BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          Date of Hearing:   April 12, 2016


                   ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS


                                  Rudy Salas, Chair


          AB 2191  
          (Salas) - As Amended April 6, 2016


          SUBJECT:  Board of Behavioral Sciences.


          SUMMARY:  Extends the regulatory authority of the Board of  
          Behavioral Sciences (BBS), and its authority to appoint an  
          executive officer (EO) until January 1, 2021. 


          EXISTING LAW:




          1)Establishes the BBS, under the Department of Consumer Affairs  
            (DCA), to license and regulate Licensed Clinical Social  
            Workers (LCSWs), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists  
            (LMFTs), Licensed Educational Psychologists (LEPs), Licensed  
            Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCCs), Associate Clinical  
            Social Workers (ACSWs), Marriage and Family Therapist Interns  
            (MFT Interns), and Professional Clinical Counselor Interns  
            (PCC Interns) (Business and Professions Code (BPC) Sections  
            4980 et seq.)



          2)States that protection of the public is the highest priority  








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            of the BBS in exercising its licensing, regulatory, and  
            disciplinary functions and whenever the protection of the  
            public is inconsistent with other interests sought to be  
            promoted, the protection of the public is paramount.  (BPC  
            Section 4990.16)



          3)Authorizes the BBS to conduct research in, and make studies of  
            problems involved in, the maintaining of professional  
            standards among those engaged in the professions it licenses  
            and may publish its recommendations thereon.  (BPC Section  
            4999.10)



          4)Authorizes the BBS to adopt rules and regulations as necessary  
            to administer and enforce the provisions of the BBS licensing  
            acts, and requires the adoption, amendment or repeal of those  
            rules and regulations to be made in accordance with  
            Administrative Regulations and Rulemaking as specified in  
            Government Code Sections 11340 et seq.  


          5)Requires the BBS to appoint an executive officer, which is  
            designated as a confidential position, who is exempt from  
            civil services and serves at the pleasure of the BBS, as  
            specified, and repeals that authority January 1, 2017.  (BPC  
            Section 4990.04


          6)Requires the powers and duties of the BBS, as specified, to be  
            subject to review by the appropriate policy committees of the  
            Legislature, and sunsets the provisions of the BBS on January  
            1, 2017. 
          THIS BILL:


          1)Extends the regulatory authority of the BBS and its authority  








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            to appoint an executive officer, as specified, by four years,  
            until January 1, 2021.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown.  This bill is keyed fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel. 


          COMMENTS:


          Purpose.  Unless legislation is carried this year to extend the  
          sunset date for the BBS, it will be repealed on January 1, 2017.  
           The legislative changes reflected in this bill are solutions to  
          issues raised about the BBS in the Assembly Committee on  
          Business and Professions' staff Background Paper and during its  
          sunset review hearing on March 14, 2016.  In addition, this bill  
          will extend the BBS's authority to appoint an executive officer.


          Board of Behavioral Sciences.  The BBS licenses and regulates  
          LCSWs, LMFTs, LEPs, and LPCCs.  Additionally, the BBS registers  
          ACSWs, MFT Interns, PCC Interns, and until June 30, 2015,  
          registered continuing education (CE) providers.  Each profession  
          has its own scope of practice, entry-level requirements, and  
          professional settings, with some overlap in certain areas.   
          Below are a few examples of settings in which licensees may  
          work; however, licensees may work in other settings that  
          lawfully provide mental health services.  


                 LMFTs are employed in mental health agencies, counseling  
               centers, and private practice. They utilize counseling or  
               therapeutic techniques to assist individuals, couples,  
               families, and groups with a focus on marriage, family, and  
               relationship issues.

                  LCSWs are employed in health facilities, private  
               practice, and state and county mental health couples,  








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               families, and groups. 



                  LEPs work in schools or in private practice and provide  
               educational counseling services such as aptitude and  
               achievement testing or psychological testing.  LEPs may not  
               provide psychological testing or counseling services that  
               are unrelated to academic learning processes in the  
               education system.

                 LPCCs apply counseling interventions and  
               psychotherapeutic techniques to identify and remediate  
               cognitive, mental, and emotional issues, including personal  
               growth, adjustment to disability, crisis intervention, and  
               psychosocial and environmental problems.  LPCCs work in a  
               variety of settings including hospitals, private practice,  
               and community-based mental health organizations. 

          Joint Oversight Hearings and Sunset Review of DCA Licensing  
          Boards.  In March of 2016, the Assembly Business and Professions  
          Committee and the Senate Business, Professions and Economic  
          Development Committee (Committees) conducted multiple joint  
          oversight hearings to review 11 regulatory boards within the DCA  
          and one regulatory entity outside of the DCA.  The sunset bills  
          are intended to implement legislative changes recommended in the  
          respective background reports drafted by the Committees for the  
          agencies reviewed this year.


          The Sunset Review Process.  The sunset review process provides a  
          formal mechanism for the DCA, the Legislature, the regulatory  
          boards, bureaus and committees, interested parties, and  
          stakeholders to make recommendations for improvements to the  
          authority of consumer protection boards and bureaus.  This is  
          performed on a standard four-year cycle and was mandated by SB  
          2036 (McCorquodale), Chapter 908, Statutes of 1994.  Each  
          eligible agency is required to submit to the Committees a report  
          covering the entire period since last reviewed that includes,  








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          among other things, the purpose and necessity of the agency and  
          any recommendations of the agency for changes or reorganization  
          in order to better fulfill its purpose.  During the sunset  
          review hearings, the Committees take public testimony and  
          evaluate the eligible agency prior to the date the agency is  
          scheduled to be repealed.  An eligible agency is allowed to  
          sunset unless the Legislature enacts a law to extend,  
          consolidate, or reorganize the eligible agency.


          In the Committee's Background Paper on the BBS, issues were  
          raised regarding the BBS's ability to handle the increasing  
          enforcement workload, ensure a smooth transition during the  
          examination restructure, increase CE audits, and ensure that  
          supervisors and supervisees are following current statutory  
          requirements.  

          This bill will authorize the continued operation of the BBS in  
          its current regulatory capacity and require the BBS to be  
          reviewed by the Legislature again in four years.  By continuing  
          the functions of the BBS, this bill will allow it to continue in  
          its regulatory capacity for the protection of consumers and the  
          regulation of all aspects of the mental health professionals  
          which the BBS licenses and regulates.  

          Current Related Legislation.  AB 1084 (Bonilla) of 2016, makes  
          conforming changes to the examination requirements for an  
          applicant for licensure as a LCSW, who possesses a master's  
          degree from a school or department of social work that is  
          seeking accreditation, to allow the applicant to take the law  
          and ethics examination while the applicant's school or  
          department is a candidate for accreditation, as specified.   
          Note: This bill is currently pending in the Senate Committee on  
          Business, Professions and Economic Development. 

          AB 1917 (Obernolte) of 2016, clarifies that education gained  
          while residing outside of California should be based on the  
          location of the school, instead of on the location of the  
          individual, for applicants for licensure as a LMFT and a LPCC;  








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          clarifies the coursework and practicum requirements for  
          applicants for licensure as a LPCC, and makes other technical  
          and clarifying changes to the practicum requirements for  
          out-of-state LMFT and LPCC applicants.  Note: This bill is  
          pending on the Assembly Floor.  

          SB 1478 (Committee on Business, Professions and Economic  
          Development) of 2016, makes numerous substantive, technical, and  
          minor non-controversial changes to various provisions of the  
          healing arts boards regulated by the DCA, including the BBS.   
          Note: This bill is currently pending in the Senate Committee on  
          Business, Professions and Economic Development. 

          REGISTERED SUPPORT:  


          None on file.




          REGISTERED OPPOSITION:  
          None on file. 




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



















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