BILL ANALYSIS
SB 821
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 7, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Mary Hayashi, Chair
SB 821 (Business, Professions & Economic Development) - As
Amended: June 15, 2009
(As Proposed to be Amended)
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : Healing arts: licensees.
SUMMARY : Makes non-controversial, minor, non-substantive or
technical changes to various provisions pertaining to the
health-related regulatory boards of the Department of Consumer
Affairs (DCA). Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes changes to the following general provisions in the BPC
pertaining to the Office of Examination Resources (OER):
a) Changes the name of the Office of Examination Resources
(OER) to the Office of Professional Examination Services
(OPES) (BPC 139, 1632.5, 1634.2, 2493, 4200.3, 4200.4,
4938, and 7303.2).
2)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Professional
Fiduciaries Bureau (PFB):
a) Includes professional fiduciary as a profession for
which an infraction may be issued for practicing without a
license. (BPC 146).
3)Defines a quorum as four members of the Acupuncture Board and
specifies that one of the four must be an acupuncturist (BPC
4933).
4)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Board of
Behavioral Sciences (BBS):
a) Clarifies that registered interns under the supervision
of a marriage and family therapy corporation must be
registered as either associate clinical social workers
(ASW) or marriage and family therapist (MFT) interns (BPC
4980.45);
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b) Permits a licensed clinical social workers (LCSW)
corporation to employ no more than two individuals
registered as either ASWs or MFT interns for each qualified
supervisor, and no more than a total of 10 individuals
registered as either ASWs or MFT interns (BPC 4996.24);
c) Requires the disclosure of a supervisor's name, license
title, and license number on advertisements for services
performed by trainees (BPC 4980.48);
d) Adds the subversion of the examination process and
fraudulent advertising to the definition of unprofessional
conduct (BPC 4982, 4989.54 & 4992.3);
e) Adds MFTs and ASWs to the list of licensees permitted to
petition the BBS for the reinstatement of a revoked or
suspended license or modification of any penalties imposed
by BBS (BPC 4982.2);
f) Clarifies the rights of an educational psychologist
applicant or LCSW applicant to gain admission to and
receive the results of his or her respective examination if
the applicant is the subject of a complaint or is under BBS
investigation (BPC 4989.22 & 4992.1);
g) Adds to the definition of unprofessional conduct for an
educational psychologist licensee or applicant:
impersonation, allowing any other person to use the
licensee's license, or permitting a person under the
licensee's control to perform professional services beyond
his or her qualifications (BPC 4989.54);
h) Defines "advertising" as used in this bill and exempts
signs in religious buildings or notices in bulletins from
religious organizations from advertising provisions (BPC
4989.49, 4992.2);
i) Adds to the definition of unprofessional conduct for
LCSWs a requirement to limit access to psychological tests
to persons with professional interest who will safeguard
the tests' use and clarifies the definition of gross
negligence (BPC 4992.3);
j) Deletes the "annual" reference to renewal fees as the
fees are biennial (BPC 4996.5);
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aa) Permits group supervision of LCSW applicants to be
provided in two one-hour increments, as long as both
increments are provided in the same week as the hours
claimed (BPC 4996.23);
bb) Permits ASWs working for governmental, educational, or
charitable organizations to fulfill the supervised
experience requirement with supervision by
videoconferencing and to obtain weekly direct supervisor
contact by videoconferencing (BPC 4996.23);
cc) Prohibits ASWs from leasing or renting space, paying for
furnishings, equipment, or supplies, or paying for the
obligations of his or her employer in any other way (BPC
4996.23); and,
dd) Prohibits ASW registrants from renewing their
registration more than five times, and upon the fifth
registration, prohibits the ASW registrant from
volunteering or working in a private practice setting (BPC
4996.28).
5)Establishes a four-month deadline to apply for licensure by
examination after completion of an accredited nursing or
psychiatric technician program, and subsequent expiration
dates for interim permits, and removes references to
"approved" programs within the Board of Vocational Nursing and
Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT) (BPC 2872.2 & 4510.1).
6)Makes the following changes pertaining to the California Board
of Occupational Therapy (CBOT):
a) Changes the status of occupational therapy (OT)
assistants from "certified" to "licensed" throughout the
statute (BPC 2570.2 to 2570.10, 2570.13, 2570.16,
2570.18, 2570.20 & 2570.26);
b) Amends a number of outdated provisions and makes
technical changes, including permitting an OT assistant to
supervise an aide in client-related tasks (BPC 2570.2,
2570.3, 2570.28 & 2571);
c) Establishes the criteria, requirements and restrictions
for placing a licensee in "retired" status (BPC 2570.17);
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and,
d) Includes OTs in the list of health care providers
authorized to provide in-state or out-of-state telephone
medical services (BPC 4999.2) and grants OTs access to
their patients' health records (Health and Safety Code
123105).
7)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Board of
Pharmacy (BOP):
a) Requires every BOP licensed facility to join the BOP's
e-mail notification list within 60 days of obtaining or
renewing a license and to update its e-mail address within
30 days of a change, effective July 1, 2010 (BPC 4013);
b) Clarifies when a pharmacist-in-charge or designated
representative-in-charge must notify the BOP that he or she
is no longer serving in such a capacity (BPC 4101);
c) Prohibits a person from acting as a nonresident
pharmacist unless he or she has obtained a license from the
state (BPC 4112);
d) Clarifies the procedures to be followed by a pharmacy
when identifying a pharmacist-in-charge, notifying the BOP
of a change in the pharmacist-in-charge, and identifying an
interim pharmacist-in-charge (BPC 4113);
e) Allows pharmacies to accept the return of needles and
syringes from the public, if contained in a sharps
container, as defined (BPC 4146);
f) Clarifies the procedures to be followed by a wholesaler
when identifying a designated representative-in-charge as
well as the procedures to notify the BOP when a change in
the designated representative-in-charge has occurred (BPC
4160); and,
g) Clarifies the procedures to be followed by a veterinary
food-animal drug retailer when identifying a designated
representative-in-charge as well as the procedures to
notify the BOP when a change in the designated
representative-in-charge has occurred (BPC 4196).
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8)Within the Dental Hygiene Committee (DHC), corrects the name
of the Dental Auxiliary Fund to Dental Hygiene Fund and
specifies that money from the fund is to be transferred to the
DHC.
9)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Hearing Aid
Dispensers Bureau (Bureau):
a) Permits the Bureau to issue a new temporary license to a
previous temporary license holder (BPC 3357);
b) Requires licensees to notify the Bureau of address
changes within 30 days (BPC 3362); and,
c) Allows the Bureau to inspect records related to the sale
and fitting of hearing aids (BPC 3366) and deletes
obsolete fee language (BPC 3456).
10)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Medical Board
of California (MBC):
a) Adds special faculty permit holders to the definition of
licentiates for the peer review process (BPC 805); and,
b) Deletes obsolete code sections regarding the MBC's
diversion program (BPC 821.5 & 821.6).
11)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Speech-Language
Pathology and Audiology Board (SLPAB):
a) Authorizes the SLPAB to exempt by regulation certain
functions performed by an audiology aide from the
requirement that any function that constitutes the practice
of audiology be performed under the supervision of an
audiologist. (BPC 2530.2).
b) Changes the entry level licensing requirements for
audiologists from a master's degree to the doctoral
training standard, beginning with applicants who graduate
on or after January 1, 2008 (BPC 2532.2);
c) Makes conforming changes to the requirements for issuing
a required professional experience temporary license in
accord with the doctoral training program requirement (BPC
2532.7); and,
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d) Requires applicants seeking licensure as an audiologist
who graduate on or after January 1, 2008 to complete
supervised clinical practice, submit evidence of no less
than 12 months of supervised professional experience, and
pass an examination or examinations approved by the SLPAB
(BPC 2532.25).
12)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Respiratory
Care Board of California (RCB):
a) Changes the reference to the "Committee on Accreditation
for Respiratory Care or its successor" as the recognized
accreditation agency for approved respiratory care
education programs (BPC 3740);
b) Permits the RCB to take disciplinary action, including
probation, against a licensee practicing respiratory care
while under the influence of drugs or alcohol and limits
the RCB's action to the timeframe in which the individual
applies for licensure or is licensed by the RCB (BPC
3750.5); and,
c) Authorizes the RCB to inactivate the license of any
licensee who fails to provide requested information
pertaining to his or her conviction record within 30 days
(BPC 3773).
13)Makes the following changes pertaining to the California
Board of Accountancy (CBA):
a) Deletes references to notices regarding CBA meetings and
instead refers to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (BPC
5016);
b) In addition to the CBA's administrative committee, also
refers to a qualifications committee and changes committee
terms from one to two years (BPC 5021); and,
c) Clarifies that the provisions apply to the
qualifications committee and clarifies its duties (BPC
5022 and 5023).
14)Makes the following changes pertaining to the California
Architects Board (CAB):
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a) Establishes commencement and expiration dates for the
terms of architect and public members appointed by the
Governor (BPC 5515.5).
15)Makes the following changes pertaining to Landscape
Architects:
a) Corrects a drafting error in prior legislation to
clarify that a reciprocity candidate seeking licensure in
California must meet the same experience requirements as
any other candidate for licensure. (BPC 5651).
16)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Board of
Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (BPELS):
a) Repeals the qualifications to use the title of
"structural engineer" (BPC 6763.1)
17)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Contractors
State Licensing Board (CSLB):
a) Recasts provisions of existing law for clarity and
readability (BPC 7028.7, 7044, 7044.01 and 7108.5); and,
b) Corrects a reference to another section of law and makes
technical corrections and clarifications (BPC 7159,
7159.5 and 7159.14).
18)Makes the following changes pertaining to Licensed
Repossessors:
a) Makes technical clarification; includes "trailer" in the
definition of "collateral;" clarifies by adding "specific"
the definition that each item of collateral is to be
considered separately (BPC 7500.1);
b) Permits a qualified manager to be in charge of two,
rather than one license location (BPC 7505.5);
c) Authorizes reposessors to retain a license plate to be
returned to the debtor upon request, rather than destroy
the license plate; clarifies that the repossessor must
consent to the release of personal effects without an
inventory; makes technical changes (BPC 7507.9);
d) Clarifies that a repossessor shall not appraise the
value of any collateral (BPC 7505.11);
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e) Provides that once the repossession is complete, a only
the legal owner or other person with legal authority may
direct the repossessor to release a vehicle (BPC
7507.12);
f) Requires that if more than one vehicle is repossessed,
each vehicle shall be considered and reported separately
(Vehicle Code (VC) 28); and,
g) Permits a repossessor's tow vehicle to mount the license
plate (VC 5201) and stop lamps (VC 24603) in the same
manner as other tow vehicles.
19)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Cemetery and
Funeral Bureau (CFB):
a) Updates terminology to refer to "mortuary science
programs" instead of "embalming schools or colleges" and
makes clarifying and conforming changes (BPC 7606, 7616,
7641, 7643, 7665, 7666, 7671 and 7725.5);
b) Requires the CFB to accept a national examination for
embalmer licensing and to administer an examination only on
California law applicable to the practice of embalming and
makes clarifying and conforming changes (BPC 7643, 7646,
7647, 7662 and 7729); and,
c) Provides that an embalmer or apprentice embalmer
applicant must furnish official transcripts to the CFB and
deletes the requirement to have completed high school for
applicants who have graduated from a mortuary science
program (BPC 7643 and 7662).
20)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Bureau of
Automotive Repair (BAR):
a) Updates terminology relating to BAR applicants and
registrants to refer to "issue," "deny," "suspend," or
"revoke" registrations rather than "validate," "refuse to
validate," invalidate temporarily," or "invalidate
permanently" (BPC 9884.2, 9884.7 and 9884.12);
b) Adds specific authority for BAR to suspend, revoke or
otherwise discipline an automotive repair dealer (ARD)
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registration based on a criminal conviction (BPC 9884.7);
c) Clarifies that BAR may take disciplinary action for a
conviction relating to the "qualifications, functions, or
duties" rather than to "qualifications, functions and
duties." Thus requiring the conviction to relate to one
characteristic (qualifications, functions, or duties)
instead of all three (BPC 9889.3; Health and Safety Code
(HSC) 44072.1 and 44072.2);
d) Requires smog check stations seeking certification under
the "gold shield" program to offer consumers a smog test
and repair services at a singular location to enter into an
agreement with BAR (HSC 44014.2);
e) Revises the requirement for a smog check station to post
a sign advising customers of cost limits for repairs under
the smog check program to instead require the sign to
inform customers about their options when a vehicle fails a
smog check inspection and makes technical and clarifying
changes (HSC 44017.3); and,
f) Makes technical changes to the high polluter repair or
removal program, and authorizes the air quality management
districts to enter into an agreement with DCA to perform
the program (HSC 44095).
21)Makes the following changes pertaining to the Department of
Real Estate (DRE):
a) Makes technical and clarifying changes to the real
estate law (BPC 10146).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides for licensing and regulating various professions and
businesses under separate licensing acts contained within the
California Business and Professions Code (BPC). The BPC
establishes the DCA within the State and Consumer Services
Agency. The DCA is comprised of some 26 boards, 8 bureaus,
and 1 commission.
2)Provides for the professional review of specified healing arts
licentiates through a peer review process and requires the
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peer review body to report to the relevant agency upon certain
circumstances, including circumstances related to the MBC's
diversion program, which no longer exists.
3)Creates the SLPAB to license and regulate speech-language
pathologists and audiologists; establishes minimum
requirements for audiologist aides and who works under the
supervision of an audiologist and sets specified educational
and curriculum standards for audiologist licensure.
4)The Occupational Therapy Practice Act provides for the
licensure and regulation of OTs by CBOT; prohibits OT
assistants from supervising aides engaged in client-related
tasks; and provides for the minimizing the transmission risk
of blood-borne infectious diseases.
5)Establishes the BVNPT to license and regulate vocational
nurses and psychiatric technicians and allows interim permits
to be given to vocational nursing and psychiatric technician
licensure applicants, whose licensing examination results are
pending, to practice their skills.
6)Provides for the licensure and regulation of hearing aid
dispensers by the Bureau; permits a temporary license, valid
for six months, to be issued to a licensure applicant who has
demonstrated that he or she will be supervised or trained by a
hearing aid dispenser; and specifies that the temporary
license may be renewed twice for an additional period of six
months.
7)The Respiratory Care Practice Act provides for the licensure
and regulation of respiratory care practitioners by the RCB
and authorizes the RCB to deny, suspend or revoke a
respiratory care license if the licensee obtains or possesses,
furnishes, administers or uses a controlled substance or
dangerous drug unless directed by an authorized health care
practitioner.
8)The Pharmacy Law provides for the licensure and regulation of
pharmacists and pharmacies by BOP.
9)Establishes the Acupuncture Board to license and regulate
acupuncturists and specifies that five board members
constitutes a quorum.
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10)Provides for the licensure and regulation of psychologists,
social workers and marriage and family therapists by BBS;
requires the BBS to regulate educational psychologists; and
specifies prohibited acts for all BBS licensees.
11)Appropriates specified sums from the Dental Auxiliary Fund to
the Committee on Dental Auxiliaries for operating expenses
required to manage the dental hygiene licensing examination.
12)Provides for the Office of Examination Resources (OER) within
the DCA. The OER designs licensing examinations and conducts
occupational analyses for various regulatory programs within
DCA (BPC 139, 1632.5, 1634.2, 2493, 4200.3, 4200.4, 4938
and 7303.2).
13)Provides authority to issue an infraction citation for
practicing in certain industries regulated by specified DCA
programs without the required license, but that authority does
not apply to the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau (BPC 146).
14)Requires the California Board of Accountancy (CBA) to hold
public meetings and specifies that a seven day notice must be
given before a meeting. (BPC 5016) and authorizes the CBA to
establish an administrative committee, whose members serve for
one year, and describes the committee's duties (BPC 5021,
5022 and5023).
15)Requires landscape architecture candidates to have a
combination of six years of education and experience prior to
qualifying for the examinations. Requires reciprocity
landscape architecture candidates to only have passed the
examinations prior to licensure (does not contain the same
initial experience requirements of a California candidate).
16)Establishes the Contractors State Licensing Board (CSLB) to
license and regulate contractors and makes various provisions
and requirements relating to the regulation of contractors,
including, provisions relating to unlicensed practice,
owner-builders, timely payment of subcontractors, and other
requirements and specifications (BPC 7028.7, 7044, 7044.01,
7108.5, 7159, 7159.5 and 7159.14).
17)Contains the following provisions pertaining to the Licensed
Repossessors:
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a) Licenses repossession agencies by the Bureau of Security
and Investigative Services (BSIS), and defines various
terms relating to that practice, including "collateral" as
any vehicle, boat, recreational vehicle, motor home,
appliance or other property subject to a security agreement
(BPC 7500.1);
b) Permits a qualified manager to be in charge of one
licensed location at a time (BPC 7505.5);
c) Establishes procedures for the removal, inventory and
storage of personal effects from reposed collateral, and
allows a debtor to waive the preparation of an inventory,
as specified. Requires special interest license plates in
the personal effects of the debtor to be removed from the
collateral and destroyed, as specified, if the plates are
not claimed by the debtor within 60 days (BPC 7507.9);
d) Requires in any written report submitted to the client,
that a repossessor shall exercise diligence to make the
report true and correct (BPC 7505.11);
e) Specifies that a vehicle repossession is complete when
the repossessor gains entry to the vehicle, or when the
vehicle is connected to the repossessors tow vehicle (BPC
7507.12);
f) Requires that when the legal owner takes possession of a
vehicle, as specified, the person taking possession of the
vehicle must notified specified law enforcement agencies
within one hour of taking possession of the vehicle (VC
28); and,
g) Permits a tow truck to mount the rear license plate (VC
5201) and stop lamps (VC 24603) in, as specified, in a
separate location on the vehicle than is generally allowed
for other vehicles.
18)Provides for the regulation of embalmers and apprentice
embalmers by the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau (CFB) under DCA,
and requires an applicant to complete a course in embalming
school and furnish proof of completing a high school course or
evidence of licensed practice in another state, as specified
(BPC 7606, 7616, 7641, 7643, 7665, 7666, 7671 and 7725.5).
Also requires an applicant to pass an examination which
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includes specified subjects, and requires the CFB to examine
applicants at least once annually (BPC 7643, 7646, 7647,
7662 and 7729).
19)Contains the following provisions pertaining to the Bureau of
Automotive Repair (BAR):
a) Requires DCA to validate the registration and to send
proof of validation to the automotive repair dealer. DCA
may refuse to validate, or may temporarily or permanently
invalidate the registration of an automotive repair dealer
for specified acts or omissions by the automotive repair
dealer or associated person (BPC 9884.2, 9884.7 and
9884.12);
b) Authorizes BAR to take disciplinary action for a
conviction relating to the "qualifications, functions, and
duties" of a licensee (BPC 9889.3, HSC 44072.1 and
44072.2); and,
c) Under the vehicle inspection and maintenance (smog
check) program, prescribes certain cost limits for repairs
under the program, and requires a smog check station to
post a sign advising customers of those cost limits (HSC
44017.3).
20) Establishes the Department of Real Estate (DRE) within DCA
to license and regulate real estate brokers and real estate
sales persons.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office, "This
bill is one of three Committee bills authored by the Business,
Professions and Economic Development Committee that are intended
to consolidate a number of non-controversial provisions related
to various regulatory programs governed by the Business and
Professions Code, and generally located within the DCA.
Consolidating the provisions in one bill is designed to relieve
the various licensing boards from the necessity and burden of
having separate measures for a number of non-controversial
revisions.
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"Many of the provisions make minor, technical and updating
changes, while other provisions are substantive changes which
are intended to improve the ability of the various licensing
programs to efficiently and effectively administer their
respective licensing laws. However, as a committee bill, if
controversy or opposition should arise regarding any provision
that cannot be resolved, then that provision will be removed
from the bill. This will eliminate the chance of placing any of
the other provisions in jeopardy."
Background . The following is background and reasons for the
more significant and substantive provisions in this measure:
Acupuncture Board. Existing law requires that five of the seven
board members be present in order for the board to conduct
business. If there are vacancies on the board and one member is
unable to make a meeting, there is definitely the potential for
less than five members being present at a meeting. This
occurred at least twice last year and as a result, no business
was conducted.
Board of Behavioral Science (BBS). Currently, there are six
different sections of law that outline licensee and registrant
unprofessional conduct, three in statute and three in
regulation. Though most of the provisions in the unprofessional
conduct regulations also appear in the unprofessional conduct
statutes, some do not. In order to create consistency and
lessen confusion, the BBS proposes to include in the statute
several unprofessional conduct provisions that currently appear
in the regulations. Once all unprofessional conduct provisions
are included in the statute, the BBS plans to repeal the
regulations related to unprofessional conduct, leaving all
activities considered unprofessional conduct only in the
respective licensing statute for each profession.
The BBS is also seeking to make changes to the ASW supervision
requirements to address practice realities that do not permit
many ASWs to receive the amount of supervision required for LCSW
licensure. Allowing certain ASWs to complete their supervision
by video conference rather than in person would make supervision
more available in underserved areas of the state, where there
are not enough licensed therapists available to provide
supervision.
The BBS is also seeking to delete an obsolete reference to
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renewal fees.
Board of Pharmacy (BOP). Current pharmacy law requires the
designation of a pharmacist-in-charge for a pharmacy and the
designation of a designated representative-in-charge for a
wholesaler or veterinary food-animal drug retailer. This
proposal clarifies the reporting requirements of how and when
the BOP must be notified of any change in pharmacist in charge
(PIC) or designated representative in charge. The BOP states
several non-substantive changes are necessary to update pharmacy
law, correct a drafting error, make consistent BOP's ability to
inactivate a pharmacist license when continuing education
requirements are not satisfied and set into statute the
administrative co-payment for participants in the Pharmacists
Recovery Program.
Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (BPELS).
According to BPELS, Currently, in order to obtain the licensure
as a structural engineer, applicants must pass both an 8-hour
national examination (the Structural II examination developed by
National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying
[NCEES]) and an 8-hour California-specific examination. In
2010, NCEES will cease development of the Structural II
examination; therefore, that examination will no longer be
available for California to use. However, beginning with the
April 2011 examination administration, NCEES will offer a
16-hour national structural engineer examination. The Board has
voted to begin using the 16-hour national examination beginning
in 2011, rather than using an 8-hour national and an 8-hour
state examination. The way the law currently reads, the Board
would have to continue to develop and administer a state
examination. Repealing Section 6763.1 will remove the
requirement that the Board develop and administer both a
national and a state examination as "the examination prescribed
by the board" and will allow the Board to use the new national
16-hour structural engineer examination beginning in 2011 (BPC
6763.1).
Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT).
Existing law allows a recent graduate taking the examination to
practice as an interim permittee while he/she waits for the
results of the first BVNPT licensure examination. However, if
the applicant fails his/her "first" licensure examination he/she
can no longer practice as an interim permittee. The language
presumes that a recent graduate taking the examination has the
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minimum qualifications to practice and provides the opportunity
to do so unless proven otherwise by unsuccessful examination
results. This proposal would add filing deadlines and
expiration dates to clarify existing statutes regarding the
interim permit requirements and remove references to approved
programs.
Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR). The law requires the
Director to validate, refuse to validate, or may temporarily or
permanently invalidate the registration of an automotive repair
dealer, however these are outdated terms, and regulations
identify these actions as denials, suspensions, and revocations.
For purposes of clarification only, changes "and" to "or"
"functions" and "duties." This would only require the
conviction relate to one characteristic (qualifications,
functions, or duties) instead of all three as existing law now
technically reads (qualifications, functions, and duties).
According to DCA, BAR is one of several programs that do not
have specific statutory authority to discipline a licensee due
to the conviction of a substantially related crime. Instead,
BAR relies on BPC Section 490 which provides general authority
for such discipline. Recently, an appellate case has cast doubt
on the applicability of Section 490 in cases where the licensing
agency has no similar specific statute in its disciplinary
provisions (Petropoulos v. Dept. of Real Estate, August 30,
2006, DJDAR 11720). Last year SB 797 (Ridley-Thomas, Chapter
33, Statutes of 2008) clarified the intent of the Legislature in
enacting Section 490. However, despite the amendment
prosecuting ARDs is still difficult because some Administrative
Law Judges (ALJs) do not acknowledge the legislative intent
regarding Section 490 and BAR's authority. Therefore, it is
necessary for BAR to have specific authority to take
disciplinary action.
This bill clarifies that BAR may take disciplinary action for a
conviction relating to the "qualifications, functions, or
duties" rather than to "qualifications, functions, and duties."
Thus requiring the conviction to relate to any one
characteristic (qualifications, functions, or duties) instead of
all three.
While the smog check program requires a smog check station to
post a sign advising customers of the prescribed cost limits, it
does not provide adequate information to consumers about the
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smog check program and more specifically, about the Consumer
Assistance Program (CAP).
This bill amends HSC, sections 44014.2 and 44095, to allow BAR
to enter into agreements with Gold Shield stations. This will
eliminate the need to amend individual contracts throughout the
fiscal year to reflect individual stations' CAP vehicle repair
volumes. According to the Department's Legal Affairs Office,
agreements do not require BAR to assign individual budgets to
each contract. Instead, BAR would estimate volumes for each
station and monitor expenditures to ensure expenditures remain
within the RA appropriation.
California Architects Board (CAB). This bill makes a one-time
modification to the terms of board members to achieve a more
even and consistent sequence of terms and avoid quorum issues
that prevent CAB from taking action on important issues (BPC
5515.5). These provisions were in last year's SB 1779 (BP&ED)
that was vetoed by the Governor and reintroduced in SB 819
(Business, Professions and Economic Development) this year.
However, since SB 819 has an urgency clause, and there is a
constitutional prohibition against creating or modifying the
term of an office through urgency legislation, it was necessary
to move these amendments into this bill.
Landscape Architects. According to CAB, prior to January 2005,
reciprocity candidates for landscape architect licensure were
mandated to meet California's experience requirement. In 2004,
various references relating to landscape architects were updated
by SB 1914 (Business, Professions and Economic Development),
Chapter 865, Statutes of 2004, and as an oversight, also deleted
the reference of reciprocity candidates meeting California's
experience requirement. The drafting error in the prior
legislation should be corrected to clarify that a reciprocity
candidate seeking licensure in California must meet the same
experience requirements as any other candidate for licensure.
California Board of Accountancy (CBA). According to the CBA the
Bagley-Keene Act (created in 1967) supersedes the outdated
meeting notice information in the Accountancy Act (specifically
5016, which was added in 1945). CBA states that various
provisions only referring to the board's committees need to be
clarified and updated, establishing two-year terms instead of
just one for committee members, and naming the board's
qualifying committee and clarifying its duties.
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California Board of Occupational Therapy (CBOT). The CBOT is
seeking to change the reference of OT assistants from
"certified" to "licensed" to bring parity between those
individuals and physical therapy assistants and delete outdated
or redundant sections of law.
Additionally, OTs are not authorized to provide services as a
telephone medical advice services' registrant and this measure
seeks to grant them that authority.
Current law does not allow the CBOT to require health care
providers provide it with patient records. This is problematic
when the CBOT is assisting patients who are trying to recover
those records and when the CBOT is investigating complaints
against its licensees over the quality of care, treatment, or
patient services. Provisions included in this measure will
grant them access to patient records to all CBOT to fulfill its
public protection mandate.
Contractors State Licensing Board (CSLB). According to the
CSLB, several provisions of law are unclear and difficult to
read and should be reorganized for readability and clarity. The
CSLB also has identified several incorrect references in law.
Licensed Repossessors. According to the California Association
of Licensed Repossessors (CALR), trailers should be considered
as collateral, and that each item of collateral should be
considered separately. CALR believes that the requirements
should be updated to allow a qualified manager to be in charge
of two, rather than one licensed location. Personalized license
plates are the property of the debtor and do not belong on the
repossessed vehicle, and once destroyed, as required by current
law, the debtor would have to apply to the Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) and pay to have the plates remanufactured.
Allowing the reposessor to retain a license plate, rather than
destroy it should save money for both the debtor and DMV.
Current law allows a debtor to waive the preparation of an
inventory of personal effects, and release them directly to the
debtor. CALR states that at times in the field it is unwise or
dangerous for the repossessor to interrupt the repossession
process to turn over the personal effects to the debtor, and at
times it may not be clear that the person requesting the article
is indeed the debtor. In order to operate safely and to be sure
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that personal effects are released to the proper party, it is
important to give the repossessor some discretion whether the
situation warrants the release of personal effects without an
inventory.
Repossessors are not trained or qualified to express an opinion
on the value of a vehicle. On occasion, according to CALR, a
legal owner may ask the repossessor to give an estimate of the
value of a vehicle and if the estimate is inaccurate, it may
lead to a dispute or even litigation. To avoid those
situations, it is appropriate to clarify that a repossessor
shall not appraise the value of any collateral.
Once a repossession is complete, only the legal owner may direct
the release of the vehicle, this clarifies that a person
demanding a vehicle's release must have legal authority to do
so. Under current law, when a vehicle is repossessed, the
repossessor must notify law enforcement within one hour, thus
allowing the fact of the repossession to be entered into the
statewide CLETS (California Law Enforcement Telecommunications
System) network. On occasion, when more than one vehicle is
repossessed at the same time, the repossessor will only give
notice of one vehicle. This bill clarifies that each
repossessed vehicle must be considered and reported separately.
This bill conforms the provisions relating to license plate and
stop lamp mounting to those for other tow vehicles.
Cemetery and Funeral Bureau (CFB). According to the DCA, there
are two community colleges in California that offer a two-year
mortuary science program where upon completion and graduation,
students receive an associates degree. In order to graduate,
students must take a national examination, which consists of a
written examination on the "sciences" section (embalming) and
the "arts" section (funeral director). In addition, students
must then take and pass California's embalming examination in
order to become a licensed embalmer. Because students are
already taking the national examination, it is duplicative for
them to have to test again (on the actual practice of embalming)
in order to obtain a license. An examination on only the laws
and regulations pertaining to embalming in California would
ensure entry level competencies, meet the health and safety
concerns of consumers and alleviate a barrier to licensure.
This bill updates the laws relating to embalmers to require
applicants to successfully pass the sciences portion of the
national examination and updates terminology to refer to
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"mortuary science programs instead of "embalming schools or
colleges." The bill makes updating, clarifying and conforming
changes.
Dental Hygiene Committee of California. SB 853 (Perata, Chapter
31, Statutes of 2008) dissolved Committee on Dental Auxiliaries
(COMDA) and the Dental Auxiliary Fund and in their place
established the DHC and the State Dental Hygiene Fund effective
July 1, 2009. This proposal would update specified names within
existing law to reflect the dissolving of the State Dental
Auxiliary fund and COMDA and the establishment of the State
Dental Hygiene Fund and the DHC.
Department of Real Estate (DRE). Makes technical and clarifying
changes to the real estate law (BPC 10146).
Hearing Aid Dispensers Bureau. The Bureau has received many
requests for trainees' licenses from applicants who have
previously held a hearing aid dispenser trainee's license for
the full amount of time allowed under the law (18 months), left
the profession for an extended period of time, and are now
interested in returning to the profession. Current law does not
allow for the issuance of a new trainee's license to a previous
trainee's license holder under these circumstances.
Medical Board of California (MBC). BPC 821.5 & 821.6 were
added to law in 1996 to require reporting to the MBC's diversion
program of physicians under investigation by health entities
with mental and physical illnesses. The diversion program
sunset on June 30, 2008 and the reporting requirements are no
longer necessary as those physicians must be reported to the MBC
if the investigation leads to that level of action by the health
entity.
Office of Examination Resources (OER). According to the DCA,
OER receives numerous calls that need to be redirected because
OER is often mistaken for DCA's Office of Human Resource's
Selection Services unit. This proposal would change the name of
the Office of Examination Resources (OER) to the Office of
Professional Examination Services (OPES). According to the OER
they receive numerous calls that need to be redirected because
their office is often mistaken for the Office of Human
Resource's Selection Services unit. This confusion usually
leads to the frustration of the caller. The OER believes this
name change would help alleviate this confusion and help the OER
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deliver better customer service.
Professional Fiduciaries Bureau (PFB). According to DCA, every
other regulatory program within DCA is either included in the
infraction authority under Section 146, or has statute specific
to that program making it a misdemeanor to practice without a
license. However, the PFB, created by SB 1550 (Figueroa,
Chapter 491, Statutes of 2006), does not have a specific statute
making it a misdemeanor, nor is it included under Section 146
listing it as an infraction.
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board (SLPAB). The
existing restrictions on the use of audiology aides, which
require the aides to function under direct in-line of sight
supervision, drastically reduce the benefits of using audiology
support personnel. Current supervision requirements do not
allow the independent practitioner to tend to other more complex
or clinical activities while the aide is performing routine
functions, such as hearing aide repair, checking audiological
equipment, setting up exam rooms, etc. Furthermore, the state
is experiencing a shortage crisis of audiologists and the
required direct supervision of audiology aides significantly
impacts the amount of time that an audiologist can serve the
audiological needs of consumers. This bill would authorize
audiology aides to work under general supervision with more
specified terms established by regulation that would define the
appropriate levels of supervision for audiology aides.
Additionally, the educational requirements for the practice of
audiology have changed from master's degree training for
entry-level practitioners to a clinical doctorate model. As of
December 2007, the national accrediting body, the Council on
Academic Accreditation, which accredits all audiology training
programs in the country, amended its program accreditation
standards to require that all audiology professional training
programs offer academic and clinical education at the doctoral
degree level. Currently, there are no master's degree audiology
training programs in the country. This bill conforms the
statutory requirements for entry level practitioners to national
educational and practice standards.
Respiratory Care Board of California (RCB). The RCB was
notified November 20, 2008, that the Committee on Accreditation
for Respiratory Care (CoARC) is leaving the Commission on
Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) to
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become a freestanding accreditor of respiratory care educational
programs. The target date for this separation is January 15,
2010. Current law only makes reference to programs accredited
by CAAHEP as qualified education programs for new applicants,
when in fact it is CoARC that provides the actual oversight of
respiratory care educational programs. This measure would state
"CoARC or its successor" as the recognized accreditation agency
for approved respiratory care education programs.
Current law requires RCB applicants to report on either their
initial or renewal licensure application if they have been
convicted of a crime. Licensees who mark the "Yes" box are
referred to RCB's enforcement unit where an initial letter (and,
if necessary, subsequent follow up letters) is issued requesting
details of the conviction. Some licensees who do not respond to
the RCB's requests and short of full disciplinary action, the
Respiratory Care Practice Act does not provide a mechanism to
require compliance. To remedy this problem, the RCB is seeking
authority to inactivate the license of any licensee who fails to
provide requested information within 30 days.
The RCB does not have explicit authority to take action against
individuals who are found to be under the influence of drugs or
alcohol. So far this year, the RCB has received approximately
seven cases in which its licensees were under the influence of
alcohol/drugs while at work. The RCB reports that the
licensees' behavior was so bad, it raised immediate concern with
the employers who then reported the incidents to the RCB. The
RCB was able to secure interim suspension orders (ISOs) in one
case (3 others are pending) using a statute from the Medical
Practice Act. The RCB is concerned because it is intended for
the practice of medicine and fears its authority on the ISO may
be challenged. This proposal seeks to ensure that it can take
disciplinary action against a licensee practicing "respiratory
care" while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Board of Behavioral Sciences
Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians
California Academy of Audiology
California Acupuncture Board
California Architects Board (CAB)
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California Board of Accountancy (CBA)
California Funeral Directors Association (CFDA)
Contractors State License Board (CSLB)
Medical Board of California
Occupational Therapy Association of California
Respiratory Care Board of California
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301