BILL NUMBER: SB 1172 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 12, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Senator Negrete McLeod
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
An act to amend Section 156.1 of, and to add Sections 315.2,
315.4, and 315.6 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to
regulatory boards.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1172, as amended, Negrete McLeod. Regulatory boards: diversion
programs.
(1) Existing law provides for the regulation of specified
professions and vocations by various boards, as defined, within the
Department of Consumer Affairs. Under existing law, individuals or
entities contracting with the department or any board within the
department for the provision of services relating to the treatment
and rehabilitation of licentiates impaired by alcohol or dangerous
drugs are required to retain all records and documents pertaining to
those services for 3 years or until they are audited, whichever
occurs first. Under existing law, those records and documents are
required to be kept confidential and are not subject to discovery or
subpoena.
This bill would specify that those records and documents shall be
kept for 3 years and are not subject to discovery or subpoena unless
otherwise expressly provided by law and would prohibit the
licentiate from waiving confidentiality . The bill would
require the department or board contracting for those services to
have an audit conducted at least once every 3 years by a specified
independent reviewer or review team, would require that reviewer or
review team to prepare an audit report and to submit it to the
Legislature, the department, and the board by June 30 every 3 years,
with the first report due in 2013, and would require the department,
the contract vendor, and the board to respond to the report, as
specified.
(2) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of
various healing arts by boards within the Department of Consumer
Affairs. Under existing law, these boards are authorized to issue,
deny, suspend, and revoke licenses based on various grounds and to
take disciplinary action against their licensees.
Existing law establishes diversion and recovery programs to
identify and rehabilitate dentists, osteopathic physicians and
surgeons, physical therapists, physical therapy assistants,
registered nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists and intern
pharmacists, veterinarians, and registered veterinary technicians
whose competency may be impaired due to, among other things, alcohol
and drug abuse.
The bill would require a healing arts board to order a licensee to
cease practice if the licensee tests positive for any prohibited
substance under the terms of the licensee's probation or diversion
program. The bill would also authorize a board to adopt regulations
authorizing it to order a licensee on probation or in a diversion
program to cease practice for major violations and when the board
orders a licensee to undergo a clinical diagnostic evaluation, as
specified. Except as provided, the bill would prohibit a healing arts
board from disclosing to the public that a licensee is participating
in a board diversion program.
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 156.1 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
156.1. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
individuals or entities contracting with the department or any board
within the department for the provision of services relating to the
treatment and rehabilitation of licentiates impaired by alcohol or
dangerous drugs shall retain all records and documents pertaining to
those services until such time as these records and documents have
been reviewed for audit pursuant to subdivision (c). These records
and documents shall be retained for three years from the date of the
last treatment or service rendered to that licentiate, after which
time the records and documents may be purged and destroyed by the
contract vendor. This provision shall supersede any other provision
of law relating to the purging or destruction of records pertaining
to those treatment and rehabilitation programs.
(b) Unless otherwise expressly provided by statute or regulation,
all records and documents pertaining to services for the treatment
and rehabilitation of licentiates impaired by alcohol or dangerous
drugs provided by any contract vendor to the department or to any
board within the department shall be kept confidential and are not
subject to discovery or subpoena. A licentiate may not waive
confidentiality pursuant to this subdivision.
(c) (1) An external independent audit of an individual or entity
contracting with the department pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
conducted at least once every three years by a qualified, independent
reviewer or review team from outside the department with no real or
apparent conflict of interest with the contractor providing the
services. The independent reviewer or review team shall be competent
in the professional practice of internal auditing and assessment
processes.
(2) The independent reviewer or review team shall prepare an audit
report that assesses the contractor's performance in adhering to any
standards established by the department or the board and shall
submit that report to the Legislature, the department, and the board
by June 30 every three years, with the first report due in 2013. The
audit report shall make findings and identify any material
inadequacies, deficiencies, irregularities, or any other
noncompliance with the terms of the contract.
(3) The department, contract vendor, and the board shall respond
to the assessment and findings in the audit report prior to
submission to the Legislature.
(d) With respect to all other contracts for services with the
department or any board within the department other than those set
forth in subdivision (a), the director or chief deputy director may
request an examination and audit by the department's internal auditor
of all performance under the contract. For this purpose, all
documents and records of the contract vendor in connection with such
performance shall be retained by such vendor for a period of three
years after final payment under the contract. Nothing in this section
shall affect the authority of the State Auditor to conduct any
examination or audit under the terms of Section 8546.7 of the
Government Code.
SEC. 2. Section 315.2 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
315.2. (a) A board, as described in Section 315, shall order a
licensee of the board to cease practice if the licensee tests
positive for any substance that is prohibited under the terms of the
licensee's probation or diversion program.
(b) An order to cease practice under this section shall not be
governed by the provisions of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section
11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(c) A cease practice order under this section shall not constitute
disciplinary action.
(d) A licensee may petition to return to practice pursuant to the
uniform and specific standards adopted and authorized under Section
315.
SEC. 3. Section 315.4 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
315.4. (a) A board, as described in Section 315, may adopt
regulations authorizing the board to order a licensee on probation or
in a diversion program to cease practice for major violations and
when the board orders a licensee to undergo a clinical diagnostic
evaluation pursuant to the uniform and specific standards adopted and
authorized under Section 315.
(b) An order to cease practice under this section shall not be
governed by the provisions of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section
11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(c) A cease practice order under this section shall not constitute
disciplinary action.
(d) The regulations shall also include provisions for a licensee
to petition to return to practice pursuant to the uniform and
specific standards adopted and authorized under Section 315.
SEC. 4. Section 315.6 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
315.6. Unless otherwise authorized by statute or regulation, a
board, as described in Section 315, shall not disclose to the public
that a licensee is participating in a board diversion program unless
participation was ordered as a term of probation. However, a board
shall disclose to the public any restrictions that are placed on a
licensee's practice as a result of the licensee's participation in a
board diversion program provided that the disclosure does not contain
information linking the restriction to the licensee's participation
in the board's diversion program.