BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1416
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Date of Hearing: April 14, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 1416 (Galgiani) - As Introduced: February 27, 2009
SUBJECT : Vocational nursing and psychiatric technicians:
school accreditation.
SUMMARY : Replaces mandatory site inspections for accreditation
of Vocational Nursing (VN) or Psychiatric Technician (PT)
schools by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric
Technicians (board) with a document review, as specified.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the board, through an official representative, to
inspect all VN and PT schools at regular intervals and at
other times that the board deems necessary.
2)Requires such inspections to be conducted by a site visit or
by a review of documents required by the board, or both, as
determined by the board.
3)Requires the representative to prepare a report for the board
of the representative's inspection. Based upon the report,
the board shall approve as accredited the schools that meet
the requirements of this article as prescribed by the board.
4)States that if the board determines that a school does not
meet those requirements, the board shall immediately deliver
to the school a written notice of the school's defect or
defects. If the school does not correct the specified defects
within a reasonable time, the board may:
a) Deny initial placement on the accredited schools list of
a school conducting its initial class; or,
b) Remove a school from the accredited schools list.
EXISTING LAW requires the board to inspect all VN and PT schools
when it deems necessary to determine accreditation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
AB 1416
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Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office, "AB
1416 would clarify that the board has discretion to conduct an
inspection by site visit or by review of documents required by
the board, or both, for initial accreditation. The evaluation
of written documents for accreditation has proven successful for
continued accreditation and is fiscally prudent when evaluating
a new school that has proven its compliance throughout the
application process. More importantly, AB 1416 will allow the
board to function more efficiently given its staffing
constraints."
Background . According to information provided by the author,
the board requires a site visit to a program campus to determine
whether the program is in compliance with applicable statutes
and regulations in the VN Practice Act or the PT law following.
Subsequent to the visit, a report is made by board staff to
facilitate the board's accreditation of the proposed program.
Colleges and private institutions are accelerating their efforts
to request new programs and/or expand their existing authority
for class start dates in the various healthcare fields to meet
growing public demand. Within the past five years, the board
has approved 97 new Vocational Nursing or Psychiatric Technician
Programs. This averages to about 20 new programs a year.
Arguments in support . According to the board, it "? projects
that the proposed statutory amendment would result in savings of
approximately $1000 per school visit?. [This] bill upholds the
principles of consumer protection [because] ? use of savings
realized by this bill will enable consultants to more
effectively investigate schools who are suspect or blatantly in
non-compliance with the regulations that govern the VN or PT
technician program."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
The Board of vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians
Opposition
None on file.
AB 1416
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Analysis Prepared by : Sarah Huchel / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301