BILL NUMBER: AB 1848 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Atkins
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
An act to amend add Section
2004 of 2076.6 to the Business and Professions
Code, relating to medicine healing arts, and
making an appropriation therefor .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1848, as amended, Atkins. Medical Board of California.
Physicians and surgeons: expert witness testimony.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the licensing
and regulation of physicians and surgeons in the state by the
Medical Board of California under the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Existing law provides exceptions from those licensing requirements
to permit physicians and surgeons who are licensed in another state
to practice medicine in California in specified circumstances.
This bill would require a physician and surgeon who is licensed in
another state to file an application and fee with the board and
receive approval, as specified, prior to offering expert witness
testimony related to the practice of medicine in any legal proceeding
in the state. A physician and surgeon so approved would be subject
to discipline by the board.
This bill would make an appropriation because the application fees
would be deposited into the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of
California, a continuously appropriated fund.
The Medical Practice Act provides for the licensure and regulation
of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California, and
specifies the board's responsibilities in this regard.
This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these
provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no yes
. Fiscal committee: no yes .
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2076.6 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
2076.6. (a) A physician and surgeon who holds an active and valid
license to practice medicine in another state shall file a written
application with the board, using a form that the board shall create,
and receive the approval of the board prior to providing expert
witness testimony, under oath, relating to the practice of medicine
in any legal proceeding in the state. The application shall contain:
(1) The applicant's legal name, mailing address, and telephone
number.
(2) The names of all jurisdictions where the applicant holds, has
held, or has applied for, a license to practice medicine, the current
status of each license or application, and the name of any
jurisdictions in which a license or application has been suspended,
revoked, or denied.
(3) A statement declaring whether the applicant has previously
held or applied for a California medical license and whether that
license or application was ever suspended, revoked, or denied.
(4) A list of any felonies or misdemeanors of which the applicant
has been convicted in any jurisdiction.
(5) A statement indicating whether the applicant has previously
applied for, or held, an expert witness certificate and whether any
previous expert witness certificate has been revoked by the board, or
a similar board, committee, medical society, or administrative body
in any other jurisdiction.
(b) The application shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount set
by the board sufficient to cover the reasonable costs of processing
the application. All fees collected under this section shall be
deposited in the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California.
(c) If the board fails to approve or deny the application within
10 business days after receipt of the application and payment of the
application fee, the application shall be deemed approved. The board
shall issue an expert witness certificate to all approved applicants.
The certificate shall be valid for two years from issuance.
(d) An expert witness certificate does not authorize the holder to
practice medicine, as described in Section 2052. An expert witness
certificate shall be treated as a license in any disciplinary action
and the holder of the certificate shall be subject to discipline by
the board.
(e) A physician and surgeon who is authorized under this section
to provide expert testimony relating to the practice of medicine
shall be deemed to consent to the jurisdiction, and regulatory and
disciplinary powers, of the board and shall be subject to the
provisions of Section 2234.
(f) An expert witness certificate issued pursuant to this section
shall be disclosed upon request to a member of the public and shall
be posted on the board's Internet Web site.
SECTION 1. Section 2004 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
2004. The board shall have the responsibility for all of the
following:
(a) The enforcement of the disciplinary and criminal provisions of
the Medical Practice Act.
(b) The administration and hearing of disciplinary actions.
(c) Carrying out disciplinary actions appropriate to findings made
by a panel or an administrative law judge.
(d) Suspending, revoking, or otherwise limiting certificates after
the conclusion of disciplinary actions.
(e) Reviewing the quality of medical practice carried out by
physician and surgeon certificate holders under the jurisdiction of
the board.
(f) Approving undergraduate and graduate medical education
programs.
(g) Approving clinical clerkship and special programs and
hospitals for the programs in subdivision (f).
(h) Issuing licenses and certificates under the board's
jurisdiction.
(i) Administering the board's continuing medical education
program.