BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1236|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1236
Author: Price (D)
Amended: 8/24/12
Vote: 21
SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMM. : 7-0, 4/23/12
AYES: Price, Emmerson, Corbett, Correa, Hernandez,
Strickland, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Negrete McLeod, Vargas
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/24/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 5/30/12
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon,
Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Dutton,
Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman,
Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio,
Simitian, Steinberg, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Strickland, Vargas
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Healing arts boards
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill extends the sunset dates of numerous
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boards, committees and programs under the Department of
Consumer Affairs and makes related conforming and technical
changes.
Assembly Amendments add provisions to the bill relating to
the Physical Therapy Board, the Naturopathic Medicine
Committee, the Board of Pharmacy, the Board of Psychology,
the Court Reporters Board, the Bureau of Electronic and
Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings, and
Thermal Insulation, the Health Quality Enforcement Section
within the Department of Justice, and the Acupuncture
Board.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Licenses and regulates some 2,000 doctors of podiatric
medicine (DPMs) by the California Board of Podiatric
Medicine (BPM) under the Medical Board of California
(MBC) within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA),
and makes the BPM inoperative and repealed on January 1,
2013. (Business and Professions Code (BPC) � 2460)
2. Provides that the BPM is composed of seven members,
three public members, and four professional members.
The Governor appoints five members, and the Senate Rules
Committee and the Assembly Speaker each appoints a
public member. (BPC � 2462)
3. Provides that protection of the public shall be the
highest priority for the BPM in exercising its
licensing, regulatory, and disciplinary functions, and
whenever the protection of the public is inconsistent
with other interests sought to be promoted, the
protection of the public shall be paramount. (BPC �
2460.1)
4. Defines the practice of "podiatric medicine" to mean the
diagnosis, medical, surgical, mechanical, manipulative,
and electrical treatment of the human foot, including
the ankle and tendons that insert into the foot and the
nonsurgical treatment of the muscles and tendons of the
leg governing the functions of the foot. (BPC � 2472
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(b))
5. Licenses and regulates more than 7,500 physician
assistants (PAs) under the Physician Assistant Practice
Act by the Physician Assistant Committee (PAC) within
the MBC, and makes the PAC inoperative and repealed on
January 1, 2013. (BPC � 3504)
6. Authorizes the PAC to appoint an executive officer, and
makes that authority inoperative and repealed on January
1, 2013. (BPC � 3512)
7. The PAC is comprised of nine members: four PAs, four
public members and one physician representative of MBC.
Four PAs, the physician members and two public members
are appointed by the Governor. Senate Rules Committee
and the Assembly Speaker each appoint a public member.
(BPC � 3505)
8. Provides that protection of the public shall be the
highest priority for the PAC in exercising its
licensing, regulatory, and disciplinary functions, and
whenever the protection of the public is inconsistent
with other interests sought to be promoted, the
protection of the public shall be paramount. (BPC �
3504.1)
This bill:
1. Extends the sunset date for references to investigations
pursuant to the MBC vertical enforcement and prosecution
model from January 1, 2013, to January 1, 2014.
2. Extends the sunset date for the Naturopathic Medicine
Committee under the Osteopathic Medical Board of
California from January 1, 2013, to January 1, 2014.
3. Extends the BPM sunset date to January 1, 2017.
4. Repeals an obsolete provision prohibiting a DPM from
performing an admitting history and physical exam at an
acute care hospital.
5. Eliminates the four-year limit on the renewal of a
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resident's license for DPMs in postgraduate training
programs.
6. Removes a requirement that applicants for a DPM license
obtain a specific score on the licensing examination.
7. Clarifies that the vote of only one member of the BPM is
necessary to defer a decision for consideration by the
entire board.
8. Authorizes the BPM to increase costs assessed when a
proposed decision is not adopted by the BPM and the BPM
finds grounds for increasing the assessed costs, as
specified.
9. Extends the sunset date for the Physical Therapy Board
and the term of its executive officer (EO) from January
1, 2013 to January 1, 2014.
10.Extends the sunset date of the Board of Psychology and
its authority to employ an EO until January 1, 2017.
11.Extends sunset dates for the PAC and its authority to
appoint an EO to January 1, 2017.
12.Changes the name of the PAC to the Physician Assistant
Board (PAB) and makes conforming changes.
13.Changes the composition of the PAB to add a PA and to
make the physician member an ex officio, non-voting
member who shall not be counted for purposes of a
quorum.
14.Allows the PAB to establish, by regulation, a system for
placement of a licensee on retired status, as specified.
15.Provides that the expiration, cancelation, forfeiture,
or suspension of a PA license by operation of law or by
order or decision of the PAB or a court of law, the
placement of a license on a retired status, or the
voluntary surrender of a license by a licensee shall not
deprive the PAB of jurisdiction to commence or proceed
with any investigation of, or action or disciplinary
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proceeding against, the licensee or to render a decision
suspending or revoking the license.
16.Applies to PAs the current-law requirements within the
800 series of the Business and Professions Codes (800
series) that apply to specified health care licensing
boards and licensees of those boards.
17.Extends the sunset date for the Board of Pharmacy, its
appointment authority, and the term of its EO from
January 1, 2013, to January 1, 2017.
18.Extends the sunset date for the Acupuncture Board
(Board) and the term of the Board's EO by two years,
until January 1, 2015, and makes technical and
clarifying changes to statutes governing Board-approved
acupuncture training programs.
19.Extends the sunset date of the Board of Behavioral
Sciences and its authority to appoint an EO until
January 1, 2017.
20.Extends the sunset date for the Court Reporters Board,
the term of its EO, and specified Transcript
Reimbursement Funds from January 1, 2013, to January 1,
2017.
21.Extends the sunset date for the registration,
investigation, and enforcement of service contractors
and service dealers under the Electronic and Appliance
Repair Dealer Registration Law from
January 1, 2013, to January 1, 2015.
22.Makes conforming, technical and clarifying changes
within the Business and Professions Code.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
1. Annual fee-supported special fund costs associated with
continued operation of the following regulatory
entities, as follows:
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BPM, of $1 million, until January 1, 2017.
Physician Assistant Committee, of $1.2 million,
until January 1, 2017.
Board of Psychology, of $4.5 million, until
January 1, 2017.
Board of Behavioral Sciences, of $8.2 million,
until January 1, 2017.
Naturopathic Medicine Committee, of $174,000 for
one year.
Physical Therapy Board, of $3.3 million, for one
year.
California State Board of Pharmacy, of $15.3
million, until
January 1, 2017.
Court Reporters Board of California, of $1.1
million, until January 1, 2017.
Acupuncture Board, of $2.8 million, until January
1, 2015.
2. Minor potential increased revenue that would offset the
BPM's costs of investigation and prosecution of
disciplinary cases.
3. Potential minor regulatory and information technology
costs to the Physician Assistant Board if it promulgates
regulations to establish a retired licensure status. Any
increased costs would be covered by fee revenues.
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/26/12) (per Assembly Business,
Professions and Consumer Protection Committee analysis -
unable to reverify at time of writing)
Board of Podiatric Medicine
Physician Assistant Committee
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JJA:m 8/28/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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