BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1039
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 3, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 1039
(Hill) - As Amended August 1, 2016
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|Policy |Business and Professions |Vote:|11 - 5 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This omnibus bill increases fees and makes other changes to the
statutes governing various boards and bureaus under the
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). Specifically, this bill:
1)Includes fee increases for several boards, including the
Dental Hygiene Committee of California (DHCC), the California
Board of Optometry (CBO), the Board of Registered Nursing
(BRN), the Board of Pharmacy (BOP), and the Contractors State
License Board (CSLB).
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2)Eliminates the Telephone Medical Advice Services Bureau
(TMAS).
3)Requires the BRN to audit continuing education providers at
least once every five years to ensure adherence to regulatory
requirements, and requires the BRN to withhold or rescind
approval from any provider that is in violation of the
regulatory requirements.
4)Includes minor changes to practices and requirements under the
CSLB, the Veterinary Medical Board, and the Structural Pest
Control Board (SPCB).
5)Indicates intent to enact future legislation that would
establish a Dental Corps Scholarship Program within the Health
Professions Education Foundation to increase the supply of
dentists serving in medically underserved areas.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)One-time costs of $260,000 and ongoing costs of $250,000 per
year for the BRN to audit providers of continuing education
(Board of Registered Nursing Fund).
2)Increased licensing fee revenues of about $23 million per year
to the BRN (Board of Registered Nursing Fund).
3)Increased licensing fee revenues of about $7 million per year
to the Board of Pharmacy (Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund).
4)Increased licensing fee revenues of about $12.5 million per
year to the Contractor's State Licensing Board (Contractors
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Licensing Fund).
5)Unknown additional fee revenues due to increases in dental
hygienist license renewal fees
(State Dental Hygiene Fund) and for contact lens sellers,
registered dispensing opticians, and spectacle lens dispensers
(State Optometry Fund).
6)Reduced expenditures (and license fee revenues) of about
$200,000 per year from the elimination of the Telephone
Medical Advice Services Bureau (Telephone Medical Advice
Services Fund).
7)Information technology costs to change fee amounts are
expected to be minor and absorbable.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. This bill is intended to be an omnibus bill which
includes several changes to a number of boards under DCA, and
includes necessary fee increases for certain boards to ensure
they continue to operate without a major structural deficit
and maintain adequate reserves. This bill also makes other
clarifying substantive changes for the SPCB in regards to
inspection conducted by structural pest control operators and
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their companies and eliminates the TMAS Bureau which is no
longer necessary to provide oversight of remote advice
provided by healthcare practitioners.
2)Fee increases. Fee audits for a number of boards have
reflected fees that are insufficient to support operations.
Fee increases contained in this bill attempt to right-size
fees to address both structural imbalances and increased
program costs, such as for the BreEZe system, the state's new
enterprise-wide licensing system.
3)Telephone Medical Advice Services Bureau (TMAS). Under current
law, any business that provides telephone medical advice
services to a patient in California and who employs or
contracts with five or more health care professionals must
register with the TMAS Bureau. According to the most recent
DCA reports, the TMAS Bureau receives very few complaints and
there have been zero citations, fines assessed, referrals for
criminal or civil action, formal disciplinary actions filed,
or consumer restitution ordered by the TMAS Bureau in the last
five years. DCA licensing boards already have concurrent
authority over the practice of healthcare by licensed and
unlicensed individuals. This bill eliminates the TMAS Bureau.
4)Related Legislation. AB 2190 through AB 2194 (Salas) and SB
1192 through 1196 (Hill) are all 2016 sunset review bills on
various topics.
SB 1039
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Analysis Prepared by:Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916)
319-2081