BILL ANALYSIS
SB 724
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 10, 2001
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Helen Thomson, Chair
SB 724 (Committee on Business and Professions) - As Introduced:
February 23, 2001
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
POLICY QUESTION :
Should various changes be made to the laws regulating health
care professionals licensed under the Medical Board of
California, the Dental Board of California, the Speech-Language
Pathology and Audiology Board, the Board of Vocational Nursing
and Psychiatric Technicians, the Board of Pharmacy, and the
Board of Behavioral Sciences?
SUBJECT : Healing arts.
SUMMARY : Makes various changes to the laws regulating various
licensed health care professionals. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Medical Board
of California (MBC):
a) Requires that certain reports relating to settlements or
judgements against the licensee of more than $30,000
include the name and license number of the responsible
physician and surgeon.
b) Clarifies that an exemption from licensure as a
physician and surgeon during postgraduate training is
cancelled and participation in the program must cease if
MBC denies the individual's application for licensure.
c) Clarifies that MBC must approve an application for
exemption from licensure for out of state physicians and
surgeons who are recruited to practice in state and county
institutions.
d) Repeals a requirement relative to providing
documentation of specified coursework prior to entering
medical school.
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e) Repeals an obsolete reference to verification of
citizenship in relation to applicants for a physician and
surgeon's certificate.
f) Permits MBC to require licensure applicants to be
examined by a psychiatrist or psychologist or another
physician or health care practitioner, and also require an
oral clinical competency examination, in order to determine
whether it should issue a probationary license and whether
there should be any probationary conditions.
2)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Dental Board of
California (DBC):
a) Repeals an obsolete provision allowing certification in
oral conscious sedation for minor patients by documentation
of 10 cases of oral conscious sedation satisfactorily
performed.
b) Requires DBC to utilize in the administration of its
licensure examinations only examiners whom it has appointed
and who meet specified criteria, including practicing in
their licensure category for at least five years.
c) Provides for a disabled inactive status and reduced
license fee for any licensee who can demonstrate, to the
satisfaction of DBC, that they are unable to practice
dentistry due to a disability.
d) Repeals the sunset dates of various general anesthesia
provisions.
3)Extends the sunset date of the Speech-Language Pathology and
Audiology Board from July 1, 2002, to July 1, 2004.
4)Requires persons whose license under the Board of Vocational
Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians has been revoked,
suspended, surrendered, or placed on probation, to wait for
specified time periods before petitioning for reinstatement.
The time periods vary from one to three years, depending on
the condition placed on the license.
5)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Board of
Pharmacy (BOP):
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a) Deletes an obsolete reference to medical device
retailers.
b) Specifies that "manufacturer" does not mean a pharmacy
that, at the patient's request, repackages a drug
previously dispensed to the patient or the patient's agent
pursuant to a prescription.
c) Reinstates an inadvertently repealed provision that
authorizes BOP to specify in regulation that certain
dangerous devices may only be dispensed in a pharmacy.
d) Modifies BOP's authority to issue a temporary permit to
a pharmacy by limiting the time of the temporary permit to
180 days, and specifying that the temporary permits may be
subject to conditions or restrictions as BOP deems
necessary.
e) Deletes obsolete language providing an exception to the
registration requirements for pharmacy technicians.
f) Clarifies who is required to obtain an out-of-state
dangerous drug or dangerous device distributor's license.
g) Eliminates an obsolete provision regarding the
processing fee for remodeling plans and inspecting a
remodeled pharmacy.
6)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Board of
Behavioral Sciences (BBS):
a) Revises the doctor's or master's degree requirements for
marriage and family therapist licensure applicants to
eliminate degrees in social work with an emphasis in
clinical social work from qualifying for licensure as a
marriage and family therapist.
b) Specifies that a degree program must be a single,
integrated program that is designed to train marriage and
family therapists.
c) Requires registered marriage and family therapist
interns and associate clinical social workers, applying for
renewal, to notify BBS if they have been convicted of a
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crime since their last renewal and to pay a renewal fee of
$75. Prohibits renewal of registration if the application
is made more than six years after the registration was
initially issued.
d) Requires BBS to accept a passing score on the written
examination for marriage and family therapists, social
workers, and educational psychologists for a period of
seven years from the date on which the examination
occurred.
e) Clarifies the current prohibition against licensed
clinical social workers having sexual relations with
patients by specifying that such conduct is also prohibited
with former clients within two years following the
termination of therapy.
f) Repeals a section of law regarding the rights of a blind
person in relation to education and licensure as a licensed
clinical social worker.
g) Clarifies BBS's authority to deny a license to
applicants who are subject to an order of registration as a
sexual offender.
h) Requires applicants for licensure as a clinical social
worker to provide evidence of completion of 10 contact
hours of training or coursework in human sexuality, as
specified in regulations, and a minimum of seven contact
hours of training or coursework in child abuse assessment
and reporting, as specified in regulations.
i) Deletes the requirement that a supervisor of a
registered associate clinical worker submit evidence of
satisfactory completion of supervised experience gained by
an associate clinical social worker.
j) Revises the criteria by which required experience must
be obtained for licensure as a clinical social worker by
specifying that a minimum of 750 hours of the required
experience must consist of face-to-face individual or group
psychotherapy provided to clients in the context of
clinical social work services.
EXISTING LAW :
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1)Licenses and regulates various health care professionals
through various boards within the Department of Consumer
Affairs.
2)Requires that specified information relating to claims against
a physician for acts of professional negligence or for the
unauthorized rendering of professional services be reported to
MBC.
3)Sunsets certain provisions of law permitting the
administration of general anesthesia by a physician to
patients in the office of a dentist on January 1, 2002.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL . According to the author, this is one of
the Senate Business and Professions Committee's omnibus bills
that makes changes to various provisions of licensing statutes
for health professionals. The author states that at any time,
if provisions in this bill become controversial, they will be
removed. According to the author, this bill is intended to
address "housekeeping" items for health care regulatory
programs, by: 1) updating statutes to reflect various changes
to programs over the past year; 2) attending to code
maintenance by doing technical clean-up and deleting obsolete
references; or, 3) improving the administration of the various
boards by clearing up ambiguity or enhancing enforcement
authority.
2)SUPPORT . The Medical Board of California, Board of Pharmacy,
Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians
(BVNPT), Dental Board of California, and Board of Behavioral
Sciences have all written letters in support of those
provisions of this bill pertaining to their practice acts.
BVNPT states in support of the provision extending the minimum
time period a petitioner is required to wait before applying
for reinstatement of a license, that because existing law in
the Administrative Procedures Act permits application for
reinstatement after a one-year period, many petitioners are
applying for reinstatement without being sufficiently
rehabilitated. This is especially true of petitioners who
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have been disciplined for sexual or substance abuse. BBS
states that the provisions of this bill relating to BBS,
including requiring interns to notify BBS if they have been
convicted of a crime subsequent to their last renewal, would
clarify and strengthen existing law and provide for better
oversight of its licensing and enforcement programs.
Both the California Speech-Language Hearing Association and the
California Academy of Audiology support this bill to extend
the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board's sunset
date, and to make technical changes.
3)SUPPORT IF AMENDED . The California Chapter of the National
Association of Social Workers (NASW) states that it would
support this bill if the provision that prohibits social
workers from engaging in sexual relations with a former client
within two years of the termination of therapy is amended to
prohibit sexual relations with a former client regardless of
any time period following therapy . NASW argues that unless
extraordinary circumstances warrant it, social workers should
never engage in sexual activities or sexual contact with
former clients.
4)OPPOSE UNLESS AMENDED . The California Medical Association
(CMA) opposes this bill unless the following amendments are
taken:
a) Removal of the provision of this bill that permits MBC
to request a psychological evaluation of any applicant for
licensure. CMA states that this language presents a new
policy discussion that simply has not taken place and which
further raises several questions as to its purpose and
implementation; and,
a) With regard to the provision of this bill permitting the
Board of Pharmacy to establish a list of those dangerous
devises that may only be dispensed by a pharmacy, CMA
requests that physicians be exempted from any list adopted
pursuant to this provision.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Board of Behavioral Sciences
SB 724
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Board of Pharmacy, Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric
Technicians
California Academy of Audiology
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
California Speech-Language Hearing Association
Dental Board of California
Medical Board of California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Vincent D. Marchand / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097