BILL NUMBER: AB 684 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
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 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.
An act to amend Sections 2546.2, 2546.9, 2550.1, 2554,
2556, 2567, 3010.5, 3011, 3013 of, to add Sections 2556.1, 2556.2,
3020, 3021, 3023.1 to, and to repeal and add Section 655 of, the
Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 684, as amended, Alejo. 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, 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, 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 optical company, as
defined , except as otherwise authorized. The bill would
authorize a registered dispensing optician or optical company
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. health plan, defined as a
licensed health care service plan, if the health plan does not
directly employ optometrists to provide optometric services directly
to enrollees of the health plan, and would also provide for the
direct or indirect provision of products and services to the health
plan or its contracted providers or enrollees or to other
optometrists, as specified. The bill would authorize an
optometrist, a registered dispensing optician, and
an optical company, or a health care service
plan to execute a lease or other written agreement giving
rise to a direct or indirect landlord-tenant relationship with
an optometrist 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. The bill would authorize
the State Board of Optometry, to inspect, upon request, an individual
lease agreement, and the bill would require the landlord or tenant
to comply. 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. The bill would make various
conforming changes in this regard.
Existing law requires each registered dispensing optician to
conspicuously and prominently display at each registered location the
name of the registrant's employee who is currently designated to
handle customer inquiries and complaints and the telephone number
where he or she may be reached during business hours.
This bill would instead require specified consumer information to
be displayed. Because a violation of the registered dispensing
provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
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 require all licensed optometrists in a setting with a
registered dispensing optician to report the business relationship to
the State Board of Optometry. 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, a
violation of the registered dispensing provisions would be a crime,
the bill would impose a state-mandated local program
This bill, until January 1, 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. The bill would require any
health plan subject to these provisions to report to the State Board
of Optometry in writing that certain percentages of its locations no
longer employ an optometrist by specified dates. The bill would
require the State Board of Optometry to provide those reports to the
Director of Consumer Affairs and the Legislature.
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 to advise and make
recommendations to the board regarding the regulation of dispensing
opticians , as provided. The bill would require the
advisory committee to consist of 5 members, including 2 registered
dispensing opticians, 2 public members, and a member of the State
Board of Optometry.
This bill would make various conforming changes.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that
limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the
writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings
demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need
for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
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 majority . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: 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. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(1) "Health plan" means a health care service plan licensed
pursuant to the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975
(Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the
Health and Safety Code).
(2) "Optical company" means a person or entity that is engaged in
the manufacture, sale, or distribution to physicians and surgeons,
optometrists, health plans, or dispensing opticians of lenses,
frames, optical supplies, or optometric appliances or devices or
kindred products.
(3) "Optometrist" means a person licensed pursuant to Chapter 7
(commencing with Section 3000) or an optometric corporation, as
described in Section 3160.
(4) "Registered dispensing optician" means a person licensed
pursuant to Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 2550).
(5) "Therapeutic ophthalmic product" means lenses or other
products that provide direct treatment of eye disease or visual
rehabilitation for diseased eyes.
(b) No optometrist 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 or any optical company,
except as otherwise permitted under this section.
(c) (1) A registered dispensing optician or an optical company may
operate, own, or have an ownership interest in a health plan so long
as the health plan does not directly employ optometrists to provide
optometric services directly to enrollees of the health plan, and may
directly or indirectly provide products and services to the health
plan or its contracted providers or enrollees or to other
optometrists. For purposes of this section, an optometrist may be
employed by a health plan as a clinical director for the health plan
pursuant to Section 1367.01 of the Health and Safety Code or to
perform services related to utilization management or quality
assurance or other similar related services that do not require the
optometrist to directly provide health care services to enrollees. In
addition, an optometrist serving as a clinical director may not
employ optometrists to provide health care services to enrollees of
the health plan for which the optometrist is serving as clinical
director. For the purposes of this section, the health plan's
utilization management and quality assurance programs that are
consistent with the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975
(Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the
Health and Safety Code) do not constitute providing health care
services to enrollees.
(2) The registered dispensing optician or optical company shall
not interfere with the professional judgment of the optometrist.
(3) The Department of Managed Health Care shall forward to the
State Board of Optometry any complaints received from consumers that
allege that an optometrist violated the Optometry Practice Act
(Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 3000)). The Department of Managed
Health Care and the State Board of Optometry shall enter into an
Inter-Agency Agreement regarding the sharing of information related
to the services provided by an optometrist that may be in violation
of the Optometry Practice Act that the Department of Managed Health
Care encounters in the course of the administration of the Knox-Keene
Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (Chapter 2.2 (commencing with
section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code.
(d) An optometrist, a registered dispensing optician, an optical
company, or a health plan may execute a lease or other written
agreement giving rise to a direct or indirect landlord-tenant
relationship with an optometrist, if all of the following conditions
are contained in a written agreement establishing the landlord-tenant
relationship:
(1) (A) The practice shall be owned by the optometrist and in
every phase be under the optometrist's exclusive control, including
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 managed care organizations.
(B) Subparagraph A shall not preclude a lease from including
commercially reasonable terms that: (i) require the provision of
optometric services at the leased space during certain days and
hours, (ii) restrict the leased space from being used 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 registered
dispensing optician, health plan, or optical company located on or
adjacent to the optometrist's leased space does not offer any
substantially similar therapeutic ophthalmic products for sale, (iii)
require the optometrist to contract with a health plan network,
health plan, or health insurer, or (iv) permit the landlord to
directly or indirectly provide furnishings and equipment in the
leased space.
(2) The optometrist's records shall be the sole property of the
optometrist. Only the optometrist and those persons with written
authorization from 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 space occupied by 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 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 the optometrist from
advertising the optometrist's practice location with reference to
other occupants or prohibit the optometrist or registered dispensing
optician from advertising their participation in any health plan's
network or the health plan's products in which the optometrist or
registered dispensing optician participates.
(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 registered dispensing optician, health plan or
optical company.
(6) Except for a statement that an independent doctor of optometry
is located in the leased space, in-store pricing signs and as
otherwise permitted by this subdivision, the registered dispensing
optician or optical company shall not link its advertising with the
optometrist's name, practice, or fees.
(7) Notwithstanding paragraphs (4) and (6), this subdivision shall
not preclude a health plan from advertising its health plan products
and associated premium costs and any copayments, coinsurance,
deductibles, or other forms of cost-sharing, or the names and
locations of the health plan's providers, including any optometrists
or registered dispensing opticians that provide professional
services, in compliance with the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan
Act of 1975 (Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2
of the Health and Safety Code).
(8) A health plan that advertises its products and services in
accordance with paragraph (7) shall not advertise the optometrist's
fees for products and services that are not included in the health
plan's contract with the optometrist.
(9) The optometrist shall not be precluded from collecting fees
for services that are not included in a health plan's products and
services, subject to any patient disclosure requirements contained in
the health plan's provider agreement with the optometrist or that
are not otherwise prohibited by the Knox-Keene Health Care Service
Plan Act of 1975 (Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of
Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code).
(10) The term of the lease shall be no less than one year and
shall not require the optometrist to contract exclusively with a
health plan. The optometrist may terminate the lease according to the
terms of the lease. The landlord may terminate the lease for the
following reasons:
(A) The optometrist's failure to maintain a license to practice
optometry or the imposition of restrictions, suspension or revocation
of the optometrist's license or if the optometrist or the
optometrist's employee is or becomes ineligible to participate in
state or federal government-funded programs.
(B) 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) If the health plan is the landlord, the termination of the
provider agreement between the health plan and the optometrist, in
accordance with the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975
(Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the
Health and Safety Code).
(D) Other reasons pursuant to the terms of the lease or permitted
under the Civil Code.
(11) 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.
(12) Lease or rent terms and payments shall not be based on 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.
(13) 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 plan, to
the State Board of Optometry or the Department of Managed Health Care
or any law enforcement or regulatory agency.
(14) The landlord shall provide the optometrist with written
notice of the scheduled expiration date of a lease at least 60 days
prior to the scheduled expiration date. This notice obligation shall
not affect the ability of either party to terminate the lease
pursuant to this section. The landlord may 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.
(15) The State Board of Optometry may inspect, upon request, an
individual lease agreement pursuant to its investigational 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 lease agreements within 30
days of receiving the request constitutes unprofessional conduct and
is grounds for disciplinary action by the appropriate regulatory
agency. Only personal information as defined in Section 1798.3 of the
Civil Code may be redacted prior to submission of the lease or
agreement. This section shall not affect the Department of Managed
Health Care's authority to inspect all books and records of a health
plan pursuant to Section 1381 of the Health and Safety Code.
Any financial information contained in the lease submitted to a
regulatory entity, pursuant to this paragraph, shall be considered
confidential trade secret information that is exempt from disclosure
under the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code.)
(16) This subdivision shall not be applicable to the relationship
between any optometrist employee and the employer medical group, or
the relationship between a medical group exclusively contracted with
a health plan regulated by the Department of Managed Health Care and
that health plan.
(e) 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.
(f) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a person licensed under
Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) or its professional
corporation from contracting with or employing optometrists,
ophthalmologists, or optometric assistants and entering into a
contract or landlord tenant relationship with a health plan, an
optical company, or a registered dispensing optician, in accordance
with Sections 650 and 654 of this code.
(g) 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. 3. Section 2546.2 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
2546.2. All references in this chapter to the division shall mean
the Medical Board of California. State Board
of Optometry.
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. 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.
SEC. 6. Section 2554 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
2554. Each registrant shall conspicuously and prominently display
at each registered location the name of the registrant's
employee who is currently designated to handle customer inquiries and
complaints and the telephone number where he or she may be reached
during business hours. the following consumer
information:
This section shall become operative on January 1, 1988.
"Eye doctors are required to provide patients with a copy of their
ophthalmic lens prescriptions as follows:
Spectacle prescriptions: Release upon completion of exam.
Contact lens prescriptions: Release upon completion of exam or
upon completion of the fitting process.
Patients may take their prescription to any eye doctor or
registered dispensing optician to be filled.
Optometrists and registered dispensing opticians are regulated by
the State Board of Optometry. The State Board of Optometry receives
and investigates all consumer complaints involving the practice of
optometry and registered dispensing opticians. Complaints involving a
California-licensed optometrist or a registered dispensing optician
should be directed to:
California State Board of Optometry
Department of Consumer Affairs
2450 Del Paso Road, Suite 105
Sacramento, CA 95834
Phone: 1-866-585-2666 or (916) 575-7170
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.optometry.ca.gov"
SEC. 7. 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 kind.
(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. 8. Section 2556.1 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
2556.1. All licensed optometrists in a setting with a registered
dispensing optician shall report the business relationship to the
State Board of Optometry, as determined by the board. The State Board
of Optometry 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 or between the optometrist and the
health plan. 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 Department of Managed Health Care.
SEC. 9. Section 2556.2 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
2556.2. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, subsequent to the
effective date of this section and until January 1, 2019, 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 or
Section 655 as those sections existed prior to the effective date of
this bill, 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 commencing registration or operations on
or after the effective date of this section.
(d) Subsequent to the effective date of this section and until
January 1, 2019, 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 does not apply to any administrative action
pending, litigation pending, cause for discipline, or cause of action
accruing prior to September 1, 2015.
(f) Any health plan, as defined in Section 655, subject to this
section shall report to the State Board of Optometry in writing that
(1) 15 percent of its locations no longer employ an optometrist by
January 1, 2017, (2) 45 percent of its locations no longer employ an
optometrist by August 1, 2017, and (3) 100 percent of its locations
no longer employ an optometrist by January 1, 2019. The board shall
provide those reports as soon as it receives them to the director and
the Legislature. The report to the Legislature shall be submitted in
compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
SEC. 10. 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. Any moneys within the Contingent Fund of the
Medical Board of California collected pursuant to this chapter
shall be deposited in the Dispensing Opticians
Fund.
(b) The board may employ, subject to civil service regulations,
whatever additional clerical assistance is necessary for the
administration of this chapter.
SEC. 11. 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. members and one of the non
public members shall be an individual registered as a
dispensing optician. The registered dispensing optician
member 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. 12. 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. 13. 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. 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.
(f) The initial appointment of a registered dispensing optician
member shall replace the optometrist member whose term expired on
June 1, 2015.
SEC. 14. Section 3020 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
3020. (a) There shall be established under the State Board of
Optometry a dispensing optician committee to advise and make
recommendations to the board regarding the regulation of a dispensing
opticians pursuant to Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 2550).
The committee shall consist of five members, two of whom shall be
registered dispensing opticians, two of whom shall be public members,
and one of whom shall be a member of the board. Initial appointments
to the committee shall be made by the board. The board shall stagger
the terms of the initial members appointed. The filling of vacancies
on the committee shall be made by the board upon recommendations by
the committee.
(b) The committee shall be responsible for:
(1) Recommending registration standards and criteria for the
registration of dispensing opticians.
(2) Reviewing of the disciplinary guidelines relating to
registered dispensing opticians.
(3) Recommending to the board changes or additions to regulations
adopted pursuant to Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 2550).
(4) Carrying out and implementing all responsibilities and duties
imposed upon it pursuant to this chapter or as delegated to it by the
board.
(c) The committee shall meet at least twice a year and as needed
in order to conduct its business.
(d) Recommendations by the committee regarding scope of practice
or regulatory changes or additions shall be approved, modified, or
rejected by the board within 90 days of submission of the
recommendation to the board. If the board rejects or significantly
modifies the intent or scope of the recommendation, the committee may
request that the board provide its reasons in writing for rejecting
or significantly modifying the recommendation, which shall be
provided by the board within 30 days of the request.
(e) After the initial appointments by the board pursuant to
subdivision (a), the Governor shall appoint the registered dispensing
optician members and the public members. The committee shall submit
a recommendation to the board regarding which board member should be
appointed to serve on the committee, and the board shall appoint the
member to serve. Committee members shall serve a term of four years
except for the initial staggered terms. A member may be reappointed,
but no person shall serve as a member of the committee for more than
two consecutive terms.
SEC. 15. Section 3021 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
3021. The board shall have rulemaking authority with respect to
Chapter 5.45 (commencing with Section 2546) and Chapter 5.5
(commencing with Section 2550) in accordance with Section 3025.
Regulations adopted pursuant to Chapter 5.45 (commencing with Section
2546) and Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 2550) by the Medical
Board of California prior to the effective date of this section shall
continue to be valid, except that any reference to the board or
division contained therein shall be construed to mean the State Board
of Optometry, unless the context determines otherwise.
SEC. 16. Section 3023.1 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
3023.1. (a) The nonresident contact lens seller program
established under Chapter 5.45 (commencing with Section 2546) and the
registered dispensing optician, spectacle lens dispensing, and
contact lens dispensing programs established under Chapter 5.5
(commencing with Section 2550) are hereby transferred from the
jurisdiction of the Medical Board of California and placed under the
jurisdiction of the State Board of Optometry.
(b) All the duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and
jurisdictions of the Medical Board of California under Chapter 5.45
(commencing with Section 2546) and Chapter 5.5 (commencing with
Section 2550) shall be transferred to the State Board of Optometry.
(c) For the performance of the duties and the exercise of the
powers vested in the board under Chapter 5.45 (commencing with
Section 2546) and Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 2550), the
State Board of Optometry shall have possession and control of all
records, papers, offices, equipment, supplies, or other property,
real or personal, held for the benefit or use by the Medical Board of
California.
SEC. 17. The Legislature finds and declares that
Section 1 of this act imposes a limitation on the public's right of
access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public
officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I
of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional
provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to
demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need
for protecting that interest:
In order to allow the State Board of Optometry and the Department
of Managed Health Care to fully accomplish its goals, it is
imperative to protect the interests of those persons submitting
information to those departments to ensure that any personal or
sensitive business information that this act requires those persons
to submit is protected as confidential information.
SEC. 18. 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.
SECTION 1. Section 655 of the Business and
Professions Code is repealed.
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 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 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 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. (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 an
optometrist or a physician and surgeon, to directly employ an
optometrist or physician and surgeon for the purpose of any
examination or treatment of the 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 kind.
(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 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 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, 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.