BILL ANALYSIS
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|Hearing Date:April 2, 2001 |Bill No:SB |
| |724 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Senator Liz Figueroa, Chair
Bill No: SB 724Author: Business & Professions Committee
As Introduced Fiscal:Yes
SUBJECT: Healing arts.
SUMMARY: Makes changes to the regulation of various health
care professionals, including licensed educational
psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, marriage
and family therapists, dentists, physicians and surgeons,
pharmacists, vocational nurses and psychiatric technicians.
Existing law:
1)Requires that specified information relating to claims
against a physician and surgeon for acts of professional
negligence or for the unauthorized rendering of
professional services be reported to the Medical Board of
California (Medical Board).
2)The Dental Practice Act (DPA), establishes an examining
committee within the Dental Board of California (Dental
Board) and makes it responsible, among other matters, for
assisting the Dental Board in the examination of
applicants for licensure by the Dental Board.
3)The DPA and the Medical Practice Act (MPA), includes
certain provisions operative until January 1, 2002,
relating to the administration of general anesthesia by a
physician and surgeon to patients in the office of a
dentist licensed by the Dental Board.
4)The MPA, prohibits a physician and surgeon from
practicing without a certificate issued by the Medical
Board and establishes criteria for the issuance of this
certificate, including evidence of the completion of
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specified preprofessional education courses. Under
specified conditions, a graduate of an approved medical
school and a graduate of a foreign medical school from
this certificate requirement while participating in
postgraduate training.
5)The Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists
Licensure Act, creates, until July 1, 2002, the
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board.
6)Provides for the licensing of vocational nurses and
psychiatric technicians by the Board of Vocational
Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians and authorizes the
board to reinstate a suspended or revoked license under
specified conditions.
7)The Pharmacy Law, provides for the regulation and
licensing of pharmacists and various other persons and
entities by the Board of Pharmacy and makes it a
misdemeanor for a wholesaler or any other person to
permit the dispensing of prescriptions except by a
pharmacist or exemptee.
8)Requires persons engaged in the practice of marriage and
family therapy to be licensed by the Board of Behavioral
Sciences (BBS). An applicant for this license is
required to achieve a passing score on an examination and
to possess a doctoral or master's degree in one of
several designated subjects, including social work.
Interns, defined as a person who has earned a master's or
doctoral degree but is not yet licensed, are required to
register with the BBS and renew this registration
annually. The BBS is authorized to assess various fees
in connection with its licensing activities that are
deposited into the Behavioral Sciences Fund, which is
continuously appropriated.
9)Requires persons engaged in the practice of clinical
social work to be licensed by the BBS. An applicant for
this license is required to meet specified professional
experience and educational requirements and to achieve a
passing score on a professional licensure examination.
The BBS is authorized to take disciplinary action against
a licensee for unprofessional conduct and makes the
violation of any provision regulating the licensure or
practice of a clinical social worker a crime.
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This bill:
1)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Board of
Behavioral Sciences :
a) Adds a qualifying degree title that conforms to the
current marriage and family therapist license title.
b) Broadens the Board's authority to approve qualifying
degree programs.
c) Specifies that a degree program must be a single,
integrated program that is designed to train marriage and
family therapists.
d) Eliminates references to degrees that are no longer
granted.
e) Requires registered marriage and family therapist
interns and associate clinical social workers, applying for
renewal, to notify the Board if they have been convicted of
a crime since their last renewal.
f) Clarifies that the registration of unlicensed marriage
and family therapist interns shall not be renewed or
reinstated beyond the timeframe identified in law.
g) Clearly identifies a timeframe during which the Board
will accept a passing score on the California written
examination.
h) Deletes an inaccurate reference to registrant status for
licensed educational psychologists.
i) Clarifies the current prohibition against licensed
clinical social workers having sexual relations with
patients by specifying that such conduct is prohibited
within 2 years following the termination of therapy.
j) Corrects inaccurate code references.
aa)Repeals an obsolete section of law regarding the rights of
a visually impaired person in relation to education and
licensure as a licensed clinical social worker.
bb)Broadens the Board's authority to deny a license to
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applicants who are subject to an order of registration
pursuant to Section 290 of the penal code. ["Megan's Law"]
cc)Clearly identifies all the educational requirements for
licensure as a licensed clinical social worker.
dd)Deletes obsolete language referencing experience gained
toward requirements for registration as an associate
clinical social worker.
ee)Deletes language that could be misconstrued to mean that
an associate clinical social worker must be an employee of
their supervisor.
ff)Deletes obsolete language regarding a report already
submitted to the Legislature.
gg)Deletes the requirement that a supervisor submit evidence
of satisfactorily completing supervised experience gained
by an associate clinical social worker.
hh)Clearly outlines the actual number of hours of experience
that must be accrued for face-to-face psychotherapy.
ii)Clarifies that the supervisor of an associate clinical
social worker in a private practice setting must also
regularly conduct business in this setting.
jj)Specifies that all associate clinical social workers,
regardless of whether they have accrued their experience
toward licensure, must continue to receive a minimum of one
hour of supervision each week until licensed.
1)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Dental
Board :
a) Repeals the provision allowing certification in oral
conscious sedation for minor patients by documentation.
b) Modifies the provisions governing the Board's examining
committee.
c) Provides for a disabled inactive status and reduced
license fee for any licensee who can demonstrate, to the
satisfaction of the Board, that they are unable to practice
dentistry due to a disability.
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d) Repeals the sunset dates of various general
anesthesia provisions.
1)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Medical
Board :
a) Clarifies that the 2 year exemption from licensure as a
physician and surgeon during postgraduate training is
cancelled and participation in the program must cease if
the Board's Division of Licensing denies the individual's
application for licensure.
b) Clarifies that the 2 year exemption from licensure for
physicians and surgeons who are recruited to practice in
state and county institutions is not allowed without the
approval of the Board's Division of Licensing.
c) Repeals an unnecessary requirement relative to providing
documentation of specified coursework prior to entering
medical school.
d) Repeals an obsolete reference to verification of
citizenship in relation to applicants for a physician and
surgeon's certificate.
e) Codifies a current practice of referring applicants for
a psychiatric evaluation or an oral clinical competency
examination when there is clear and convincing evidence in
the applicant's background that a condition has affected
the individual's ability to practice safely or has resulted
in disciplinary action.
f) Clarifies and specifies that certain reports shall
include the name and license number of the responsible
physician and surgeon.
1)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Board of
Pharmacy :
a) Deletes an obsolete reference to medical device
retailers.
b) Provides that "manufacturer" shall not mean a pharmacy
that, at the patient's request, repackages a drug
previously dispensed to the patient or the patient's agent
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pursuant to a prescription.
c) Reinstates an inadvertently repealed provision that
authorizes the Board to specify in regulation that certain
dangerous devices may only be dispensed in a pharmacy.
d) Authorizes the Board to issue a temporary permit to a
pharmacy in certain limited instances.
e) Deletes obsolete language providing an exception to the
registration requirements for pharmacy technicians.
f) Corrects a reference to an erroneous type of license.
g) Deletes an incorrect reference to dispensing of
prescriptions.
h) Simplifies existing law, which requires out of state
entities distributing dangerous drugs or dangerous devices
on a wholesale basis in California to be licensed by the
Board as a wholesaler.
i) Eliminates an obsolete provision regarding the
processing fee for remodeling plans and inspecting a
remodeled pharmacy.
1)Makes the following change pertaining to the
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board :
a) Extends the sunset date for the Board.
1)Makes the following change pertaining to the Board of
Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians :
a) Extends the period of time required for petitioners
to wait prior to applying for reinstatement of a
license, modification of probation, or termination of
probation.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
Measure Intended to Make Various Improvements to Regulatory
Programs Within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The
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measure, one of three annual omnibus bills, is intended to
attend to various housekeeping items for health care
regulatory programs and licensees. The bill attempts to do
this by either, i) updating statutes to reflect various
changes to programs within the Department of Consumer
Affairs over the past year, ii) attending to code
maintenance by doing technical clean-up and deleting
obsolete references, or
iii) improving the administration of the various boards by
clearing up ambiguity or enhancing enforcement authority.
Many of the provisions make minor, technical and updating
changes, while other provisions are substantive changes
which are intended to improve the ability of the various
licensing programs to efficiently and effectively
administer their respective licensing 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.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
Board of Behavioral Sciences
Board of Pharmacy
Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians
California Academy of Audiology
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
Dental Board of California
Opposition: None reported to the Committee as of March
27, 2001
Consultant:Kristin J. Triepke