BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 539
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 13, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                     SB 539 (Price) - As Amended:  June 9, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                             Business and 
          Professions  Vote:                            9-0

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

           SUMMARY  

          This bill extends the sunset on the Board of Vocational Nursing 
          and Psychiatric Technicians (board) and modifies other 
          provisions related to the board.  Specifically, this bill:

          1)Extends the sunset date of the Board's regulation of the 
            vocational nursing (VN) and psychiatric technicians (PT) 
            professions until January 1, 2016, and provides for review of 
            the Board by the appropriate policy committees of the 
            Legislature.

          2)Replaces the terms "accredit" or "accreditation" with 
            "approve" or "approval" for purposes of VN and PT programs. 

          3)Expands the circumstances under which employers are required 
            to report to the board involuntary termination of employment, 
            as well as the types of employers who must report. 

          4)Makes other technical, non-substantive and conforming changes.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

             1)   Minor, absorbable costs to the Board to receive and 
               review an unknown number of additional reports of 
               involuntary termination of employment.  

             2)   Approximately $14 million (special fund) annually in 
               regulatory costs will continue to be incurred as a result 
               of extending the sunset on the Board. Under current law, 
               the board's operations would sunset on January 1, 2012.









                                                                  SB 539
                                                                  Page  2

           COMMENTS  

           Rationale  .  According to the author, SB 539 makes statutory 
          changes to the Business and Professions Code to reflect findings 
          from the Senate Committee on Business and Professions' recent 
          Sunset Review Hearings.  Specifically, the bill extends the date 
          of operation of the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric 
          Technicians (BVNPT) so it can continue to regulate the practice 
          of licensed vocational nurses and psychiatric technicians.  It 
          also makes related statutory changes that will help improve the 
          Board's oversight of licensees and clarify the Board's role with 
          respect to approval of licensee training programs.

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