BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 704
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 6, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                 SB 704 (Negrete McLeod) - As Amended:  June 6, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                             Business and 
          Professions  Vote:                            9-0

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

           SUMMARY  

          This bill revises examination requirements for persons seeking 
          licensure by the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) within the 
          Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) as a marriage and family 
          therapist (MFT), clinical social worker (LCSW), or professional 
          clinical counselor (LPCC), effective January 1, 2013.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Minor and absorbable costs to the BBS to revise examination 
            requirements for licensees.  

          1)If a national exam for the clinical component of the 
            examination requirements was eventually approved by the board, 
            and was administered in place of BBS-developed exams, the BBS 
            could realize cost savings of approximately $500,000 (special 
            fund) associated with reduced exam-related workload.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  .  According to the author, this bill would 
            restructure the examination process for applicants seeking 
            MFT, LCSW, or LPCC licensure on or after January 1, 2013, in 
            order to implement recommendations of the BBS's Examination 
            Program Review Committee.  BBS, the bill's sponsor, states 
            that the Committee has been evaluating ways of updating and 
            restructuring licensing exams for these professions since 
            February 2008, and that the Committee has taken into account 
            extensive public input and feedback in the development of this 
            bill's language.  The intent of these new standards is to 
            allow for eventual conformity of the clinical portion of the 








                                                                  SB 704
                                                                  Page  2

            exams to national standards, in order to facilitate 
            reciprocity and portability of licenses across states, while 
            preserving state-specific consumer protections through 
            administration of a California-specific law and ethics exam. 

           2)Background  . The BBS licenses a number of mental health 
            professionals, including MFTs, LCSWs, Licensed Educational 
            Psychologists (LEP), and, beginning January 1, 2012, LPCCs.  
            The BBS currently develops and administers examinations for 
            each license.  

          3)Related Legislation  .  AB 2167 (Nava), Chapter 546, Statutes of 
            2009, established new examination requirements for applicants 
            seeking licensure as LCSWs.  

            SB 33 (Correa), Chapter 26, Statutes of 2009, revised the 
            educational curriculum for MFTs.

            SB 788 (Wyland), Chapter 619, Statutes of 2009 established 
            state licensure standards for LPCCs. 


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