BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2102
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2102 (Ting)
As Amended April 24, 2014
Majority vote
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 10-3
APPROPRIATIONS 12-4
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|Ayes:|Bonilla, Bocanegra, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Campos, Dickinson, | |Bradford, |
| |Eggman, Gordon, Holden, | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| |Mullin, Skinner, Ting | |Eggman, Gomez, Holden, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Jones, Hagman, Wilk |Nays:|Bigelow, Donnelly, Jones, |
| | | |Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN), the
Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT),
the Physician Assistant Board (PAB), and the Respiratory Care
Board of California (RCBC) to collect demographic data on their
respective licensees and provide that data to the Office of
Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD).
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires BRN, BVNPT, PAB, and RCBC to collect all of the
following information on their respective licensees at least
biennially, or at the time of issuing an initial or renewal
license:
a) Location of practice;
b) Race or ethnicity, by election of the licensee;
c) Gender;
d) Languages spoken; and,
e) Educational background.
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2)Requires BRN, BVNPT, PAB, and RCBC to provide that data
annually to OSHPD in a manner directed by OSHPD that allows
for inclusion into the annual health care workforce report
provided to the Legislature, as specified.
3)Makes Legislative findings and declarations relative to the
collection of information about California's health care
workforce.
4)Makes technical and clarifying changes.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, potential one-time costs of up to $90,000 (various
fee-supported special funds) if programming changes are
necessary to the information technology (IT) system supporting
licensure functions.
COMMENTS :
1)This bill will require BRN, BVNPT, PAB, and RCBC to report
demographic information on their licensees to OSHPD so that
OSHPD can collect more complete and consistent data on
California's health care workforce. With that data, policy
makers will ideally be better able to identify geographic
areas of the state where there are shortages of health care
workers with cultural and linguistic competencies. This bill
is sponsored by the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network and
the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California.
2)According to the author's office, "For millions of
Californians, comprehensive access to healthcare depends on
professionals who can provide culturally and linguistically
appropriate medical services. California collects data on
healthcare occupations, but current data is insufficient for
determining the state's capacity to address the needs of our
diverse population, in particular language access. AB 2102
requires the collection and reporting of key demographic data
for registered nurses, nurse practitioners, physician
assistants, respiratory care providers, vocational nurses and
psychiatric technicians. This will enable the state to better
identify health care disparities and craft solutions to ensure
AB 2102
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comprehensive coverage and greater health care access for all
Californians."
3)OSHPD was created in 1978 to provide California with an
enhanced understanding of the structure and function of its
healthcare delivery systems. OSHPD is the statewide leader in
collecting data and disseminating information about
California's healthcare infrastructure, promoting an equitably
distributed healthcare workforce, and publishing valuable
information about healthcare outcomes.
OSHPD publishes an annual report to the Legislature with
information on education and employment trends in the health
care professions, current supply and demand for health care
workers, and gaps in the educational pipeline producing
workers in specific occupations and geographic area.
Available information for these reports is limited, however.
According to the author's office, race, language capacity, and
gender demographic information would greatly enrich the
quality of OSHPD's reports and better inform policymaking.
While some boards, such as BRN, do collect demographic data on
its licensees, this bill would standardize the information
required to be collected and formalize its inclusion in
OSHPD's annual report.
The author's office reports that these boards were chosen
because the Medical Board of California and Dental Board of
California already collect this demographic information, and
the remaining boards in this bill already report some
information to OSHPD and represent those professionals who
work closely with patients.
Analysis Prepared by : Sarah Huchel / B., P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
FN: 0003287