BILL NUMBER: SB 1488 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 30, 2012
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 amended, 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 and would
authorize the board to suspend or revoke a certificate for
unprofessional conduct, certain fraudulent acts, or specifi
ed crimes committed by the certificate holder .
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) "Council" means the California Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traumatology Council.
(b)
(c) "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
California Traditional Chinese Medicine Traumatology Council shall be
established as a nonprofit organization exempt from taxation under
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, for the purpose of
developing standards for, and certifying the practice of, traditional
Chinese Medicine traumatology. The council may commence activities
as authorized by this section after submitting a request to the
Internal Revenue Service seeking the exemption.
(b) (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)
(c) (1) Subject to subdivision (d)
(e) , 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)
(d) 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)
(e) :
(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)
(e) 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)
(f) 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. It is a violation of this chapter for a certificate
holder to commit, and the council may deny an application for a
certificate or suspend or revoke a certificate for, any of the
following:
(a) Unprofessional conduct, including, but not limited to, denial
of licensure or certification, revocation, suspension, restriction,
or any other disciplinary action against a certificate holder by
another state or territory of the United States, by any other
government agency, or by another entity. A certified copy of the
decision, order, or judgment shall be conclusive evidence of these
actions.
(b) Procuring a certificate by fraud, misrepresentation, or
mistake.
(c) Violating or attempting to violate, directly or indirectly, or
assisting in or abetting the violation of, or conspiring to violate,
any provision of this chapter or any rule or bylaw adopted by the
council.
(d) Conviction of any felony, or conviction of a misdemeanor that
is substantially related to the qualifications or duties of a
certificate holder, in which event the record of the conviction shall
be conclusive evidence of the crime.
(e) Impersonating an applicant or acting as a proxy for an
applicant in any part of the application process or any part of
satisfying the standards set by the council referred to under this
chapter for the issuance of a certificate.
(f) Impersonating a certified traditional Chinese Medicine
traumatologist, or permitting or allowing an uncertified person to
use a certificate.
(g) Committing any fraudulent, dishonest, or corrupt act that is
substantially related to the qualifications or duties of a
certificate holder.
(h) Committing any act punishable as a sexually related crime.
4979.11. 4979.12. 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.