BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1478 Hearing Date: April 18,
2016
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|Author: |Committee on Business, Professions and Economic |
| |Development |
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|Version: |March 10, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Nicole Billington |
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Subject: Healing arts
SUMMARY: Makes several non-controversial minor, non-substantive, or
technical changes to various provisions pertaining to the
health-related regulatory Boards of the Department of Consumer
Affairs.
Existing law:
1) Provides for the licensing and regulation of various
professions and businesses by the 26 boards, 10 bureaus, 3
committees, two committees, one program, and one commission
within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) under various
licensing acts within the Business and Professions Code
(BPC).
2) Contains the following provisions relating to the Dental
Board of California (DBC):
a) Require applicants for licensure to successfully
complete Part I and Part II written examinations of the
National Board Dental Examination of the Joint Commission
of National Dental Examinations. (BPC § 1632(a) and §
1634.1(d))
3) Contains the following provisions relating to the Medical
Board of California (MBC):
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Development) Page 2 of ?
a) Establishes the Task Force on Culturally and
Linguistically Competent Physicians and Dentists under the
MBC. (BPC § 852)
b) Requires the MBC to keep copies of complaints for ten
years. (BPC § 2029)
c) Creates the Bureau of Medical Statistics within the
MBC with the purpose of providing the MBC and its
divisions with statistical information necessary to carry
out their functions of licensing, medical education,
medical quality, and enforcement. (BPC § 2380 - 2392)
4) Contains the following provisions relating to the Board of
Podiatric Medicine (BPM):
a) Authorizes the BPM to elect a President and Vice
President as officers of the BMP. (BPC § 2467(d))
5) Contains the following provisions relating to the California
Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS):
a) Allows licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT),
licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), and licensed
professional clinical counselor (LPCC) applicants to gain
experience house as a W-2 employee. (BPC § 4980.43, §
4996.23, and § 4999.47)
b) References the term "associate social workers". (BPC
§ 4992.05)
c) Specifies that an applicant for licensure shall not be
eligible for examination until the school has received
accreditation. (BPC § 4996.18(c))
d) Requires that an LMFT applicant for licensure must
submit a certification from his or her educational
institution certifying that the curriculum required for
graduation meets specified education requirements. (BPC §
4980.38)
e) Establishes a grand-parenting period at the beginning
of the LPCC licensing program, which allowed the Board to
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Development) Page 3 of ?
accept applicants with deficiencies in education or
experience if they successfully completed certain
examinations and requirements. (BPC § 4999.54, § 4999.52,
and § 4999.120)
f) Requires the degree that qualifies an LMFT and LPCC
applicant for licensure to be obtained from an accredited
school. (BPC § 4980.36, § 4980.37, § 4980.78, § 4980.79,
and § 4999.12)
g) Defines acceptable school approval and equivalent
accrediting agencies. (BPC § 4980.40.5)
h) References LMFT and LPCC registrants as "interns".
(BPC § 4980 - 4999.129)
This bill:
1) Makes the following changes relating to the Dental Board of
California (DBC):
a) Reflects the integration of Part I and II of the
National Dental Board Examination that becomes effective
in 2017 in BPC §1632(a) and § 1634.1(d).
2) Makes the following changes relating to the Medical Board of
California (MBC):
a) Deletes obsolete language in BPC § 852 regarding
inoperative Task Force of Culturally and Linguistically
Competent Physicians and Dentists.
b) Eliminates the redundant requirement in BPC § 2029 to
keep records past the statute of limitations, as the
retention schedule and statute of limitations is specified
elsewhere in code.
c) Deletes obsolete language in BPC § 2380 - 2392
pertaining to the nonexistent Bureau of Medical
Statistics.
3) Makes the following changes relating to the Board of
Podiatric Medicine (BPM):
SB 1478 (Committee on Business, Professions and Economic
Development) Page 4 of ?
a) Amends BPC § 2467 to authorize the election of a
Secretary to the list of authorized board officer
positions.
4) Makes the following changes relating to the California Board
of Behavioral Sciences (BBS):
a) Clarifies in BPC § 4980.43, § 4996.23, and § 4999.47
that interns, trainees, and associates may not gain
experience hours for work performed as an independent
contractor.
b) Amends BPC § 4992.05 to replace "associate social
worker" with "associate clinical social worker" for
consistency.
c) Specifies in BPC § 4996.18 that LCSW applicants are
only prohibited from taking the clinical exam until the
school has achieved accreditation.
d) Amends BPC § 4999.40, § 4999.60, and § 4999.61 to make
program certification requirements consistent between LPCC
applicants and LMFT applicants.
e) Deletes language in BPC § 4999.54, § 4999.52, and §
4999.120 about an inoperative LPCC grand-parenting
provision.
f) Amends the title of approved accreditation agencies in
BPC § 4980.36, § 4980.37, § 4980.78, § 4980.79, § 4999.12
to be consistent with the title used by the United States
Department of Education.
g) Deletes BPC § 4980.40.5 that references acceptable
school approval.
h) Adds BPC § 4980.09 and § 4999.12.5 to change the title
of "intern" to "associate" for LMFT and LPCC applicants.
FISCAL
EFFECT: Unknown. This bill was keyed "fiscal" by Legislative
Counsel.
SB 1478 (Committee on Business, Professions and Economic
Development) Page 5 of ?
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose. This bill is one of two "committee bills" authored
by the Business, Professions and Economic Development
Committee (Committee) and is intended to consolidate a number
of non-controversial provisions related to various regulatory
programs and professions governed by the BPC. Consolidating
the provisions in one bill is designed to relieve the various
licensing boards, bureaus, professions and other regulatory
agencies from the necessity and burden of having separate
measures for a number of non-controversial revisions.
Many of the provisions of this bill are minor, technical, and
updating changes, while other provisions are substantive
changes intended to improve the ability of various licensing
programs and other entities to efficiently and effectively
administer their respective laws.
However, as a Committee bill, if controversy or opposition
should arise regarding any provision that cannot be resolved,
then that provision will be removed from the bill. This will
eliminate the chance of placing any of the other provisions
in jeopardy.
2.Background. The following is background and reasons for the
more significant and substantive provisions in this measure:
a) Dental Board of California (DBC). The DBC is
responsible for regulating the practice of approximately
102,000 licensed dental health professionals, including
dentists, registered dental assistants, and registered
dental assistants in extended functions. BPC § 1632(a)
and § 1634.1(d), require each applicant to successfully
complete Part I and Part II written examinations of the
National Board Dental Examination of the Joint Commission
on National Dental Examinations. In 2017, the Joint
Commission will be integrating Part I and Part II
examinations as one exam, thus the specification of Part I
and Part II examinations within the Act is no longer
applicable. The plural form of examination, "examinations"
is also inapplicable as there will only be one examination
and not two.
SB 1478 (Committee on Business, Professions and Economic
Development) Page 6 of ?
b) Medical Board of California (MBC). AB 2394
(Firebaugh, Chapter 802, Statutes of 2000) became
effective January 1, 2001 and created Task Force on
Culturally and Linguistically Competent Physicians and
Dentists. This Task Force was created, met, and put out a
report to the Legislature (from DCA). However, in 2003,
AB 801 (Diaz, chapter 510, Statutes of 2003) was enacted
and established the Cultural and Linguistic Competency Act
of Physicians Act of 2003 in BPC § 2198. As a result of
BPC § 2198, the MBC created a Cultural and Linguistic
Competency workgroup. The Task Force on Culturally and
Linguistically Competent Physicians and Dentists,
therefore, has not been active since 2003. This bill
would delete BPC § 852 pertaining to the Task Force on
Culturally and Linguistically Competent Physicians and
Dentists.
BPC § 2029 requires the MBC to keep copies of complaints
for 10 years. However, the MBC already has its own record
retention schedule and BPC § 2227.5 requires the MBC to
keep complaints for seven years or until the statute of
limitations has expired, whichever is shorter. BPC §
2230.5 sets forth the statute of limitations for filing an
accusation which is three years from the date the MBC
finds out about the event or seven years from the date of
the event, whichever occurs first. Both of these sections
of law make BPC § 2029 inapplicable. This bill would
delete BPC § 2029.
The sections of law that created the Bureau of Medical
Statistics in the Board were enacted in 1980. However,
collecting Board statistics is part of the Board's normal
operating functions, and a separate bureau to collect
statistics is not needed.
c) Board of Podiatric Medicine (BPM). Current law
statutorily authorizes various regulatory health boards
within the DCA to elect a President, Vice President,
Secretary, and, in some cases, any other officers as the
board deems necessary. The BPM is constricted in practice
because it is limited to the election of only two board
positions elected annually. Language pertaining to the
election of a President and Vice President dates back to
the BPM's predecessor agency - the Podiatry Examining
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Development) Page 7 of ?
Committee. At that time and within that structure, the
existence of only a President and Vice President may have
been optimum and sufficient. However, the BMP has not
operated as an examining committee for 30 years. The BPM
cites that the additional leadership position will help
ensure continuity, provide additional oversight, and an
opportunity for increased member engagement. The reported
effects to BPM's budget and operations are minimal.
d) California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS). The
BBS currently has four license types: licensed marriage
and family therapists (LMFTs), licensed educational
psychologists (LEPs), licensed clinical social workers
(LCSWs), and licensed professional clinical counselors
(LPCCs).
BPC § 4980.43, § 4996.23, and § 4999.47 allow LMFT, LCSW,
and LPCC applicants to gain experience hours as a W-2
employee or a volunteer, but not as an independent
contractor. However, the Board gets a significant number
of applications for exam eligibility from individuals who
are contracting and receiving a 1099 tax form. Some
applicants believe that, because the statute says
"employed", they can be 1099 employees, which is
incorrect. The Board cannot accept a 1099 form because,
by definition, a 1099 form is the IRS form issued to
independent contractors. Applicants gaining experience
toward a Board license are required to be under
supervision; therefore, by definition, they cannot work
independently. This bill would amend the law to clarify
that interns, trainees, and associates may not be employed
as independent contractors, and that they may not gain any
experience hours for work performed as an independent
contractor, reported on an IRS Form 1099, or both.
BPC § 4996.18(c) states that an LCSW applicant is not
eligible for examination until his or her school or
department of social work has received accreditation by
the Commission on Accreditation of the Council on Social
Work Education. The purpose of this statute is to keep an
LCSW applicant from becoming licensed until it is
confirmed that his or her school obtains the accreditation
required for licensure. However, the wording of this
requirement could be problematic when the timing of the
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Development) Page 8 of ?
exams changes with the exam restructure on January 1,
2016. Under the exam restructure, associates must take a
law and ethics exam within the first year of registration
in order to renew that registration. This new requirement
results in the first examination being taken much sooner
after graduation that the previous requirement
(previously, both required exams were taken at the end of
gaining hours, a process that takes at least 2 years).
Since accrediting a school sometimes takes several years,
the language could cause a first year associate to be
unable to take the law and ethics exam, and consequently,
be unable to renew his or her associate registration. To
remedy this situation, this bill would allow registrants
to take the law and ethics exam so that they may continue
renewing their registrations. Instead, they would be
prohibited from taking the clinical exam, which is still
taken at the end of gaining hours, until the school has
achieved accreditation.
BPC § 4999.54 established a grand-parenting period at the
beginning of the LPCC licensing program. The Board
accepted applications for licensure via grand-parenting
for the newly established license between January 1, 2011
and December 31, 2011. Until now, it was necessary to
keep the grand-parenting provision in law because there
were applicants who were still in the one-year remediation
period if they had deficiencies in their education and
experience, and there were still applicants in the exam
cycle attempting to pass the grand-parenting required
exams. As of summer 2015, all remediation periods have
expired and the final grand-parenting exam has been
administered. Therefore, this section is no longer
necessary; this bill would delete it.
BPC § 4980.36, § 4980.37, § 4980.78, § 4980.79, § 4999.12
require the degree qualifying an LMFT and LPCC applicant
for licensure to be obtained from an accredited school.
The law allows the accreditation to be from a regional
accrediting entity recognized by the United States
Department of Education (USDE) such as the Western
Association of Schools and Colleges. However, the
applicable BPC code is not precise enough about what this
means, because the language it uses is not consistent with
the language that USDE uses when referring to the
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Development) Page 9 of ?
accrediting agencies it recognizes. USDE recognizes two
basic categories of accreditation agencies: Regional and
National Institutional Accreditation Agencies and
Specialized Accrediting Agencies. The Board accepts the
first category of USDE recognized agencies, Regional and
National Institutional Accreditation Agencies. Therefore,
this bill would amend the LMFT and LPCC licensing law to
correctly identify that "Regional and National
Institutional Accreditation Agencies" recognized by USDE
are acceptable, so that the title the Board uses to
reference these agencies is consistent with the title used
by USDE.
BPC § 4980.40.5 was put in place in 2009 to define
acceptable school approval due to the fact that the Bureau
for Private Postsecondary Education had been sunset.
Today, the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education is
no longer sunset, and equivalent accrediting agencies are
already defined elsewhere in law. This bill, therefore,
would delete BPC § 4980.40.5, as it is no longer needed.
Individuals seeking licensure who have completed their
Master's degree program must register with the Board and
gain supervised experience hours before becoming licensed.
Registrants gaining supervised experience hours toward an
LMFT or LPCC license are referred to as "interns"
throughout applicable code. Stakeholders and registrants
have voiced concerns that the "intern" title for LMFT and
LPCC registrants may not be an accurate representation of
their post-master's degree graduate status. Registrants
gaining experience hours toward an LCSW license are
referred to as "associates." This bill would change
reference from "intern" to "associate" for LMFT and LPCC
applicants to create consistency in the titles used across
Board license types and remedy a common misconception that
LMFT and LPCC interns have not yet graduated.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support: None on file as of April 12, 2016.
Opposition: None on file as of April 12, 2016.
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Development) Page 10 of ?
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