BILL NUMBER: AB 549 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Furutani
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
An act to amend Sections 1207, 1261.5, and 1264 of, and
to add Sections 1261.7, 1261.8, 1261.9, 1261.10, 1264.1, 1264.2,
1264.3, 1264.4, and 1264.5 to, the Business and Professions Code,
relating to An act to amend Section 1264 of the
Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 549, as amended, Furutani. Licensure: clinical laboratory
personnel.
Existing law provides for the regulation and licensure of clinical
laboratories and clinical laboratory personnel by the State
Department of Public Health. Existing law requires the
department to issue a clinical chemist, clinical microbiologist,
clinical toxicologist, clinical molecular biologist, or clinical
cytogeneticist license to each person who has applied for the license
on a specified form, who also holds a master of science or doctoral
degree in the specialty for which the applicant is seeking a license,
and who has met other requirements. Existing law requires the
department to determine by examination,
except as specified , whether an applicant is
qualified. Existing law requires the graduate education to
have included 30 seme ster hours of coursework in the
applicants's specialty.
This bill would require the department to issue a clinical
biochemical geneticist license to a person meeting these requirements
and would specify that written documentation from an accredited
training program indicating that an applicant completed the program
shall constitute sufficient evidence. The bill would also require an
applicant to provide evidence of satisfactory performance on a
written examination in the applicant's specialty administered by one
of several accrediting bodies specified as an appropriate accrediting
body.
Existing law authorizes the department to issue limited clinical
laboratory scientist's licenses in chemistry, microbiology,
toxicology, histocompatibility, immunohematology, genetic molecular
biology, cytogenetics, or other areas of laboratory specialty or
subspecialty when determined necessary by the department, as
specified. Existing law requires an applicant to meet various
requirements in order to qualify for admission to the examination for
a special clinical laboratory scientist's license.
This bill would revise these requirements by requiring an
applicant to either (1) have graduated from an educational
institution maintaining standards equivalent to specified accredited
institutions and have one year of full-time postgraduate specified
training or experience or (2) have a doctoral degree from an
accredited institution and provide evidence of completion of 2 years
of postdoctoral training in a training program accredited by an
approved accrediting body for the specialty, as specified. The bill
would also authorize the department to issue a limited clinical
laboratory scientist's license in biochemical genetics.
The bill would also, commencing January 1, 2010, require the
department to issue a limited clinical laboratory scientist's license
in cytogenetics, genetic molecular biology, biochemical genetics,
and chemistry, to any person possessing a doctoral degree from an
accredited institution who provides evidence of completing 2 years of
postdoctoral training in a specified training program.
Existing law also requires the department to issue a clinical
chemist, clinical microbiologist, clinical toxicologist, clinical
molecular biologist, clinical biochemical geneticist, or clinical
cytogeneticist license to each person who has applied for the license
on a specified form who is also the holder of a master of science or
doctoral degree in the specialty for which the applicant is seeking
a license and who has met other requirements. Existing law requires
the graduate education to have included 30 semester hours of
coursework in the applicant's specialty.
This bill would specify that applicants possessing a doctoral
degree from an accredited institution shall have the equivalent of 2
years of postdoctoral training in a training program accredited by a
relevant accrediting body for the specialty and would also require
each applicant to provide evidence of satisfactory performance on a
specified written examination.
The bill would also, commencing January 1, 2010, require the
department to issue a provisional license as a clinical
cytogeneticist, clinical genetic molecular biologist, or a clinical
biochemical geneticist to any person possessing a doctoral degree
from an accredited institution who provides evidence of completing 2
years of postdoctoral training in a specified training program and
would also require each applicant to provide evidence of satisfactory
performance on a specified written examination.
Under existing law, a histocompatibility lab director, as defined,
in order to be eligible for licensure, as a histocompatibility lab
director, is required to provide evidence of satisfactory performance
on a specified written and oral examination.
The bill would also, commencing January 1, 2010, require the
department to issue a provisional license as a histocompatibility
laboratory director to any person possessing a doctoral degree from
an accredited institution who provides evidence of completing 2 years
of postdoctoral training in a specified training program and would
also require each applicant to provide evidence of satisfactory
performance on a specified written examination.
The bill would authorize the department to adopt emergency
regulations with respect to some of these provisions.
The bill would make other related changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1264 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
1264. The department shall issue a clinical chemist, clinical
microbiologist, clinical toxicologist, clinical molecular biologist,
clinical biochemical geneticist, or clinical
cytogeneticist license to each person who has applied for the license
on forms provided by the department, who is a lawful holder of a
master of science or doctoral degree in the specialty for which the
applicant is seeking a license , and who has met such
additional reasonable qualifications of training, education, and
experience as the department may establish by regulations. The
department shall issue an oral and maxillofacial pathologist license
to every applicant for licensure who has applied for the license on
forms provided by the department, who is a registered Diplomate of
the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, and who meets
any additional and reasonable qualifications of training, education,
and experience as the department may establish by regulation.
(a) (1) The graduate education shall have
included 30 semester hours of coursework in the applicant's
specialty. Applicants possessing only a master of science degree
shall have the equivalent of one year of full-time, directed study or
training in procedures and principles involved in the development,
modification or evaluation of laboratory methods, including training
in complex methods applicable to diagnostic laboratory work. Each
applicant must have had one year of training in his or her specialty
in a clinical laboratory acceptable to the department and three years
of experience in his or her specialty in a clinical laboratory, two
years of which must have been at a supervisory level. The education
shall have been obtained in one or more established and reputable
institutions maintaining standards equivalent, as determined by the
department, to those institutions accredited by an agency acceptable
to the department. The department shall determine by examination that
the applicant is properly qualified. Examinations, training, or
experience requirements for specialty licenses shall cover only the
specialty concerned.
(2) Written documentation from an accredited training program
indicating an applicant's completion of the program shall constitute
sufficient evidence for the purpose of this subdivision. Each
applicant shall also provide evidence of satisfactory performance on
a written examination in the applicant's specialty administered by an
appropriate accrediting body. Written documentation from the
National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel indicating an
applicant's satisfactory performance on the written examination shall
constitute sufficient evidence for this purpose. For purposes of
this section, the following accrediting bodies shall be considered
appropriate accrediting bodies:
(A) The American Board of Medical Microbiology.
(B) The American Board of Clinical Chemistry.
(C) The American Board of Bioanalysis.
(D) The American Board of Forensic Toxicology.
(E) The American Board of Medical Genetics.
(F) The Canadian Council of Medical Genetics.
(G) The American Academy of Clinical Toxicology
(H) The American Board of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics.
(I) The American Board of Medical Laboratory Immunology.
(b) The department may issue licenses without the
examination required by paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) to applicants who have passed examinations of
other states or national an
appropriate accrediting boards body
whose requirements are equal to or greater than those required
by this chapter and regulations established by the department. The
evaluation of other state requirements or requirements of
national appropriate accrediting boards
bodies shall be carried out by the department
with the assistance of representatives from the licensed groups. This
section shall not apply to persons who have passed an examination by
another state or national appropriate
accrediting board body prior to the
establishment of requirements that are equal to or exceed those of
this chapter or regulations of the department.
(c) The department may issue licenses without examination to
applicants who had met standards of education and training, defined
by regulations, prior to the date of the adoption of implementing
regulations.
(d) The department shall adopt regulations to conform to this
section. All matter omitted in this version of the bill appears in
the bill as amended in the Assembly, April 21, 2009. (JR11)