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
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|Author: |Bates |
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|Version: |February 26, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Janelle Miyashiro |
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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
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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3)Authorizes a licensee whose license or registration has been
revoked, suspended, or placed on probation, to petition the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
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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.
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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
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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.
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