BILL NUMBER: AB 923 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Steinorth
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to amend Sections 3750 and 3755 of, and to add
Sections 3754.8 and 3769.7 Section 3754.8 to,
the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 923, as amended, Steinorth. Respiratory care practitioners.
(1) Under the Respiratory Care Practice Act, the Respiratory Care
Board of California licenses and regulates the practice of
respiratory care and therapy. The act authorizes the board to order
the denial, suspension, or revocation of, or the imposition of
probationary conditions upon, a license issued under the act, for any
of specified causes. A violation of the act is a crime.
This bill would include among those causes for discipline the
commission by specified licensees of an act of neglect,
endangerment, or abuse involving a person under 18 years of age, a
person 65 years of age or older, or a dependent adult, as described
, without regard to whether the person is a patient,
and the knowing provision of false statements or
information on any form provided by the board or to any person
representing the board during an investigation, probation monitoring
compliance check, or any other enforcement-related action.
The bill would provide that the expiration, cancellation,
forfeiture, or suspension of a license, practice privilege, or other
authority to practice respiratory care, the placement of a license on
a retired status, or the voluntary surrender of a license by a
licensee, does not deprive the board of jurisdiction to commence or
proceed with any investigation of, or action or disciplinary
proceeding against, the licensee, or to render a decision to suspend
or revoke the license.
(2) Under the act the board may take action against a respiratory
care practitioner who is charged with unprofessional conduct which
includes, but is not limited to, repeated acts of clearly
administering directly or indirectly inappropriate or unsafe
respiratory care procedures, protocols, therapeutic regimens, or
diagnostic testing or monitoring techniques, and violation of any
provision for which the board may order the denial, suspension, or
revocation of, or the imposition of probationary conditions upon, a
license. The act provides that engaging in repeated acts of
unprofessional conduct is a crime.
This bill would expand the definition of unprofessional conduct to
include any single act described above or any single act of
abusive behavior, including, but not limited to, humiliation,
intimidation, ridicule, coercion, threat, or any other conduct that
threatens the health, welfare, or safety of a person, whether or not
the victim is a patient, a friend or family member of the patient, or
an employee. any act of abuse towards a patient.
Because this bill would change the definition of a crime, it
would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) The act authorizes the board to deny, suspend, or take other
actions against a license for, among other things, conviction of a
sex offense or any crime involving bodily injury or sexual
misconduct.
This bill would authorize the board to provide notice of an
applicant's or licensee's arrest for those crimes on the board's
Internet Web site, to employers, or both, and would require the board
to remove the notice 60 days after the criminal matter is
adjudicated or when all appeal rights have been exhausted, whichever
is later.
(4)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.
Vote: 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 3750 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
3750. The board may order the denial, suspension, or revocation
of, or the imposition of probationary conditions upon, a license
issued under this chapter, for any of the following causes:
(a) Advertising in violation of Section 651 or Section 17500.
(b) Fraud in the procurement of any license under this chapter.
(c) Knowingly employing unlicensed persons who present themselves
as licensed respiratory care practitioners.
(d) Conviction of a crime that substantially relates to the
qualifications, functions, or duties of a respiratory care
practitioner. The record of conviction or a certified copy thereof
shall be conclusive evidence of the conviction.
(e) Impersonating or acting as a proxy for an applicant in any
examination given under this chapter.
(f) Negligence in his or her practice as a respiratory care
practitioner.
(g) Conviction of a violation of this chapter or of Division 2
(commencing with Section 500), or violating, or attempting to
violate, directly or indirectly, or assisting in or abetting the
violation of, or conspiring to violate this chapter or Division 2
(commencing with Section 500).
(h) The aiding or abetting of any person to violate this chapter
or any regulations duly adopted under this chapter.
(i) The aiding or abetting of any person to engage in the unlawful
practice of respiratory care.
(j) The commission of any fraudulent, dishonest, or corrupt act
that is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or
duties of a respiratory care practitioner.
(k) Falsifying, or making grossly incorrect, grossly inconsistent,
or unintelligible entries in any patient, hospital, or other record.
(l) Changing the prescription of a physician and surgeon, or
falsifying verbal or written orders for treatment or a diagnostic
regime received, whether or not that action resulted in actual
patient harm.
(m) Denial, suspension, or revocation of any license to practice
by another agency, state, or territory of the United States for any
act or omission that would constitute grounds for the denial,
suspension, or revocation of a license in this state.
(n) (1) Except for good cause, the knowing
failure to protect patients by failing to follow infection control
guidelines of the board, thereby risking transmission of bloodborne
infectious diseases from licensee to patient, from patient to
patient, and from patient to licensee. In administering this
subdivision, the board shall consider referencing the standards,
regulations, and guidelines of the State Department of Health
Services developed pursuant to Section 1250.11 of the Health and
Safety Code and the standards, regulations, and guidelines pursuant
to the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 (Part 1
(commencing with Section 6300) of Division 5 of the Labor Code) for
preventing the transmission of HIV, hepatitis B, and other bloodborne
pathogens in health care settings. As necessary, the board shall
consult with the California Medical Board, the Board of Podiatric
Medicine, the Dental Board of California, the Board of Registered
Nursing, and the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric
Technicians, to encourage appropriate consistency in the
implementation of this subdivision.
The
(2) The board shall seek to
ensure that licensees are informed of the responsibility of licensees
and others to follow infection control guidelines, and of the most
recent scientifically recognized safeguards for minimizing the risk
of transmission of bloodborne infectious diseases.
(o) Incompetence in his or her practice as a respiratory care
practitioner.
(p) A pattern of substandard care or negligence in his or her
practice as a respiratory care practitioner, or in any capacity as a
health care worker, consultant, supervisor, manager or health
facility owner, or as a party responsible for the care of another.
(q) Commission If the licensee is a
mandated reporter or is required to report under Article 2
(commencing with Section 11160) or Article 2.5 (commencing with
Section 11164) of Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal Code. The commission
of an act of neglect, endangerment, or abuse involving a
person under 18 years of age, a person 65 years of age or older, or a
dependent adult as described in Section 368 of the Penal Code,
without regard to whether the person was is
a patient.
(r) Providing Knowingly providing
false statements or information on any form provided by the board or
to any person representing the board during an investigation,
probation monitoring compliance check, or any other
enforcement-related action.
SEC. 2. Section 3754.8 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
3754.8. The expiration, cancellation, forfeiture, or suspension
of a license, practice privilege, or other authority to practice
respiratory care by operation of law or by order or decision of the
board or a court of law, the placement of a license on a retired
status, or the voluntary surrender of the license by a licensee shall
not deprive the board of jurisdiction to commence or proceed with
any investigation of, or action or disciplinary proceeding against,
the licensee, or to render a decision to suspend or revoke the
license.
SEC. 3. Section 3755 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
3755. The board may take action against any
a respiratory care practitioner who is charged with
unprofessional conduct in administering, or attempting to administer,
direct or indirect respiratory care in any care setting.
Unprofessional conduct includes, but is not limited to, any
act repeated acts of clearly administering
directly or indirectly inappropriate or unsafe respiratory care
procedures, protocols, therapeutic regimens, or diagnostic testing or
monitoring techniques, abusive behavior, including, but not
limited to, humiliation, intimidation, ridicule, coercion, threat,
or any other conduct that threatens the health, welfare, or safety of
a person, whether or not the victim is a patient, a friend or family
member of the patient, or an employee, any act of
abuse towards a patient, or a violation of any
provision of Section 3750. The board may determine unprofessional
conduct involving any and all aspects of respiratory care performed
by anyone licensed as a respiratory care practitioner. Any person who
engages in repeated acts of unprofessional conduct shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not more than one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment for a term not to
exceed six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
SEC. 4. Section 3769.7 is added to the Business
and Professions Code, to read:
3769.7. (a) If a licensee or applicant is arrested for any crime
described in Section 3752.5, 3752.6, or 3752.7, upon receipt of
certified copies of arrest documents, the board may provide notice of
the licensee's or applicant's arrest on the board's Internet Web
site, to employers, or both.
(b) If the board provides notice of a licensee's or applicant's
arrest pursuant to this section, the board shall remove the notice 60
days after the criminal matter is adjudicated or when all appeal
rights have been exhausted, whichever is later.
SEC. 5. SEC. 4. 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.