BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 531|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 531
Author: Bates (R)
Introduced:2/26/15
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 4/6/15
AYES: Hill, Bates, Berryhill, Block, Galgiani, Hernandez,
Jackson, Mendoza, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT: Board of Behavioral Sciences
SOURCE: Board of Behavioral Sciences
DIGEST: This bill 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.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)The functions of the Board are to:
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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
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3)Authorizes a licensee whose license or registration has been
revoked, suspended, or placed on probation, to petition the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
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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
has expired or been surrendered.
Background
According to the Board, its 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 BPC, 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.
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.
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This bill authorizes 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 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
This bill also authorizes the Board to pursue investigative or
disciplinary action against a licensee regardless of the license
status to ensure continued accountability of the licensee.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified 4/22/15)
Board of Behavioral Sciences (source)
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
OPPOSITION: (Verified 4/22/15)
None received
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Writing in support of this 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 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."
Prepared by:Janelle Miyashiro / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
4/22/15 16:20:09
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