BILL ANALYSIS
AB 549
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Date of Hearing: January 12, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 549 (Furutani) - As Amended: January 6, 2010
SUBJECT : Licensure: clinical laboratory personnel.
SUMMARY : Permits the State Department of Health Services
(department) to issue a clinical biochemical geneticist license.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Adds "clinical biochemical geneticist" to the list of clinical
licenses available from the department, provided the applicant
has met specified requirements.
2)References current regulations relating to graduate education
requirements.
3)States that a formal letter or other written documentation
from an accredited training program indicating an applicant's
completion of the program, and from a clinical laboratory
confirming the applicant's employment experience as required
by regulation, is sufficient evidence that the applicant has
met the specified requirements.
4)Requires each applicant to provide evidence of satisfactory
performance on an examination in the applicant's specialty or
subspecialty administered by an appropriate accrediting body
recognized by the State Department of Public Health. States
that formal letters or other documentation, as specified, must
be provided directly by the examining agency or accrediting
body to the department.
5)Replaces the term "national" accrediting body with
"appropriate" accrediting body to widen the pool of entities
that may conduct examinations.
6)States that a person licensed as a clinical biochemical
geneticist and clinical biochemical genetic laboratories may
be directed by an individual licensed in the subspecialty of
biochemical genetics within the specialty of genetics, or
other specialty or subspecialty specified by departmental
regulations.
AB 549
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EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides for the regulation and licensure of clinical
laboratories and clinical laboratory personnel by the State
Department of Public Health.
2)Requires an applicant to meet various requirements in order to
be eligible to take the examination for a special clinical
laboratory scientist's license.
3)Requires the department to issue a license for a clinical
chemist, clinical microbiologist, clinical toxicologist,
clinical molecular biologist, clinical biochemical geneticist,
or clinical cytogeneticist to each applicant who also holds of
a master of science or doctoral degree in the specialty for
which the applicant is seeking licensure and has met other
requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office, "This
bill adds biochemical geneticists to existing licensing laws in
a manner commensurate with other specialists in genetics so that
certified biochemical geneticists can make a contribution to the
clinical setting in California as they do in other states.
"In addition, AB 549 would deem approved by the state any
post-doctoral training programs approved by the major national
accrediting boards. This provision is included because of
delays in Laboratory Field Services (LFS) acting on requests for
approval. Training programs often wait six months to a year to
obtain approval and at times graduates aren't able to obtain
licensure because they are told their training program was not
approved."
Background . Clinical Biochemical Genetics is recognized as a
laboratory discipline concerned with the evaluation and
diagnosis of patients and families with inherited metabolic
disease, monitoring of treatment, and distinguishing
heterozygous carriers from noncarriers by metabolite and
enzymatic analysis of physiological fluids and tissues.
Arguments in support . According to the sponsor, City of Hope,
AB 549
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"The field of genetics is a new and rapidly transforming field.
In addition to cytogenetics and molecular genetics, the AMBG
approves training programs and personnel certification for
biochemical genetists. California law lacks any mention of this
field of genetics and LFS does not have any regulations or
licensing program for this small yet growing field of high
complexity lab clinicians."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support :
City of Hope (sponsor)
Opposition :
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Sarah Huchel / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301