and the remaining two professional members
shall serve terms of four years. The public members appointed by the
Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each
serve for a term of four years.
SEC. 13. Section 3020 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
3020. (a) There shall be established within the
State Board of Optometry a Registered Dispensing Optician Committee
to oversee the registration and enforcement of registered dispensing
opticians as described in Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 2550).
(b) The committee shall be responsible for all of the following:
(1) Oversight of and setting criteria for all applications for
dispensing opticians.
(2) Investigating all enforcement matters relating to a dispensing
optician.
(3) Investigating any complaint against a dispensing optician
provided to the committee by the board.
(4) Determining and enforcing penalties, including fines,
suspensions, and revocations.
(5) Carrying out and implementing all responsibilities and duties
imposed upon it pursuant to this chapter.
(c) The committee shall meet as needed.
SEC. 14. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
SEC. 15. This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to, as soon as possible, protect various businesses,
registered dispensing opticians, and optometrists who engage in a
business relationship that is prohibited by Section 655 of the
Business and Professions Code, as amended by Chapter 975 of the
Statutes of 1979, or Section 2556 of the Business and Professions
Code, as amended by Chapter 653 of the Statutes of 1979, of the
Business and Professions Code from discipline by the Medical Board of
California, the State Board of Optometry, or any other state agency
with enforcement authority while those entities transition to a model
that will allow California businesses to provide health services to
patients and also protect the interests of healing arts
practitioners, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
SECTION 1. Section 655.1 is added to the
Business and Professions Code, to read:
655.1. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, no individual,
corporation, or firm operating as a registered dispensing optician
pursuant to Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 2550) before the
effective date of this section, or an employee of such an entity, or
an optometrist licensed pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with
Section 3000) before the effective date of this section, shall be
subject to any action by the Medical Board of California, the State
Board of Optometry, another state agency, or a district attorney,
with enforcement
authority for engaging in any business relationship prohibited by
Section 655.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to imply or suggest
that a registered dispensing optician or optometrist engaging in any
business relationship is in violation of or in compliance with the
law.
(c) This section shall not apply to any business relationships
prohibited by Section 655 registered and operating on or after the
effective date of this section.
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit an individual,
corporation, or firm operating as a registered dispensing optician
from engaging in a business relationship with an optometrist licensed
pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 3000) before the
effective date of this section at locations registered with the
Medical Board of California before the effective date of this
section.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 2. Section 2556.1 is added to the Business
and Professions Code, to read:
2556.1. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, any individual,
corporation, or firm operating as a registered dispensing optician
under this chapter before the effective date of this section, or an
employee of such an entity, shall not be subject to any action for
engaging in conduct prohibited by Section 2556, except that a
registrant shall be subject to discipline for duplicating or changing
lenses without a prescription or order from a person duly licensed
to issue the same.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to imply or suggest
that a person registered under this chapter is in violation of or in
compliance with the law.
(c) This section shall not apply to any business relationships
prohibited by Section 2556 registered and operating on or after the
effective date of this section.
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit an individual,
corporation, or firm operating as a registered dispensing optician
from engaging in a business relationship with an optometrist licensed
pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 3000) before the
effective date of this section at locations registered with the
Medical Board of California before the effective date of this
section.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 3. Section 3137 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
3137. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any
accusation filed against a licensee pursuant to Section 11503 of the
Government Code for the violation of any provision of this chapter
shall be filed within three years after the board discovers the act
or omission alleged as the ground for disciplinary action, or within
seven years after the act or omission alleged as the ground for
disciplinary action occurs, whichever occurs first.
(b) An accusation filed against a licensee pursuant to Section
11503 of the Government Code alleging fraud or willful
misrepresentation is not subject to the limitation in subdivision
(a).
(c) An accusation filed against a licensee pursuant to Section
11503 of the Government Code alleging unprofessional conduct based on
incompetence, gross negligence, or repeated negligent acts of the
licensee is not subject to the limitation in subdivision (a) upon
proof that the licensee intentionally concealed from discovery his or
her incompetence, gross negligence, or repeated negligent acts.
(d) If an alleged act or omission involves any conduct described
in Section 726 committed on a minor, the 10-year limitations period
in subdivision (e) shall be tolled until the minor reaches the age of
majority.
(e) An accusation filed against a licensee pursuant to Section
11503 of the Government Code alleging conduct described in Section
726 shall be filed within three years after the board discovers the
act or omission alleged as the ground for disciplinary action, or
within 10 years after the act or omission alleged as the ground for
disciplinary action occurs, whichever occurs first. This subdivision
shall apply to a complaint alleging conduct received by the board on
and after January 1, 2006.
(f) In any allegation, accusation, or proceeding described in this
section, the limitations period in subdivision (a) shall be tolled
for the period during which material evidence necessary for
prosecuting or determining whether a disciplinary action would be
appropriate is unavailable to the board due to an ongoing criminal
investigation.
(g) In any allegation, accusation, or proceeding described in this
section regarding a violation of Section 655 and subject to Section
655.1, the limitations period in subdivision (a) shall be tolled
during the effective period of Section 655.1.
SEC. 4. This act is an urgency statute
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health,
or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and
shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity
are:
In order to protect various businesses, opticians, and
optometrists who engage in a business relationship that is prohibited
by Section 655 or 2556 of the Business and Professions Code from
discipline by the Medical Board of California, the State Board of
Optometry, or other state agency with enforcement authority while the
Legislature, with the assistance of appropriate regulatory agencies,
develops a model that will allow California businesses to provide
services to patients and also protect the interests of practitioners,
it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.