BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1976
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
Paul J. Cook, Chair
AB 1976 (Logue) - As Amended: April 11, 2012
SUBJECT : Professions and vocations: licensure and
certification requirements: military experience.
SUMMARY : Establishes the Veterans Health Care Workforce Act of
2012 and imposes specified requirements on healing arts boards
within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) and on the
Department of Public Health (DPH) to facilitate the licensing or
certification of veterans with appropriate health-care related
education, training, or practical experience. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires healing arts boards within DCA to, upon the
presentation of satisfactory evidence by an applicant for
licensure, accept the education, training, and practical
experience completed by an applicant as a member of the United
States (U.S.) Armed Forces or Military Reserves of the U.S.,
the national guard of any state, the military reserves of any
state, or the naval militia of any state, toward the
qualifications and requirements to receive a license issued by
that board unless the board determines that the education,
training, or practical experience is not substantially
equivalent to the standards of the board.
2)Requires, by July 1, 2014, any DCA healing arts board that
accredits or otherwise approves schools offering educational
course credit for meeting licensing qualifications and
requirements to require those schools seeking accreditation or
approval to have procedures in place to fully accept an
applicant's military education, training, and practical
experience toward the completion of an educational program
that would qualify a person to apply for licensure.
3)Requires each DCA healing arts board to determine whether it
is necessary to adopt regulations to implement the above
provisions. If a board determines it is necessary to adopt
regulations, the board shall adopt those regulations not later
than January 1, 2014.
4)If a board determines it is not necessary to adopt
AB 1976
Page 2
regulations, the board shall, not later than January 1, 2014,
submit to the Governor and the Legislature a written report
explaining why such regulations are not necessary. This
provision becomes inoperative on January 1, 2017.
5)Requires the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CDVA)
to provide technical assistance to DCA healing arts boards and
the DCA director with respect to complying with the above
requirements, including the determination of substantial
equivalency between the education, training, or practical
experience of an applicant and the board's standards, and
obtaining state, federal, or private funds to support
compliance with this bill's requirements.
6)Requires the DCA director to submit a written report to the
Governor and the Legislature by January 1, 2016, on the
progress of DCA healing arts boards toward compliance with
this bill's provisions, as specified. This provision becomes
inoperative on January 1, 2017.
7)Establishes identical provisions as outlined above for DPH,
for applicants for licensure or certification in any of the
following professions:
a) Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT);
b) Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS);
c) Radiologic Technologist (RT);
d) Nuclear Medicine Technologist (NMT);
e) Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA);
f) Certified Home Health Aide (HHA);
g) Certified Hemodialysis Technician (CHT); and,
AB 1976
Page 3
h) Nursing Home Administrator (NHA).
8)States findings and declarations.
EXISTING LAW
1)Provides for the licensure and regulation of various healing
arts professions by boards within DCA.
2)Requires the rules and regulations of these healing arts
boards to provide for methods of evaluating education,
training, and experience obtained in military service if such
training is applicable to the requirements of the particular
profession or vocation regulated by the board.
3)Authorizes DPH to license or certify a number of healing arts
professionals.
4)Specifies that CDVA has specified powers and duties relating
to various programs serving veterans.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Purpose of this bill . According to the author, "In
order to honor the service of our nation's returning heroes and
address California's healthcare workforce needs, this bill would
ensure that veterans with healthcare education, training, and
practical experience are expedited into civilian employment as
healthcare professionals.
"This bill would break down barriers facing returning veterans,
by requiring state entities that license healthcare
professionals to establish policies that recognize the
education, training, and practical experience of a veteran
applicant. It would also require these entities to work with
the college programs they accredit to ensure that the colleges
have procedures in place so that veteran applicants are not
forced to retake classes they have already completed at a
military institute, and so that veterans are able to quickly
complete the additional coursework necessary for licensure."
Background . Current law requires DCA's healing arts boards to
provide for methods of evaluating education, training, and
experience obtained in military service if such training is
applicable to the requirements of the particular profession or
AB 1976
Page 4
vocation regulated by the board. Although DPH is not subject to
a similar statutory requirement, DPH reports having procedures
in place to evaluate education, training, and experience
obtained in military service for the professions of MLT, CLS,
RT, NMT and CNA. There are currently no procedures in place for
HHAs, CHTs, NHAs.
According to the Assembly Committee on Business & Professions:
DPH approves 120 schools for the purposes of training for
CLS. The current procedure requires a laboratory scientist
trainee license for any military applicant who needs
further training to obtain a California CLS license. In
issuing this trainee license, DPH has procedures in place
to evaluate military training and experience of applicants.
The schools accept the scientist trainee license as
qualification to enter their program.
DPH approves 643 CNA training programs, 267 HHA training
programs, and 498 Certified CHT training programs. DPH,
not the schools, would approve training, education, and
experience equivalency. DPH currently has procedures in
place to evaluate military training, education, and
experience for CNA applicants, but not for HHA or CHT
applicants.
There are no school programs for NHAs seeking initial
licensure. DPH does approve NHA courses for continuing
education requirements after the individual is licensed.
CDPH does not currently have procedures in place for
evaluating military training, experience, or education for
NHA applicants.
CDPH does not have statutory authority to approve NMT
schools. The Joint Review Committee on Educational
Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology (JRCNMT) accredits
these programs. JRCNMT is the only programmatic
accrediting agency recognized to accredit NMT educational
programs offered through traditional and distance education
formats in the U.S. and its territories. The JRCNMT holds
recognition from the Council for Higher Education
Accreditation.
The Radiologic Health Branch (RHB) within DPH is
responsible for the inspection of RT schools. However, the
AB 1976
Page 5
three branches of the military have programs for RTs and
NMTs. These programs are accredited by the Joint Review
Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT), a
private accrediting organization recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education for the accreditation of
educational programs in the radiological sciences. The
American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) is a
private certifying organization that accepts graduates from
schools accredited by JRCERT. A Radiologic Technologist or
Nuclear Medicine Technologist completing the military's
programs is qualified to take ARRT's examination. If a
veteran takes and passes the ARRT's examination, the
veteran can then apply to DPH-RHB to obtain the applicable
authorization without taking the DPH examination, since
they have already passed the ARRT's examination. The
veteran is not required to attend an RHB-approved school
since they completed the required training program in the
military. Therefore, schools do not need to have a
procedure to accept an already qualified veteran who
participated in and passed a military RT or NMT program.
This bill could apply if someone from the military, who had
been attending a JRCERT accredited program, left service
before completing the program. If he/she were to apply to
finish his/her RT courses, all 41 schools have procedures
in place to assess out of state, out of country, and
military education received to identify what classes would
be needed in order to graduate and become certified.
DPH has no record of any applicants for licensure or
certification for any of the professions specified in the
bill being denied because DPH did not accept the
applicant's military education, training or practical
experience toward the requirements for licensure or
certification.
Similar, comprehensive information for DCA's health care
boards was not available at the time this analysis was
written. However, according to the Medical Board of
California (MBC), the MBC does not accredit U.S. medical
schools. The requirement is that applicants must be
graduates of a medical school accredited by the Liaison
Committee on Medical Education (LCME), which is the
nationally recognized accrediting authority for medical
education programs leading to the MD degree in U.S. and
Canadian medical schools. The LCME is sponsored by the
AB 1976
Page 6
Association of American Medical Colleges and the American
Medical Association.
DCA's boards and bureaus that would be affected by this
bill include the Acupuncture Board, the Board of Behavioral
Sciences, the Board of Occupational Therapy, the Board of
Optometry, the Board of Pharmacy, the Board of Podiatric
Medicine, the Board of Psychology, the Board of Registered
Nursing, the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric
Technicians, the Dental Board, the MBC, the Osteopathic
Medical Board, the Physical Therapy Board, the Respiratory
Care Board, the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
Board, and the Veterinary Medical Board.
According to "U.S. Military and California Health Personnel:
Select Comparisons,"
a 2008 report by the Center for the Health Professions at the
University of California, San Francisco, "As California faces
workforce shortages and geographic mal-distribution in many of
the health care professions, policy makers are looking to
expanding educational programs, rethinking practice models and
improving recruitment and retention efforts among existing and
new pools of workers. One potential pool of health care workers
includes former military personnel returning from active duty or
retiring with years available for service in the civilian labor
force.
"Individuals with military training or experience in health care
may be well-positioned to meet civilian health care needs upon
their separation from service. Most of the military training is
nationally accredited and/or of documented high quality, and a
serviceperson retiring from military duty may still want to work
for many years in the civilian sector. However, current rules
and regulations may present unnecessary challenges. To
facilitate smooth transitions between military and civilian
work, civilian policy makers and educators might want to explore
better alignment of accreditation, certification and licensure
standards."
Veterans of the United States Armed Forces and the National
Guard gain invaluable education, training and practical
experience through their military service. Yet, while the
national unemployment rate is approximately 8.3% as of June
2011, one million veterans were unemployed nationally and the
unemployment rate for post 9/11 veterans was 13.3% with young
AB 1976
Page 7
(18-24) male veterans experiencing an unemployment rate of 21.9
%.
Reducing barriers to unemployment for these veterans,
particularly in light of their training and experience.
President Obama and the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs have multiple initiatives aimed at reducing veteran
unemployment. The proposed policy of this bill is aligned with
national policy.
Related legislation . AB 1932 (Cook) requires healing arts
boards within DCA to issue a written report to CDVA detailing
the methods of evaluating the education, training, and
experience obtained in military service and whether that
education, training, and experience is applicable to the boards'
requirements for licensure, by January 1, 2014.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California State Rural Health Association (sponsor)
American Legion - Department of California
AMVETS - Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Vietnam Veterans of America - California State Council
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : John Spangler / V. A. / (916) 319-3550