BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 705


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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS


          AB  
          705 (Eggman)


          As Amended  June 11, 2015


          Majority vote


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          Original Committee Reference:  B. & P.


          SUMMARY:  Requires individuals performing psychological  
          activities, within specified exempt settings, to work under the  
          supervision of a licensed psychologist; accumulate the  
          supervised hours required for licensure; and, become licensed  
          within five years.  This bill also makes other technical and  
          clarifying amendments.  Specifically, this bill:


          1)Deletes a limitation on the compensation, monetary or  
            otherwise, an exempt individual may receive who is providing  
            psychological services, as specified.
          2)Permits exempt persons who are employed in a private setting  
            that is not primarily involved in providing direct health or  
            mental services to conduct research and disseminate their  
            research findings and scientific information.


          3)Requires individuals who are salaried employees of accredited  








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            or approved academic institutions, public schools, or  
            government agencies, who are practicing psychology, as  
            specified, to be employees who are primarily gaining the  
            supervised professional experience required for licensure that  
            is being accrued consistent with the Board of Psychology (BOP)  
            regulations and the employee's primary supervisor is a  
            psychologist licensed in the state.


          4)Requires individuals who are salaried employees of accredited  
            or approved academic institutions, public schools, or  
            government agencies, who are practicing psychology, as  
            specified above, to obtain licensure within cumulative total  
            of five years from the date of employment, beginning January  
            1, 2016. 


          5)Makes other technical and clarifying amendments.


          The Senate amendments make a clarifying change by updating an  
          outdated reference to the California Department of Education as  
          an issuer of credentials and replace it with the Commission on  
          Teacher Credentialing; remove references to psychometrist,  
          psychometry, and psychometrics, and makes other minor, technical  
          and clarifying changes.  


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.  
           


          COMMENTS:  


          Purpose.  This bill is sponsored by the BOP.  According to the  
          author, "[This bill]  will clarify the original intent of the  
          Psychology Practice Act (Act), which is to have qualified,  
          licensed individuals performing psychological functions in both  
          private and public settings.  Currently, a loop hole allows  
          employees in government settings serving vulnerable populations  








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          to continue practicing indefinitely without supervision by a  
          licensed psychologist.  Persons serving in non-exempt (private)  
          settings are required to be supervised by a licensed  
          psychologist and accumulate hours towards licensure from the  
          onset.  This bill will provide consumer protection to the  
          vulnerable individuals being served in exempt settings by making  
          employees subject to oversight and competency standards set  
          forth by the [BOP]."


          Background.  This bill revises supervised experience  
          requirements for individuals who are performing psychological  
          services in exempt settings by requiring an employee of an  
          accredited or approved academic institution, public school, or  
          governmental agency, who is not licensed to practice psychology  
          to be supervised by a psychologist for purposes of gaining  
          experience hours, and become licensed within five years from the  
          date of employment and makes other technical and clarifying  
          amendments.


          Psychologists.  Licensed psychologists may practice  
          independently in any private or public setting using  
          psychological methods to diagnose, treat, prevent, and  
          ameliorate emotional and mental disorders of individuals and  
          groups.  There are currently 20,000 licensed psychologists in  
          California.  Licensed psychologists practicing in private  
          practice must hold a license from the BOP.


          Licensure requirements.  Licensed psychologists are required to  
          obtain a doctoral degree from an accredited institution in  
          psychology, educational psychology, or in a field specializing  
          in counseling psychology or educational psychology.   
          Psychologists are required to complete 3,000 hours (minimum two  
          years) of supervised experience, of which 1,500 must be  
          completed after obtaining a doctoral degree.  Registered  
          psychologists are required to register with the BOP and are  
          authorized to engage in psychological activities at nonprofit  
          community agencies that receive a minimum of 25% of their  
          funding from some government source.  Registered psychologists  
          may not engage in psychology practice outside of the nonprofit  








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          community agency where they are registered and may nor may not  
          be fully licensed.  There are approximately 321 registered  
          psychologists. 


          Many post-doctoral psychologists gain supervision experience  
          requirements while employed at schools, colleges or universities  
          and government entities, which provide opportunities to gain the  
          required supervisory hours needed for licensure.  However, these  
          employment settings are considered "exempt" by the BOP.  


          Exempt settings.  Under current law there are certain types of  
          organizations which are referred to as "exempt settings," where  
          employees are not required to have a license or a registration  
          in order to perform activities of a psychological nature as long  
          as those individuals are providing the services within the scope  
          of their employment.  Exempt settings include places such as an  
          educational institution (approved or accredited), a school  
          district, or a governmental entity.  


          Most individuals working in an exempt setting have completed  
          their doctoral program and are in the process of acquiring the  
          required 1,500 hours of supervised experience necessary for  
          licensure.  However, the Act does not restrict the number of  
          years that an individual may work in an exempt setting without  
          becoming licensed nor does it specify that a person working in  
          an exempt setting is required to work under a licensed  
          supervisor, unless they are obtaining their 1,500 hours of  
          supervised experience.  These individuals are also not required  
          to register with the BOP prior to or during their employment,  
          unless they are working for a non-profit community agency which  
          received 25% or more of its funding from government sources.   
          Many exempt settings do not meet this threshold, meaning  
          individuals employed in these positions are not registered with  
          the BOP and the BOP has no enforcement authority.  


          According to the author, the BOP has no way of determining how  
          many unlicensed individuals are practicing in exempt settings as  
          these individuals are not required to register with the BOP.  In  








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          addition, the BOP does not know how many individuals are  
          employed in exempt settings who have attempted to take and  
          failed the licensure examination or the number of individuals  
          who are employed in these settings and have not applied for  
          licensure.  Effectively, this means that individuals employed in  
          exempt settings may be providing services of a psychological  
          nature without a license issued by the BOP.  It is not clear  
          under the Act that individuals employed in these exempt settings  
          are required to work under the supervision of a licensed  
          psychologist nor does it restrict their length of employment.  


          Welfare and Institutions Code Section 5751.2 and Health and  
          Safety Code Section 1277 regulate community mental health and  
          health facilities and include provisions which allow for the  
          employment of individuals to perform psychological services for  
          the purpose of gaining supervised hours and experience, but  
          require individuals employed in all exempt settings to become  
          licensed within five years.  This bill seeks to make licensing  
          requirements consistent for individuals employed in exempt  
          settings by requiring individuals employed in all exempt  
          settings to obtain licensure within five years of the start of  
          their employment.   


          According to the BOP, gaining 1,500 hours of required  
          supervision can take as little as one year.  The BOP contends  
          that five years is more than enough time to complete the  
          required supervised hours.  The BOP states that it takes  
          approximately six months to complete the application and  
          licensing process.  


          Court Case.  According to the author, there was a recent court  
          case, Brown v. County of Los Angeles (2012) 203 Cal. App. 4th  
          1529, in which the California Second Appellate Court found that  
          the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health wrongfully  
          terminated a Mental Health Clinician II for failing to obtain  
          her psychology license.  The woman argued that she was exempt,  
          but the county argued that she had to obtain a license within  
          five years and failed to do so.  However, the court ruled that  
          current law as specified in the Business and Professions Code  








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          was not clear in stating that there was a time requirement.  


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Elissa Silva / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301  FN:  
          0001135