BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
707 (DeSaulnier)
Hearing Date: 5/11/2009 Amended: 4/22/2009
Consultant: Katie Johnson Policy Vote: Health 7-2
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 707 would establish a system of certification
and licensing for alcohol and other drug counselors by the
Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (DADP).
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
DADP licensing $337* $1,840* $2,133Special**
and certification
Licensing, certification, unknown, but likely sufficient
to Special**
and registration fee revenue cover ongoing program costs
beginning in FY 2011-2012
*Unless another funding source is identified, there would be
General Fund pressure of up to $2,177,000 to cover start-up
costs in FY 2009-2010 and FY 2010-2011. Commencing FY 2011-2012,
it is likely that fee revenue would be sufficient to cover the
ongoing program costs.
**Alcohol and Other Drug Counselor License Fund
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to
the Suspense File.
Existing law requires all adult alcoholism or drug abuse
recovery or treatment facilities, driving-under-the-influence
programs, and narcotic replacement therapy programs to be
licensed by the DADP. Existing law grants the DADP the sole
authority in state government to establish the minimum
qualifications, including education, skills, life experience and
training for providers of alcohol and other drug counseling.
Existing law establishes a certification program for alcohol and
other drug counselors to ensure the quality of treatment
services.
This bill would establish the Alcohol and Other Drug Counselor
Licensing and Certification Act, which would provide for the
certification and licensing of alcohol and other drug counselors
by DADP. This bill would define the practice of alcohol and drug
counseling, as specified, for the purpose of treating alcohol
and drug abuse.
This bill would require the DADP, as specified, to: adopt rules
and regulations to administer this program, develop standards
for registration, certification, and licensure of alcohol and
other drug counselors, including those currently certified by
DADP, issue licenses, certificates, and registrations commencing
January 1, 2011, take disciplinary action against counselors
when appropriate, establish continuing education
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SB 707 (DeSaulnier)
requirements, establish procedures for responding to complaints,
establish criteria to assess the curriculum of educational
institutions pursuant to these provisions, establish parameters
of unprofessional conduct for this profession, establish
reinstatement procedures for an expired or revoked certificate
or license, establish registration and supervision requirements
for registrants, develop or adopt one or more examinations for
administering prospective certificants and licensees, and
maintain a database of certified and licensed counselors and
registrants and other information as the department requires it.
This bill would create three types of certified alcohol and
other drug counselors who would be permitted to practice alcohol
and drug counseling in a program licensed or certified by DADP.
This bill would also establish a Licensed Alcohol and Other Drug
Counselor, an individual who could practice alcohol and other
drug counseling either in a licensed or certified program or in
an independent practice and who could supervise any other
licensed, certified, or registered pursuant to this bill. This
bill would also establish a registrant category, an uncertified
or unlicensed individual who would be in the course of
completing the requirements for certification or licensure.
This bill would specify educational and work experience
requirements for each licensing and certification category. This
bill would prohibit an individual from engaging in the practice
of alcohol and other drug counseling unless he or she held a
valid license or certification from DADP. This bill would
provide that a license or certification would be valid for two
years and would provide for a renewal process.
This bill would establish the Alcohol and Other Drug Counselors
License Fund for purposes of using all fines and fees collected
by the DADP for the support of the counselor licensing
activities of the department, upon appropriation by the
Legislature. This bill would provide that the fee structure
developed by the DADP should be effective and equitable and that
the total fees collected by the DADP should not exceed the total
cost to administer this program. This bill would specify that,
unless funds were specifically appropriated from the General
Fund in the Annual Budget Act or other legislation, the
activities of the DADP pursuant to these provisions would be
funded entirely by federal and special funds. This bill would
set forth fees related to licensure, certification, or
registration of alcohol and other drug counselors and would
provide that the DADP would assess these specific fees until
others were established in regulation. The initial application
and renewal fee for a registrant would be $75 and the fee for a
license or certification would be $155. Although the number of
applicants for licensure, certification, and registration
commencing January 1, 2011, is unknown, and therefore fee
revenue is unknown, this bill would permit the DADP to set fees
in regulation to cover program expenses. It is likely that fee
revenue would offset the costs of this program beginning in FY
2011-2012. Staff recommends that the bill be amended to require
that the fees be set at an amount sufficient to cover the costs
of this program.
In addition, the DADP would anticipate processing 21,000
applications and criminal background checks between January 1,
2011, and December 31, 2013, to license and certify individuals
in accordance with these provisions who held DADP certification
prior
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SB 707 (DeSaulnier)
to this bill's passage. If 14,000, or two thirds, of these
people were to apply in the first year after January 1, 2011,
and each pay a licensing or certification fee of $155, it is
possible that this would generate approximately $2,170,000 in
revenues.
It is estimated that the DADP would need 18.5 positions to
promulgate regulations and to administer the licenses and
certificates at a cost of $337,000 in FY 2009-2010, $1,840,000
in FY 2010-2011, $2,133,000 in FY 2011-2012, $1,842,000 in FY
2012-2013, $1,726,000 in FY 2013-2014, and $1,610,000 ongoing to
implement this bill. Since the DADP would commence licensing,
certification, and registration of applicants on January 1,
2011, and would therefore not be collecting fees to support the
program's start-up costs, there would be General Fund pressure
of up to $2,177,000 to support this bill's implementation
through approximately the end of FY 2010-2011, unless another
funding source was identified.
This bill would exempt the following from these provisions: a
person who practices alcohol and drug counseling exclusively for
in-custody services of the California Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation and an employee or volunteer of the state or
of an agency of the federal government; a person who is an
unpaid member of a peer or self-help group; a cleric or other
religious leader who provides advice to members of his or her
congregation; a director, officer or staff member of a live-in
alternative to an incarceration rehabilitation program.
This bill would require each applicant for a license,
certification, or registration by the DADP to consent to a state
and federal level criminal offender record information search as
part of a criminal history background check, as specified, that
the DADP would review prior to licensure, certification, or
registration. This bill would specify instances when the DADP
would deny or revoke a license. The California Department of
Justice (DOJ) would charge a fee of at least $42 to each
applicant at the time of his or her Live Scan fingerprinting and
would establish a fee for the state level criminal offender
record information search. The Federal Bureau of Investigation
would set the fee for the federal level criminal offender record
information search. This bill would provide that these
particular provisions would become operative July 1, 2010.
This bill would add an alcohol or other drug counselor or
supervisor licensed, certified, or registered by the DADP to be
a mandated reporter with respect to reporting child and elder
abuse or neglect to appropriate entities.
In 2008, the Governor vetoed AB 239 (DeSaulnier), a bill that
would have enacted the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors
Licensing Law and would have provided for the licensing and
regulation of alcohol and drug counselors by the Board of
Behavioral Sciences. The veto message read, "I am directing my
Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs and Department of
Consumer Affairs to work with stakeholders to craft a uniform
standard for all alcohol and drug counselors?I look forward to
supporting a bill that provides consistent, high quality
standards for all alcohol and drug counselors."