BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2561
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 9, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

               AB 2561 (Roger Hernández) - As Amended:  April 26, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              Business and 
          Professions  Vote:                            9-0

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

           SUMMARY
           
          This bill establishes a title act for certified surgical 
          technologists with no oversight or enforcement mechanisms.  
          Specifically, this bill:  

          1)Establishes the Certified Surgical Technologist Act and makes 
            it unlawful for a person to use the title "certified surgical 
            technologist" in this state unless the person: 

             a)   Has successfully completed a nationally accredited 
               educational program for surgical technologists, or a 
               training program for surgical technology provided by the 
               United States (U.S.) Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, 
               Coast Guard or Public Health Service; and,

             b)   Holds and maintains certification as a surgical 
               technologist by the National Board of Surgical Technology 
               and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA) or its successor, or 
               another nationally accredited surgical technologist 
               credentialing organization.

          2)Provides that violations of the above provision are not 
            subject to enforcement thereof.

          3)Specifies that it does not prohibit healing arts licensees 
            from performing a task or function within their licensure 
            scope, and that it does not apply to licensed registered 
            nurses, licensed vocational nurses, or persons responsible for 
            cleaning or sterilization of supplies, instruments, equipment, 
            or operating rooms.









                                                                  AB 2561
                                                                  Page  2

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Negligible direct state costs.  

          2)Previous versions of this bill established registration fees, 
            a Surgical Technologist Fund, and oversight by a Certified 
            Surgical Technologist Committee within the Medical Board of 
            California for purposes of this title act.  Recent amendments 
            removed these provisions.  This bill no longer specifies a 
            role for an oversight and enforcement entity or fee 
            collection; however, putting this title protection in statute 
            could result in pressure to establish state oversight. Such 
            oversight could cost in the range of $200,000-$500,000 per 
            year.     

           COMMENTS  

           Rationale  .  According to the author, surgical technologists are 
          the only health care professionals engaged in surgical suite 
          activity without recognition of their profession and the 
          attendant standards of care which their work in such settings 
          warrants. The author states a key purpose of the bill is to 
          encourage the education, training and utilization of certified 
          surgical technologists in California, given their work in 
          surgical settings to prevent surgical site infections.


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