BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2191
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2191 (Salas)
As Amended August 16, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |79-1 |(May 31, 2016) |SENATE: |36-0 |(August 19, |
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Original Committee Reference: B. & P.
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.
The Senate amendments specify that the BBS fund must be
expended, upon appropriation of the Legislature; make a
technical change; and, add a co-author.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, this bill will result in ongoing costs of $11 million
per year for the continued operation of the Board of Behavioral
Sciences (Behavioral Science Examiners Fund). All costs to
operate the Board are paid for with license fees.
COMMENTS:
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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sunset date for the BBS, it will be repealed on January 1, 2017.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
Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs), Licensed Marriage and
Family Therapists (LMFTs), Licensed Educational Psychologists
(LEPs), and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCCs).
Additionally, the BBS registers Academy of Certified Social
Workers (ACSWs), Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) Interns,
Professional Clinical Counselor (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.
1)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.
2)LCSWs are employed in health facilities, private practice, and
state and county mental health couples, families, and groups.
3)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.
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4)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 Department of
Consumer Affairs (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,
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 Assembly Committee on Business and Profession's
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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 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.
Analysis Prepared by:
Elissa Silva / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301 FN:
0004747