BILL NUMBER: SB 1488 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Yee
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
An act to add and repeal Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section
4979.1) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, relating
to healing arts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1488, as introduced, Yee. Healing arts: traditional Chinese
Medicine traumatologist certification.
Existing law, the Acupuncture Licensure Act, establishes the
Acupuncture Board and makes it responsible for enforcing and
administering the act, including licensing persons who meet specified
licensure requirements. Under the act, licensees are titled
"acupuncturists," and are authorized to perform designated activities
pursuant to their license. The unlawful practice of acupuncture and
any other violation of the act is a crime.
This bill would establish the Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traumatology Council as a nonprofit organization to provide for the
certification and regulation of the practice of traditional Chinese
Medicine traumatologists, as defined. The bill would require the
council to issue a certificate to practice as a traditional Chinese
Medicine traumatologist to an applicant who meets certain training
and clinical experience requirements and pays a specified fee. This
bill would make the meetings and deliberations of the council subject
to the open meeting requirements that apply to state bodies.
This bill would limit the timeframe for new applications to the
period from January 1, 2013, to December 15, 2013. Thereafter, the
council may only issue renewals of current certificates.
This bill would set forth procedures for the renewal of a
certificate to perform traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology and
would establish specified fees in that regard.
This bill would also require specified treatment procedures to be
performed under the supervision of an orthopedic surgeon and prohibit
treatment that constitutes the practice of medicine or chiropractic
procedures, as defined.
This bill would also make it an unfair business practice to use
the title of "certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist"
without meeting these certification requirements.
This bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2017, unless
legislation is enacted before that date to remove or extend that
deadline.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 4979.1) is added
to Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, to read:
CHAPTER 12.5. TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE TRAUMATOLOGY
4979.1. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist" means
a person who has been certified by the Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traumatology Council to perform traditional Chinese Medicine
traumatology.
(b) "Traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology" includes a range
of treatments to address both acute and chronic musculoskeletal
conditions, as well as many nonmusculoskeletal conditions. Techniques
include, but are not limited to, brushing, kneading, rolling,
pressing, and rubbing the areas between each of the joints to open
the body's defensive chi and stimulate the energy movement in both
meridians.
4979.2. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Traumatology Council
shall be established as a nonprofit organization for the purpose of
developing standards for, and certifying the practice of, traditional
Chinese Medicine traumatology.
4979.3. (a) (1) The council shall consist of seven members,
composed of three representatives from the clinical settings of
traumatology, two representatives from the California Orthopaedic
Association, and one representative each from the Medical Board of
California and the California Medical Association.
(2) Representatives from the clinical settings of traumatology
shall be selected by professional societies, associations, or other
entities, whose memberships are comprised solely of practitioners of
traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology.
(3) To qualify, a professional society, association, or entity
shall have a dues-paying membership in California of at least 30
individuals for the last three years and shall have bylaws that
require its members to comply with a code of ethics.
(b) (1) Subject to subdivision (d), the council shall meet and
confer to determine the certification standards, including the level
of experience and training needed for an individual to qualify for
traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology certification.
(2) The council shall develop the application form for
certification.
(3) The meetings and deliberations of the council shall be subject
to the provisions of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9
(commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(c) The council shall issue a certificate for certified
traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology to any person who makes an
application and meets all of the following requirements, as
determined by the council pursuant to subdivision (d):
(1) Is at least 18 years of age.
(2) Furnishes satisfactory evidence of training and clinical
experience that meets the standards established by the council.
(3) Is not subject to denial pursuant to Division 1.5 (commencing
with Section 475).
(d) The council shall evaluate whether an applicant meets the
certification standards, including the level of experience and
training to sufficiently qualify for the traumatology certification.
(e) An individual who is not qualified to receive a certificate
under this section, or who fails to apply for certification under
this section, shall not hold himself or herself out as a certified
traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist pursuant to this section.
4979.4. (a) A certified traditional Chinese Medicine
traumatologist, when engaging in traditional Chinese Medicine
traumatology manipulation techniques to realign the musculoskeletal
and ligamentous relationships, shall be supervised by a physician and
surgeon who has completed an orthopaedic residency program. The
extent of the relationship between a traditional Chinese Medicine
traumatologist and orthopedic surgeon regarding those manipulation
techniques shall be determined by the council after the
qualifications necessary for certification are defined and adopted by
the council.
(b) A certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist shall
not practice medicine, as defined in Section 2052.
(c) A certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist shall
not practice within the scope of activities regulated by the State
Board of Chiropractic Examiners.
4979.5. (a) An applicant for traditional Chinese Medicine
traumatology certification shall, commencing January 1, 2013, until
December 15, 2013, file an application for a certificate for
traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology with the council.
(b) On and after December 16, 2013, the council shall not issue an
initial certificate to any applicant.
(c) On and after December 16, 2013, the council may issue only a
renewal of a certificate under this section.
(d) An individual who is not qualified to receive a certificate
under this section, or who fails to apply for certification under
this section by December 15, 2013, shall not hold himself or herself
out as a certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist.
4979.6. An applicant for certification as a traditional Chinese
Medicine traumatologist shall pay an application fee in a reasonable
amount, not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200) for the regulatory
cost to the council of processing the application, when submitting
his or her application to the council.
4979.7. A certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist
shall renew his or her certificate every two years.
4979.8. An expired certificate may be renewed at any time within
six months after its expiration. The holder of the certificate shall
pay all accrued and unpaid renewal fees, plus a delinquency fee.
(a) The renewal fee shall be one hundred dollars ($100).
(b) The delinquency fee shall be twenty-five dollars ($25).
(c) The fee for a duplicate or replacement engraved wall
certificate shall be fifteen dollars ($15).
(d) The fee for a duplicate or replacement renewal receipt/pocket
certificate shall be ten dollars ($10).
4979.9. Moneys received under this section shall be utilized by
the council to pay for the costs associated with administering this
chapter.
4979.10. It is an unfair business practice for any person to hold
himself or herself out as a certified traditional Chinese Medicine
traumatologist or use the title of "certified traditional Chinese
Medicine traumatologist" without meeting the requirements of this
chapter.
4979.11. This chapter shall remain in effect only until January
1, 2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends
that date.