BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 800


                                                                    Page  1





          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          800 (Committee on Business, Professions and Economic  
          Development)


          As Amended  September 3, 2015


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  36-0


           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                   |Noes                 |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Business &      |14-0 |Bonilla, Jones, Baker, |                     |
          |Professions     |     |Bloom, Campos, Chang,  |                     |
          |                |     |Dodd, Eggman, Gatto,   |                     |
          |                |     |Holden, Mullin, Ting,  |                     |
          |                |     |Wilk, Wood             |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Appropriations  |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, Bloom, |                     |
          |                |     |Bonta, Calderon,       |                     |
          |                |     |Chang, Gordon, Eggman, |                     |
          |                |     |Gallagher,             |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |Eduardo Garcia,        |                     |
          |                |     |Holden, Jones, Quirk,  |                     |
          |                |     |Rendon, Wagner, Weber, |                     |








                                                                     SB 800


                                                                    Page  2





          |                |     |Wood                   |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 


          SUMMARY:  Makes numerous substantive, technical, and minor  
          non-controversial changes to various provisions of the healing  
          arts boards regulated by the Department of Consumer Affairs  
          (DCA).  Specifically, this bill:
          1)Makes the following changes related to the name of the Dental  
            Board of California and the Dental Hygiene Committee of  
            California (DHCC):
             a)   Replaces the name of the regulatory entity "Board of  
               Dental Examiners" with the "Dental Board of California."
             b)   Repeals the fee for examination provision for third and  
               fourth year dental students for licensure as a registered  
               dental hygienist.  


             c)   Adds a feasibility study review in addition to a  
               curriculum review and site evaluation for educational  
               programs for dental hygienists who are not accredited by a  
               DHCC-approved agency, as specified.


          2)Makes the following changes related to the Medical Board of  
            California (MBC) and the Medical Practice Act:
             a)   Deletes an outdated reference to a repealed pilot  
               program.
             b)   Requires an individual to apply for a new license who  
               voluntarily cancels his or her license or who fails to  
               renew his or her license within five years after its  
               expiration.  


             c)   Updates the name of the "San Diego Psychoanalytic  
               Institute" to the "San Diego Psychoanalytic Center."  









                                                                     SB 800


                                                                    Page  3






             d)   Deletes the requirement that physical therapist  
               education include at least 18 weeks of full-time experience  
               with a variety of patients. 


             e)   Changes the name of the "Diversion Program" to the  
               "Intervention Program" for registered nurses.


             f)   Repeals title act specifications for nurse  
               practitioners.  


             g)   Deletes an outdated reference to an educational  
               institution.


          3)Makes the following changes related to the Board of Optometry  
            (BOO) and the Optometric Practice Act:
             a)   Deletes the requirement for an applicant for licensure  
               as an optometrist to submit proof that he or she has been  
               in active practice in the state in which he or she is  
               licensed for a total of 5,000 hours, as specified. 
             b)   Clarifies that the BOO may grant a license to practice  
               optometry to an optometrist that has not had his or her  
               license revoked or suspended in any state where the person  
               holds a license, in addition to meeting other requirements.  
                


             c)   Specifies that an applicant for licensure as an  
               optometrist has no specified drug or mental impairment as  
               determined by a licensed psychologist or licensed  
               psychiatrist instead of a licensed physician.  


          4)Makes the following change related to the Physician Assistant  
            Board (PAB):








                                                                     SB 800


                                                                    Page  4





             a)   Replaces the titles "Chairperson" and "Vice Chairperson"  
               with "President" and "Vice president."
          5)Makes the following changes related to the Veterinary Medical  
            Board (VMB):
             a)   Authorizes the VMB to deny, in addition to revoke or  
               suspend, a controlled substance permit for specified  
               reasons.
             b)   Prohibits a petition from being considered for  
               reinstatement or modification of a penalty by the VMB if  
               the petitioner is under sentence for any criminal offense,  
               as specified. 


          6)Makes the following changes related to the Board of  
            Acupuncture (CAB):
             a)   Removes Canada as the domestic equivalent to the United  
               States in regard to documenting training and educational  
               experience for applicants for licensure as an acupuncturist  
               in California and includes Canada in the requirement for  
               the CAB to establish standards for the approval of  
               educational training and clinical experience outside of the  
               United States.  
          7)Makes the following changes related to the Board of Behavioral  
            Sciences (BBS):
             a)   Requires the 12-hour law and ethics course required for  
               licensure as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist  
               (LMFT), Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP), Licensed  
               Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), or Licensed  
               Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) to be taken from a continuing  
               education provider specified by the BBS through regulation.
             b)   Prohibits an applicant for licensure as an LMFT or LPCC  
               from being employed or volunteering in a private practice  
               until registered with the BBS as an intern.


             c)   Repeals a specified list of continuing education  
               providers and instead defines other continuing education  
               providers as those approved by the BBS in regulation.  









                                                                     SB 800


                                                                    Page  5






             d)   States that marriage and family therapist registrant  
               interns, professional clinical counselor, and associate  
               clinical social worker registrants may apply for, and  
               receive, a subsequent registration number instead of a new  
               registration number, as specified. 


          8)Makes the following changes related to the Telephone Medical  
            Advice Services Bureau (TMASB):
             a)   Deletes references to in-state and out-of-state  
               registrants. 
             b)   Adds Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) and LPCCs to the list of  
               qualified medical advice service providers. 


             c)   Adds the following to the list of requirements in order  
               to obtain and maintain a registration as a telephone  
               medical advice service: 


             d)   Notifying the department within 30 days of any change of  
               name, physical location, mailing address, or telephone  
               number of any business, owner, partner, corporate officer,  
               or agent for service of process in California, together  
               with copies of all resolutions or other written  
               communications that substantiate changes; and, 


             e)   Submitting quarterly reports, on a form prescribed by  
               the Department, to the Department within 30 days of the end  
               of each calendar quarter.  


          9)Makes numerous technical, substantive, and conforming changes.  

          10)Add provisions from AB 250 (Obernolte), Chapter 50, Statutes  
            of 2015, and SB 620 (Block) of the current legislative session  
            to avoid chaptering out issues.








                                                                     SB 800


                                                                    Page  6







          11)Add double-jointing language to avoid chaptering out issues  
            with AB 483 (Patterson) of the current legislative session.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, this bill will result in negligible state fiscal  
          effect. 


          COMMENTS:  


          Purpose.  This bill is the annual Omnibus Committee bill  
          authored by the Senate Business, Professions and Economic  
          Development Committee which consolidates a number of  
          non-controversial provisions related to various regulatory  
          programs and professions governed by the [Business and  
          Professions Code (BPC)] within the DCA.  Consolidating the  
          provisions in one bill is designed to relieve the various  
          licensing Boards, bureaus and professions from the necessity and  
          burden of having separate measures for a number of  
          non-controversial revisions.  As noted by the author, many of  
          the provisions in this bill are minor and technical changes  
          which update outdated references or titles in existing law.   
          Other provisions may be substantive consensus changes which aim  
          to improve the efficacy of the various healing arts entities in  
          administering and enforcing the provisions of their respective  
          licensing laws.  


          Dental Hygiene Committee of California.  The DHCC has the  
          authority over all aspects of the licensing and regulation of  
          dental hygienists, including enforcement and investigation and  
          the approval of educational programs that provide the  
          prerequisite education to become a licensed dental hygienist.   
          The DHCC also develops and administers written and clinical  
          licensing examinations and conducts occupational analyses of the  








                                                                     SB 800


                                                                    Page  7





          various professional categories.


          This bill updates the BPC to strike outdated references to the  
          Board of Dental Examiners with its current title as the Dental  
          Board of California (DBC).  This bill clarifies that the DHCC is  
          a separate entity from the DBC and must separately create and  
          maintain a central file of the names of all persons who hold a  
          license, certificate or similar authority from that "board."   
          This bill also repeals the fee for examination for licensure as  
          a registered dental hygienist for third and fourth year dental  
          students.  


          Medical Board of California.  The MBC is the regulatory entity  
          responsible for regulating physician and surgeons and a number  
          of other allied health professionals.  The jurisdiction of the  
          MBC includes issuing licenses and certificates, the  
          administration and hearing of disciplinary actions, and carrying  
          out disciplinary actions as determined by the appropriate panel  
          or ALJ including suspending, revoking, or otherwise limiting  
          certificates after the conclusion of disciplinary actions.  This  
          bill would specify that a person who voluntarily cancels his or  
          her license or who fails to renew within five years may not  
          renew the license, but must instead reapply for licensure.  


          Board of Optometry.  The BOO licenses and regulates optometrists  
          in California.  In order to become licensed as an optometrist an  
          individual must graduate from an accredited school or college of  
          optometry, take and pass a three-part national board examination  
          and take and pass a California state examination.  For those  
          optometrists licensed outside of California who seek licensure  
          in this state, they are required to meet the same provisions  
          above, but also meet other requirements including having a  
          license in good standing in another state, never had his or her  
          license revoked, and submit proof that he or she has been in  
          active practice for at least 5,000 hours in five of the seven  
          consecutive years immediately preceding the date of his or her  








                                                                     SB 800


                                                                    Page  8





          application.  


          According to the author, the certification form for identifying  
          the 5,000 hours includes information pertaining to each worksite  
          where the hours were earned, such as worksite addresses, dates,  
          and number of hours worked at each location. The applicant signs  
          this certification under penalty of perjury that the information  
          is true and correct.  However, no supporting information is  
          required to substantiate that the information provided is true.   



          This requirement is now considered obsolete by the BOO and  
          inconsistent with the licensing requirements for new graduates.   
          This bill will delete the requirement that out-of-state  
          applicants submit proof of 5,000 hours of experience from  
          outside the state. 


          Physician Assistant Board.  The PAB is responsible for the  
          licensing and regulation of physician assistants.  The PAB is  
          comprised of nine members, five professional and four public.   
          This bill revises the current requirement that the PAB appoint a  
          "chairperson" and "vice chairperson" and instead requires the  
          PAB to appoint a "president" and "vice president" respectively.   



          Veterinary Medical Board.  The VMB licenses and regulates  
          veterinarians, RVTs, schools and programs along with veterinary  
          premises and hospitals through the enforcement of the California  
          Veterinary Medicine Practice Act.  The VMB develops and enforces  
          the standards for examinations, licensing, and hospital and  
          school inspections.  This bill makes minor and technical changes  
          pertaining to applications for a veterinary controlled substance  
          permit and specifies that a petition for reinstatement or  
          modification of a penalty may not be considered for a petitioner  
          who is under sentence for any criminal offense as specified.  








                                                                     SB 800


                                                                    Page  9







          Board of Acupuncture.  In order to be licensed as an  
          acupuncturist in California, an applicant must be at least 18  
          years of age and complete either an educational and training  
          program that includes 3,000 hours of study in the practice of  
          acupuncture, or a supervised tutorial program which is approved  
          by the CAB.  This bill would allow graduates from Canadian  
          Acupuncture Training programs to apply as foreign applicants to  
          take the California Acupuncture Licensure Examination.  
          Currently, Canada is not included in BPC 4938 (c) as a foreign  
          training location. As a result, Canadian applicants must meet  
          other specified requirements.  Currently, the CAB does not  
          extend its school approval to Canadian training programs and  
          none of the Canadian acupuncture training programs would satisfy  
          current requirements. 

          Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS).  The BBS regulates four  
          categories of professionals who perform counseling services  
          including: LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs.  In addition to  
          providing licensure to qualified candidates the BBS also  
          registers marriage and family therapist interns, associate  
          clinical social workers, professional clinical counselor interns  
          and continuing education providers.  The BBS is tasked with  
          developing and administering the written examination for its  
          licensure categories along with administering the continuing  
          education program to ensure professional competency.  This bill  
          will clarify that an LEP or LPCC are registered and subject to  
          regulation by the BBS.  In addition, this bill updates the  
          statute to be consistent with the BBS's updated regulations  
          pertaining to continuing education.  The BBS no longer approved  
          continuing education providers and the changes in this bill  
          reflect the update to the BBS's ne continuing education provider  
          regulations.  

          Telephone Medical Advice Services Bureau.  The TMASB is  
          responsible for registering all businesses that employ, contract  
          or, sub-contract with full-time or five or more persons  
          functioning as health care professionals and engage in the  








                                                                     SB 800


                                                                    Page  10





          business of providing medical advice services over the telephone  
          to a patient at a California address.  In order to be registered  
          with the TMASB a business must submit an application, a  
          registration fee, a list of staff providing the medical advice  
          services, and each business is required to notify the TMASB  
          within 30 days of any change of name, location, address,  
          business owner, among others.  In order to maintain  
          registration, a business must comply with multiple requirements  
          including ensuring that all persons providing services are  
          licensed, as specified, maintain records, and comply with all  
          directions and requests made by the DCA, among others.  This  
          bill will also add to the list of requirements to maintain  
          registration that the DCA be notified within 30 days of any  
          changes in address, name, location etcetera, and submit  
          quarterly report as specified. 

          Currently, NDs and LPCCs are not included in the list of  
          licensed healthcare professionals who can provide medical advice  
          through a TMASB-registered company.  This bill adds NDs and  
          LPCCs to the list of health care professionals that may provide  
          medical advice services through a Bureau-registered company.  In  
          addition, this bill will delete a reference to in-state and  
          out-of-state licensed providers because the Bureau does not make  
          a distinction for in-state or out-of-state registrants.  



          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Elissa Silva / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301  FN:  
          0002041

















                                                                     SB 800


                                                                    Page  11