BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1478
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 14, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Rudy Salas, Chair
SB 1478(Committee on Business, Professions and Economic
Development) - As Introduced March 10, 2016
SENATE VOTE: 38-0
SUBJECT: Healing arts
SUMMARY: Makes numerous minor, technical, or non-substantive
changes to various provisions pertaining to the health-related
regulatory boards of the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Task Force on Culturally and Linguistically
Competent Physicians and Dentists (task force), as specified.
(BPC Section 852(a))
2)States that the duties of the task force include developing
recommendations for a continuing education program that
includes language proficiency standards, identifying the key
cultural elements necessary to meet cultural competency, and
assessing the need for voluntary certification standards and
examinations for cultural and linguistic competency. (BPC
Section 852(c))
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3)Requires the Medical Board of California (MBC) to keep a copy
of a complaint it receives regarding the poor quality of care
rendered by a licensee for ten years from the date the MBC
receives the complaint, as specified. (BPC Section 2029)
4)Establishes within the MBC a Bureau of Medical Statistics.
Provides that the purpose of the bureau is to provide the MBC
and its divisions with statistical information necessary to
carry out their functions of licensing, medical education,
medical quality, and enforcement. (BPC Section 2380)
5)Establishes the Dental Board of California (DBC) to license
and regulate dentists, registered dental assistants and
registered dental assistants in extended functions, as
specified. (BPC Section 1601.1 et seq.)
6)Requires each applicant for a dental license to successfully
complete the Part I and Part II written examination of the
National Dental Examination of the Joint Commission on
National Dental Examinations. (BPC Section 1632(a))
7)Establishes the Podiatric Medical Board within the
Jurisdiction of the MBC to license and regulate podiatrists.
(BPC Section 2460 et seq.)
8)Establishes the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), under the
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), to license and regulate
Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs), Licensed Marriage
and Family Therapists (LMFTs), Licensed Educational
Psychologists (LEPs), Licensed Professional Clinical
Counselors (LPCCs), Associate Clinical Social Workers (ACSWs),
Marriage and Family Therapist Interns (MFT Interns), and
Professional Clinical Counselor Interns (PCC Interns). (BPC
Sections 4990 et seq.)
9)Requires LMFT applicants to possess a specified doctoral or
master's degree obtained from an educational institution
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approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education
(BPPE) or accredited by either the Commission on Accreditation
for Marriage and Family Therapy Education, or a regional
accrediting agency that is recognized by the United States
Department of Education. (BPC Section 4980.36(b))
10)Prohibits MFT and LPCC interns and trainees from completing
supervised experience hours as an independent contractor.
(BPC Section 4980.43(c), 4999.47(a))
11)Refers to applicants for LCSW who are registered with the BBS
as associate social workers (ASW). (BPC Section 4992.05)
12)Specifies that an applicant who possesses a master's degree
from a school or department of social work that is a candidate
for accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of the
Council on Social Work Education (Commission), is required to
register as an ASW in order to gain experience toward
licensure, but the applicant is not eligible to take an
examination until the school or department of social work has
received accreditation by the Commission. (BPC Section 4996.18
(c))
13)Defines an "accredited" school for the purpose of licensure
as an LPCC, as a school, college, or university accredited by
the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, or its
equivalent regional accrediting association. (BPC Section
4999.12(b))
THIS BILL:
14)Makes the following changes related to the DBC and the dental
practice act:
a) Reflects the integration of the National Board Dental
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Examination of the Joint Commission on National Dental
Examinations (Joint Commission) from two parts to one.
15)Makes the following changes related to the MBC and the
practice act:
a) Deletes obsolete language pertaining to an inoperative
task force.
b) Deletes an obsolete reference to complaint retention for
licensees.
c) Deletes obsolete language pertaining to the inoperative
Bureau of Medical Statistics.
16)Requires the Board of Podiatric Medicine (BPM) to elect a
secretary in addition to a president and vice president.
17)Makes the following changes related to the BBS and LMFT, LCSW
and LPCC practice acts.
a) Replaces the titles "marriage and family therapist
intern" or "marriage and family therapist registered
intern" with the titles "associate marriage and family
therapist" or "registered associate marriage and family
therapist" beginning January 1, 2018.
b) Deletes an obsolete reference pertaining to school
approval.
c) Clarifies that social worker, marriage and family, and
professional clinical counselor interns, trainees, or
associates may not gain supervised experience while
employed as independent contractors, as specified.
d) Replaces the term "associate social worker" with
associate clinical social worker.
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e) Prohibits LCSW applicants from taking only the clinical
examination until the school has obtained accreditation, as
specified.
f) Expands the approved accreditation agencies, as
specified.
g) Replaces the titles "professional clinical counselor
intern" or "professional clinical counselor registered
intern" with the titles "associate professional clinical
counselor" or registered associate professional clinical
counselor" beginning January 1, 2018.
h) Requires applicants for licensure or registration as a
professional clinical counselor to submit to the BBS a
certification from the applicant's educational institution
that the institution's required curriculum for graduation
and any associated coursework meet specified curriculum
requirements.
i) Deletes an obsolete reference to a grandfathering
provision for licensure as an LPCC.
18)Makes numerous other technical and clarifying amendments.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, this bill will result
in negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the author. According to
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the author, "this bill is one of two "committee bills" authored
by the [Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic
Development] 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."
Background. Dental Board of California. The DBC is responsible
for the licensure and regulation of licensed dental health
professionals, which includes dentists, registered dental
assistants, and registered dental assistants in extended
functions. BPC 1632(a) specifies that applicants for licensure
as a dentist must successfully complete the Part I and Part II
written examinations of the National Board Dental Examination of
the Joint Commission. As noted by the author, in 2017, the
Joint Commission will be integrating the two-part examination
into one singular examination. The changes in this bill reflect
the integration of the examinations into one examination.
Medical Board of California. AB 2394 (Firebuagh), Chapter 808,
Statues of 2000, established a Task Force on Culturally and
Linguistically Competent Physicians and Dentists, chaired by the
Director of the DCA. The task force was required to report to
the Legislature and the respective licensing boards within two
years after its establishment. The task force released its
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report to the Legislature as required by AB 2394 in 2003.
According to the author, the task force has not been active
since 2003. This bill deletes BPC section 852 pertaining to the
establishment of the inactive task force.
BPC Section 2029 requires the MBC to keep a copy of a complaint
received regarding poor quality of care rendered by a licensee
for 10 years from the date the MBC received the complaint.
Currently, the MBC follows the provisions of BPC Sections of
2227.5 which requires the MBC to keep a copy of a complaint it
receives concerning the unprofessional conduct of a licensee for
seven years or until the statute of limitations for filing an
accusation against a licensee has expired, whichever period is
shorter, if the MBC finds after an investigation that there is
insufficient evidence to proceed with disciplinary action. The
author notes that this provision, along with the statute
pertaining to the time limit for filing an accusation (BPC
Section 2230.5), renders BPC Section 2029 inoperative;
therefore, this bill deletes BPC Section 2029.
The Bureau of Medical Statistics under the MBC was enacted in
1980. Currently, the MBC is responsible for collecting medical
statistics and the bureau is no longer active. This bill
deletes obsolete language pertaining to the Bureau of Medical
Statistics.
Board of Podiatric Medicine. BPC Section 2467 requires the BPM
to annually elect a president and a vice president of its board;
this bill will require the BPM to additionally elect a
secretary. The author notes that the BPM requested the
additional elected board position.
Board of Behavioral Sciences. The BBS licenses and regulates
LCSWs, LMFTs, LEPs, and LPCCs. Additionally, the BBS registers
ACSWs, MFT Interns, PCC Interns, and until June 30, 2015,
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registered continuing education (CE) providers. Each profession
has its own scope of practice, entry-level requirements, and
professional settings, with some overlap in certain areas.
Below are a few examples of settings in which licensees may
work; however, licensees may work in other settings that
lawfully provide mental health services.
Current law requires applicants for licensure as LMFT, LCSW, and
LPCC to obtain supervised hours of experience in order to
qualify for licensure. LMFT, LCSW, and LPCC applicants are
permitted to obtain experience hours as a volunteer or an
employee, but BPC Sections 4980.43 and 4999.47 specifically
prohibit applicants for LMFT and LPCC from gaining experience
while employed as an independent contractor. This bill further
clarifies that associates, trainees or interns employed as
independent contractors may not gain experience for work
performed as an independent contractor or employed as an
independent contractor.
SB 704 (Negrete McLeod) Chapter 387, Statutes of 2011,
restructured the examination process for Licensed Marriage and
Family Therapists (LMFTs), LCSWs, and Licensed Professional
Clinical Counselors (LPCCs). That bill established new
requirements for licensure and registration which included a
provision that applicants must take and pass both a California
law and ethics examination and a clinical examination as
prescribed by the BBS. Those changes also required that
beginning January 1, 2016, in order to renew registration as an
ACSW, an individual must take and pass the California law and
ethics examination. However, under current law, BPC Section
4996.18 specifies that a LCSW applicant is not eligible to take
any examination until his or her school or department of social
work has received accreditation by the Commission. Without the
changes proposed by this bill, an individual may not be able to
take the California and law and ethics examination rendering the
applicant ineligible for renewal.
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According to information from the BBS, the purpose of BPC
Section 4996.18 was to prohibit an LCSW applicant from obtaining
licensure until the applicant's school or department of social
work obtained accreditation from the Commission. However, as a
result of SB 704, the new examination requirements will be
implemented January 1, 2016. After this date, in order to renew
an ACSW registration, an applicant must take and pass the law
and ethics examination. Previously, both required examinations
were taken at the end of acquiring hours and upon meeting
educational accreditation standards. Since accrediting a school
can takes several years, the current law could cause a first
year associate to be unable to take the California law and
ethics examination, and consequently, be unable to renew his or
her registration. This bill makes conforming changes to allow
applicants for LCSW to take the law and ethics examination while
their school or department of social work is waiting for
accreditation, in order to meet new examination requirements for
registered as ACSWs.
SB 788 (Wyland), Chapter 619, Statutes of 2009, established the
LPCC Act. BPC Section 4999.54 was enacted to establish a
grandfathering provision at the beginning of the LPCC licensure
program. At that time the BBS accepted specified applications
for licensure under the grandfathering provisions between
January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011. Although the application
period ended five years ago, the provision remained to allow
those applicants to remediate missing coursework requirements.
The remediation period has since ended and this bill will delete
now obsolete references to the grandfathering provisions.
Persons seeking licensure as an LMFT, LCSW, and LPCC must first
register with the BBS and obtain hours of supervised experience.
According to the author, 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
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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 by the BBS and remedy a common
misconception that LMFT and LPCC interns have not yet graduated.
Current Related Legislation. SB 1479 (Senate Committee on
Business, Professions and Economic Development), of the current
legislative session, makes several non-controversial, minor,
non-substantive or technical changes to various provisions
within the Business and Professions Code relating to the
non-health regulatory boards or bureaus of the DCA. Status:
This bill is currently pending in the Assembly Committee on
Business and Professions.
Prior Related Legislation. SB 800 (Senate Committee on
Business, Professions and Economic Development), Chapter 426,
Statutes of 2015, made numerous substantive, technical, and
minor non-controversial changes to various provisions of the
healing arts boards regulated by the DCA.
SB 1466 (Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic
Development), Chapter 316, Statues of 2014, made several
non-controversial, minor, non-substantive or technical changes
to various provisions pertaining to the health regulatory
programs under the BPC.
SB 1575 (Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic
Development), Chapter 799, Statutes of 2012, made numerous minor
and technical changes to various provisions pertaining to the
health-related regulatory boards within the DCA.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT:
None on file.
REGISTERED OPPOSITION:
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Elissa Silva / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301