BILL NUMBER: SB 1488 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 21, 2012
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: California
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 California Traditional
Chinese Medicine Traumatology Council as a nonprofit organization to
provide for the certification and regulation of the practice of
California traditional Chinese Medicine
traumatologists, as defined. The bill would require the council to
issue a certificate to practice as a California
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 California 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 " California 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
specified 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. CALIFORNIA TRADITIONAL CHINESE
MEDICINE TRAUMATOLOGY
4979.1. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Certified "California certified
traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist" means a person who has
been certified by the California Traditional Chinese
Medicine Traumatology Council to perform California
traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology.
(b) "Council" means the California Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traumatology Council.
(c) "Traditional "California 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.
4979.3. (a) 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, California 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
California 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.
(c) (1) Subject to subdivision (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 in California traditional Chinese Medicine
traumatology .
(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).
(d) The council shall issue a certificate for California
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
(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).
(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.
(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
California certified traditional Chinese Medicine
traumatologist pursuant to this section.
4979.4. (a) A California 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 California
traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist and an
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 California certified traditional Chinese Medicine
traumatologist shall not practice medicine, as defined in Section
2052.
(c) A California 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 California traditional
Chinese Medicine traumatology certification shall ,
commencing January 1, 2013, until December 15, 2013, file
an application for a certificate for California
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)
(b) 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 California certified
traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist.
4979.6. An applicant for certification as a California
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 California 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 California certified
traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist or use the title of
"certified "California 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 California 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.
4979.12. 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.