BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 675
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 3, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 675 (Hagman) - As Amended: April 5, 2011
SUBJECT : Continuing education.
SUMMARY : Prescribes the content of all continuing education
(CE) or competency courses required by any of the boards under
the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). Specifically, this
bill :
Provides that, if a board within DCA requires its licensees to
satisfy CE or competency requirements by pursuing a course of CE
or competency, the following shall apply:
1)CE or competency courses must contain only content relevant to
the particular practice regulated by the board. CE or
competency courses that advance or promote labor organizing on
behalf of a union, or that advance or promote statutory or
regulatory changes, political candidates, political advocacy,
or political strategy shall not be considered content relevant
to the practice regulated by the board and shall not be
acceptable for meeting CE or competency requirements. The
term "courses" includes institutes, seminars, lectures,
conferences, workshops, and any other public events.
2)To the extent applicable, if an approved provider of CE or
competency courses offers a course described above, the
provider shall not represent that the course is acceptable for
meeting CE or competency requirements. If a provider violates
this prohibition, the board shall withdraw its approval of the
provider for no less than five years, as specified.
EXISTING LAW
Provides for the licensure and regulation of professions and
vocations under DCA via its boards, which may require licensees
to satisfy continuing education or competency requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
AB 675
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Purpose of this bill. According to the author's office, "It has
come to my attention, through a complaint from a member of the
California Nurses Association (CNA), that CNA has offered
continuing education credits to some members of the association
as an inducement to attend CNA political events. In doing
independent research on this matter, it's apparent CNA also
offers CE credits to nurses attending classes focused upon
lobbying and political organizing."
Background . DCA is comprised of nearly 40 boards, bureaus,
commissions and programs that regulate the practice of numerous
professions and vocations in the state, including: the Dental
Board of California; the Medical Board of California; the State
Board of Optometry; the California State Board of Pharmacy; the
Veterinary Medical Board; the California Board of Accountancy
(CBA); the California Architects Board; the Bureau of Barbering
and Cosmetology; the Board for Professional Engineers, Land
Surveyors and Geologists; the Contractors' State License Board;
the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education; the Bureau of
Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings, and Thermal
Insulation; the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN); the Board of
Behavioral Sciences; the State Athletic Commission; the Cemetery
and Funeral Bureau; the State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind;
the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services; the Court
Reporters Board of California; the Board of Vocational Nursing
and Psychiatric Technicians; the Landscape Architects Technical
Committee; the Division of Investigation; the Bureau of
Automotive Repair; the Respiratory Care Board of California; the
Acupuncture Board; the Board of Psychology; the California Board
of Podiatric Medicine; the Physical Therapy Board of California;
the Arbitration Certification Program; the Physician Assistant
Committee; the Speech Language Pathology and Audiology Board;
the California Board of Occupational Therapy; the Osteopathic
Medical Board of California; the Naturopathic Medicine
Committee; the Dental Hygiene Committee of California; the
Professional Fiduciaries Bureau; the Acupuncture Board; the
Hearing Aid Dispensers Bureau; the Telephone Medical Advice
Services Bureau; and, the Structural Pest Control Board.
CE is often required to maintain an active license, particularly
with the healing arts boards, and CE requirements are generally
set forth in statute and specified in more detail through
regulations issued by DCA's various boards and bureaus.
However, each of these regulatory bodies has unique CE
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requirements and oversight. For example, the BRN requires RNs
to complete a total of 30 hours of CE biennially in order to
renew an active license. The BRN conducts random audits of RNs
to check for CE compliance, and approves and conducts random
audits of CE providers (CEPs). The CBA requires 80 CE hours
every two years, which are self-certified and audited for
compliance, but does not approve CE providers. Some boards have
no CE requirement, or do not approve CE providers or courses.
This bill is substantially similar to AB 378 (Hagman) of 2010,
which required that CE courses for nurses contain only content
relevant to the practice of nursing. AB 378 provided that CE
courses that advance or promote labor organizing on behalf of a
union, or that advance or promote statutory or regulatory
changes, political candidates, political advocacy, or political
strategy shall not be considered content relevant to the
practice of nursing and shall not be acceptable for meeting
requirements for licensure renewal. AB 378 was held in Senate
Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee.
According to CNA, CNA held a rally at the capitol last year
after a CE course for nurses was offered the same day in a
nearby location. Allegations were made that CNA conditioned CE
credits on attendance at the rally. The provisions of AB 378
were the response to these allegations, which have yet to be
substantiated.
This bill significantly expands the provisions of AB 378 to
include all of the boards, bureaus and commissions under DCA.
Support . The California Board of Accountancy (CBA) writes, "The
CBA believes that this is a good consumer protection bill and is
supportive of it for that reason. However, the CBA would like
to point out that it does not approve CE providers, and thus
would have no approval to withdraw. The requirements of the
CBA's CE courses are such that it is unlikely a CE provider
could ever represent one of these courses as meeting the CBA's
CE requirements."
Opposition . The California Nurses Association (CNA) states,
"Under this bill, continuing education providers would not be
able to provide thorough education to RNs regarding upcoming
health care reform changes, pending legislative or regulatory
proposals, or even existing laws and regulations that may impact
them for fear that the information could be misconstrued as
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advancing or promoting an agenda. RNs and other licensees under
the Department of Consumer Affairs should not be singled out and
denied valuable education about health care and other
legislative or regulatory policy that affects their practice and
their patients." CNA also points to nurses' duty under the law
to advocate for their patients and notes, "Under AB 675,
collective patient advocacy would be wrongly labeled as
advancing or promoting 'labor organizing on behalf of a union.'
In doing so, this bill makes a blatant attempt to stifle
valuable continuing education content, thereby disempowering RNs
and diminishing safe patient care."
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME) writes, "AB 675 is nothing more than an attack on the
ability of working people to unite and collectively participate
in California's legislative and regulatory process. In
addition, this bill unduly restricts the ability for
professionals to grow, influence, and improve the fields in
which they labor."
The Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) notes, "?regulating the
content of continuing education or competency courses is
something many Boards have refrained from doing." BBS does not
approve specific CE courses and states, "For the BBS to engage
in such a time-intensive task would be costly and add to the
responsibilities of an already over-burdened board. Given the
current fiscal climate in the State of California, the Boards
should not be given additional regulatory responsibilities."
Previous legislation . AB 378 (Hagman) of 2010 requires that CE
courses for nurses contain only content relevant to the practice
of nursing, as specified. CE courses that advance or promote
labor organizing on behalf of a union, or that advance or
promote statutory or regulatory changes, political candidates,
political advocacy, or political strategy shall not be
considered content relevant to the practice of nursing and shall
not be acceptable for meeting requirements for licensure
renewal. This bill was held in Senate Business, Professions and
Economic Development Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Board of Accountancy (CBA)
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Opposition
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
American Nurses Association of California (ANA/C)
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT)
California Labor Federation
California Nurses Association (CNA)
California Podiatric Medical Association
California Professional Firefighters
California Teachers Association (CTA)
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1000
United Food and Commercial Workers - Western States Conference
United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care
Professionals (UNAC/UHCP)
University Professional and Technical Employees - Communications
Workers of America Local 9119
Analysis Prepared by : Angela Mapp / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301