BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 1267
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 4, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                  AB 1267 (Halderman) - As Amended:  April 12, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              Business and 
          Professions  Vote:                            9-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires a physician and surgeon's certificate to be 
          automatically placed on inactive status during any period of 
          time that the certificate holder is incarcerated after 
          conviction of a misdemeanor, and requires the reason for this 
          inactive status to be disclosed on the Internet Web site of the 
          Medical Board of California (MBC).

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible state fiscal impact. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . According to the MBC, the sponsor of this bill, 
            there is currently nothing prohibiting physicians incarcerated 
            for misdemeanors from practicing medicine while incarcerated.  
            The MBC believes this bill will protect consumers in 
            California by not allowing physicians that are incarcerated to 
            practice medicine and by allowing for greater transparency by 
            providing this information on the MBC's Web site.

           2)License Suspension  . The MBC indicates that under current law, 
            physician and surgeon's licenses are suspended due to felony 
            convictions resulting in incarceration. The MBC has the 
            technology in place to automatically suspend licenses in this 
            case, and has processed a total of 47 such suspensions in the 
            last 10 years.  This bill would extend the automatic 
            suspension process to convictions for a misdemeanor resulting 
            in incarceration.









                                                                  AB 1267
                                                                  Page  2

           3)License Lookup System  .  The MBC currently maintains a publicly 
            accessible website where individuals can access information 
            about a doctor through an inquiry system, including a 
            physician's license status, their medical education, and 
            certain self-reported data, as well as a variety of public 
            actions such as disciplinary actions, felony and misdemeanor 
            convictions, and malpractice settlements or judgments.  This 
            bill would add a requirement that the reason for inactive 
            license status be disclosed.  

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081