BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Senator Jerry Hill, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: SB 531 Hearing Date: April 6, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Bates | |----------+------------------------------------------------------| |Version: |February 26, 2015 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ---------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Janelle Miyashiro | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Board of Behavioral Sciences. SUMMARY: Authorizes the Board of Behavioral Sciences (Board) to deny a petition, without a hearing, for termination of probation or modification of penalty of a licensee under specific criteria. Also authorizes the Board to pursue disciplinary or investigative action against a licensee regardless of license status. Existing law: 1)The functions of the Board are to: a) License marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, professional clinical counselors, and educational psychologists. b) Develop and administer licensure examinations and examination procedures. c) Enforce laws designed to protect the public from incompetent, unethical, or unprofessional practice of the profession. d) Consumer education. (BPC §4990.18) 2)Authorizes the Board to take disciplinary action against a licensee's unprofessional conduct, which may include denial of SB 531 (Bates) Page 2 of ? licensure or revocation, suspension, or restriction of the license with conclusive evidence of the unprofessional action. (BPC §4990.38) 3)Authorizes a licensee whose license or registration has been revoked, suspended, or placed on probation, to petition the board for reinstatement or modification of the penalty. (BPC §4990.30(a)) 4)States that no petition will be considered while the petitioner is under sentence for any criminal offense, including the time period during which the petitioner is on court-imposed probation or parole. (BPC §4990.30(l)) 5)Authorizes the Board to deny without hearing or argument any petition that is filed if the petitioner has been disciplined for violation of action by a licensing agency when the licensing agency has determined the licensee is unable to practice his or her profession safely due to mental or physical illness. (BPC §822 and BPC 4990.30(m)) This bill: 1)Authorizes the Board to deny, without a hearing, a petition for termination of probation or modification of penalty of a licensee when: a) The petitioner has failed to comply with the terms and conditions of the disciplinary order. b) The Board is conducting an investigation of the petitioner while he or she is on probation. c) The petitioner has a subsequent arrest that is substantially related to the professional duties of the licensee and this arrest occurred while on probation. d) The petitioner's probation with the board is currently tolled. 2)Authorizes the Board to continue to pursue an investigation or disciplinary action against a licensee even when the license SB 531 (Bates) Page 3 of ? has expired or been surrendered. FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill has been keyed "fiscal" by legislative counsel. COMMENTS: 1. Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the Board of Behavioral Sciences . According to the Author, "this bill makes two amendments to streamline the Board's enforcement process" by modifying "the Board's requirements for an individual to petition for a termination of probation or modification of penalty." The Author also states that "the second portion of the bill would ensure that the Board is able to follow-through with disciplinary cases and conduct investigations, regardless if the license or registration status of a mental health professional has changed or expired, ensuring the accountability of all petitioners". 2. Background. According to the Board, it's Enforcement Unit has received an increasing number of requests to petition for early termination of probation or modification of penalty. The Board finds, however, that in an increasing number of these cases, the petitioner is not in compliance with his or her probation terms. Under current law, the Board must still process these petitions and bring them to a hearing even though oftentimes, the petitioner's request will ultimately be denied due to noncompliance. Another enforcement concern for the Board, is that it has found several issues that have occurred because of loopholes in the current law. One, within the B&P Code, has allowed for registrants with expired registrations to be discontinued from a disciplinary hearing. This occurred because, in order to renew the registration after the sixth year, the registrants would have to receive a new number. The law does not currently allow for a disciplinary case to continue without the same number. SB 531 (Bates) Page 4 of ? In a similar case, the Medical Board of California lost in the Court of Appeals when it attempted to take disciplinary action against a licensee who held a retired license. The court ruled that the board's law did not allow for action against a retired license status. The Medical Board has since fixed this issue through legislation and streamlined its processes. This bill would authorize the Board to deny, without a hearing, a petition for termination or modification of penalty of a licensee who is in noncompliance of his or her probation terms. The Board has a probation monitor who has oversight into licensee violations and thus can report when a licensee is in noncompliance with his or her probation terms. The four specific criteria for such denial (listed above) are in line with the Board's disciplinary orders listed in their Disciplinary Guidelines. The Disciplinary Guidelines consist of: (1) An identification of the types of violations and range of penalties for which discipline may be imposed; which include (but are not limited to) sexual misconduct, impaired ability to function safely due to mental or physical illness, gross negligence, chemical dependency, general unprofessional conduct, etc. (2) Model language for proposed terms and conditions of probation as well as Board Policies and Guidelines for handling cases of misconduct The bill would also authorize the Board to pursue investigative or disciplinary action against a licensee regardless of the license status to ensure continued accountability of the licensee. 3. Arguments in Support. Writing in support of the bill, the Board of Behavioral Sciences states that "the goal of the proposed changes is to increase the clarity and the efficiency of the enforcement process". The Board states that under the proposed amendments, "the Board may deny a petition without hearing if the petitioner SB 531 (Bates) Page 5 of ? is not in compliance with the terms of his or her probation" and "clarifies that the Board has jurisdiction to investigate and take disciplinary action even if the status of a license or registration changes or if the license or registration expires". SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION: Support: Board of Behavioral Sciences (Sponsor) Opposition: None on file as of 3/31/15. -- END --