Bill Text: CA SB1478 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Healing arts.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-2)
Status: (Passed) 2016-09-22 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 489, Statutes of 2016. [SB1478 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB1478-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1478 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 489
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 22, 2016
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 22, 2016
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 29, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 22, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Committee on Business, Professions and Economic
Development (Senators Hill (Chair), Bates, Block, Gaines, Galgiani,
Hernandez, Jackson, Mendoza, and Wieckowski)
MARCH 10, 2016
An act to amend Sections 27, 208, 1632, 1634.1, 2467, 2541.3,
2541.6, 2545, 2550, 2550.1, 2552, 2553, 2554, 2555, 2555.1, 2558,
2559, 2559.2, 2559.3, 2559.5, 2561, 2563, 3027, 4980.36, 4980.37,
4980.43, 4980.78, 4980.79, 4980.81, 4992.05, 4996.3, 4996.18,
4996.23, 4999.12, 4999.40, 4999.47, 4999.52, 4999.60, 4999.61, and
4999.120 of, to add Sections 4980.09 and 4999.12.5 to, to repeal
Sections 852, 2029, 2540.1, 4980.40.5, and 4999.54 of, and to repeal
Article 16 (commencing with Section 2380) of Chapter 5 of Division 2
of, the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1478, Committee on Business, Professions and Economic
Development. Healing arts.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of healing
arts professions and vocations by boards within the Department of
Consumer Affairs.
(1) Existing law requires a Controlled Substance Utilization
Review and Evaluation System (CURES) fee of $6 to be assessed
annually, at the time of license renewal, on specified licensees to
pay the reasonable costs associated with operating and maintaining
CURES for the purpose of regulating those licensees.
The bill would, beginning July 1, 2017, except as specified,
exempt licensees issued a license placed in a retired or inactive
status from the CURES fee requirement.
(2) Existing law establishes the Task Force on Culturally and
Linguistically Competent Physicians and Dentists. Existing law
requires the task force to develop recommendations for a continuing
education program that includes language proficiency standards of
foreign language to be acquired to meet linguistic competency,
identify the key cultural elements necessary to meet cultural
competency by physicians, dentists, and their offices and assess the
need for voluntary certification standards and examinations for
cultural and linguistic competency.
This bill would delete those provisions.
(3) The Dental Practice Act provides for the licensure and
regulation of dentists by the Dental Board of California. Existing
law requires each applicant to, among other things, successfully
complete the Part I and Part II written examinations of the National
Board Dental Examination of the Joint Commission on National Dental
Examinations.
This bill would instead require the applicant to successfully
complete the written examination of the National Board Dental
Examination of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations.
(4) The Medical Practice Act provides for the licensure and
regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of
California.
Existing law requires the board to keep a copy of a complaint it
receives regarding the poor quality of care rendered by a licensee
for 10 years from the date the board receives the complaint, as
provided.
This bill would delete that requirement.
Existing law creates the Bureau of Medical Statistics within the
board. Under existing law, the purpose of the bureau is to provide
the board with statistical information necessary to carry out their
functions of licensing, medical education, medical quality, and
enforcement.
This bill would abolish that bureau.
(5) Under existing law, the California Board of Podiatric Medicine
is responsible for the certification and regulation of the practice
of podiatric medicine. Existing law requires the board to annually
elect one of its members to act as president and vice president.
This bill would instead require the board to elect from its
members a president, a vice president, and a secretary.
(6) Under existing law, any person who violates any of the
provisions governing prescription lenses is subject to a specified
fine per violation. Existing law requires the fines from licensed
physicians and surgeons and registered dispensing opticians to be
available upon appropriation to the Medical Board of California for
the purposes of administration and enforcement. Existing law requires
the fines from licensed optometrists to be deposited into the
Optometry Fund and to be available upon appropriation to the State
Board of Optometry for the purposes of administration and
enforcement. Beginning January 1, 2016, existing law makes the State
Board of Optometry responsible for the registration and regulation of
registered dispensing opticians.
This bill would instead require fines from registered dispensing
opticians to be deposited in the Dispensing Opticians Fund and to be
available upon appropriation to the State Board of Optometry.
(7) The Board of Behavioral Sciences is responsible for
administering, among others, the Licensed Marriage and Family
Therapist Act, the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act, and the
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act.
(A) Existing law, the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act,
provides for the regulation of the practice of marriage and family
therapy by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. A violation of the act
is a crime. Existing law requires the licensure of marriage and
family therapists and the registration of marriage and family
therapist interns. Under existing law, an "intern" is defined as an
unlicensed person who has earned his or her master's or doctoral
degree qualifying him or her for licensure and is registered with the
board. Existing law prohibits the abbreviation "MFTI" from being
used in an advertisement unless the title "marriage and family
therapist registered intern" appears in the advertisement.
Existing law, the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act,
provides for the regulation of the practice of professional clinical
counseling by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law requires
the licensure of professional clinical counselors and the
registration of professional clinical counselor interns. Under
existing law, an "intern" is defined as an unlicensed person who
meets specified requirements for registration and is registered with
the board.
This bill, commencing January 1, 2018, would provide that certain
specified titles using the term "intern" or any reference to the term
"intern" in those acts shall be deemed to be a reference to an
"associate," as specified. Because this bill would change the
definition of a crime in the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Act, it would impose a state-mandated local program.
(B) The Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act generally
requires specified applicants for licensure and registration to meet
certain educational degree requirements, including having obtained
that degree from a school, college, or university that, among other
things, is accredited by a regional accrediting agency recognized by
the United States Department of Education.
This bill would authorize that accreditation to be by a regional
or national institutional accrediting agency recognized by the United
States Department of Education.
Existing law requires these applicants to meet specified
educational requirements, including a minimum of two semester units
of instruction in the diagnosis, assessment, prognosis, and treatment
of mental disorders, including severe mental disorders,
evidence-based practices, psychological testing, psychopharmacology,
and promising mental health practices that are evaluated in
peer-reviewed literature. Existing law requires these specified
educational requirements to include at least one semester unit or 15
hours of instruction in psychological testing and at least one
semester unit or 15 hours of instruction in psychopharmacology.
This bill would recast that instruction in psychological testing
and psychopharmacology as a separate educational requirement.
Under the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act, a specified
doctoral or master's degree approved by the Bureau for Private
Postsecondary and Vocational Education as of June 30, 2007, is
considered by the Board of Behavioral Sciences to meet the specified
licensure and registration requirements if the degree is conferred on
or before July 1, 2010. As an alternative, existing law requires the
Board of Behavioral Sciences to accept those doctoral or master's
degrees as equivalent degrees if those degrees are conferred by
educational institutions accredited by specified associations.
This bill would delete those provisions.
(C) Under the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act, an
applicant for licensure is required to complete experience related to
the practice of marriage and family therapy under the supervision of
a supervisor. Existing law requires an applicant seeking licensure
as a professional clinical counselor or a marriage and family
therapist to possess a degree that contains a practicum coursework
requirement that may be satisfied by conducting face-to-face
counseling. Existing law requires applicants, trainees who are
unlicensed persons enrolled in an educational program to qualify for
licensure, and interns who are unlicensed persons who have completed
an educational program and is registered with the board to be at all
times under the supervision of a supervisor. Existing law requires
interns and trainees to only gain supervised experience as an
employee or volunteer and prohibits experience from being gained as
an independent contractor. Similarly, the Licensed Professional
Clinical Counselor Act requires clinical counselor trainees, interns,
and applicants to perform services only as an employee or as a
volunteer. The Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act prohibits
gaining mental health experience by interns or trainees as an
independent contractor.
The Clinical Social Worker Practice Act requires applicants to
complete supervised experience related to the practice of clinical
social work.
This bill would prohibit these persons from being employed as
independent contractors and from gaining experience for work
performed as an independent contractor reported on a specified tax
form. The bill would specify that the face-to-face counseling
requirement of the practicum coursework be face-to-face counseling of
individuals, couples, families, or groups.
(D) Existing law, the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act,
requires applicants for licensure as a clinical social worker to pass
a clinical examination. Existing regulatory law requires the
clinical examination to be the Association of Social Work Boards
Clinical Examination. Existing law authorizes a fee for the clinical
examination in the amount of $100.
This bill would specify that the fee only applies to a
board-administered clinical examination.
(E) The Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act defines the
term "accredited" for the purposes of the act to mean a school,
college, or university accredited by the Western Association of
Schools and Colleges, or its equivalent regional accrediting
association. The act requires each educational institution preparing
applicants to qualify for licensure to notify each of its students in
writing that its degree program is designed to meet specified
examination eligibility or registration requirements and to certify
to the Board of Behavioral Sciences that it has provided that notice.
The act requires the Board of Behavioral Sciences to accept
education gained while residing outside of California if the
education is substantially equivalent, as specified.
This bill would re-define "accredited" to mean a school, college,
or university accredited by a regional or national institutional
accrediting agency that is recognized by the United States Department
of Education. The bill would additionally require an applicant for
registration or licensure to submit to the Board of Behavioral
Sciences a certification from the applicant's educational institution
specifying that the curriculum and coursework complies with those
examination eligibility or registration requirements. The bill would
instead require the board to accept education gained from an
out-of-state school if the education is substantially similar.
(8) This bill would additionally delete various obsolete
provisions, make conforming changes, and make other nonsubstantive
changes.
(9) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1632
of the Business and Professions Code proposed by AB 2331, that would
become operative only if AB 2331 and this bill are both chaptered
and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is
chaptered last.
(10) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 27 of the Business and Professions Code, as
amended by Section 1 of Chapter 32 of the Statutes of 2016, is
amended to read:
27. (a) Each entity specified in subdivisions (c), (d), and (e)
shall provide on the Internet information regarding the status of
every license issued by that entity in accordance with the California
Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code) and the Information
Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of
Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code). The public
information to be provided on the Internet shall include information
on suspensions and revocations of licenses issued by the entity and
other related enforcement action, including accusations filed
pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code) taken by the entity relative to persons, businesses,
or facilities subject to licensure or regulation by the entity. The
information may not include personal information, including home
telephone number, date of birth, or social security number. Each
entity shall disclose a licensee's address of record. However, each
entity shall allow a licensee to provide a post office box number or
other alternate address, instead of his or her home address, as the
address of record. This section shall not preclude an entity from
also requiring a licensee, who has provided a post office box number
or other alternative mailing address as his or her address of record,
to provide a physical business address or residence address only for
the entity's internal administrative use and not for disclosure as
the licensee's address of record or disclosure on the Internet.
(b) In providing information on the Internet, each entity
specified in subdivisions (c) and (d) shall comply with the
Department of Consumer Affairs' guidelines for access to public
records.
(c) Each of the following entities within the Department of
Consumer Affairs shall comply with the requirements of this section:
(1) The Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and
Geologists shall disclose information on its registrants and
licensees.
(2) The Bureau of Automotive Repair shall disclose information on
its licensees, including auto repair dealers, smog stations, lamp and
brake stations, smog check technicians, and smog inspection
certification stations.
(3) The Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home
Furnishings, and Thermal Insulation shall disclose information on its
licensees and registrants, including major appliance repair dealers,
combination dealers (electronic and appliance), electronic repair
dealers, service contract sellers, and service contract
administrators.
(4) The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau shall disclose information on
its licensees, including cemetery brokers, cemetery salespersons,
cemetery managers, crematory managers, cemetery authorities,
crematories, cremated remains disposers, embalmers, funeral
establishments, and funeral directors.
(5) The Professional Fiduciaries Bureau shall disclose information
on its licensees.
(6) The Contractors' State License Board shall disclose
information on its licensees and registrants in accordance with
Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3. In addition
to information related to licenses as specified in subdivision (a),
the board shall also disclose information provided to the board by
the Labor Commissioner pursuant to Section 98.9 of the Labor Code.
(7) The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education shall disclose
information on private postsecondary institutions under its
jurisdiction, including disclosure of notices to comply issued
pursuant to Section 94935 of the Education Code.
(8) The California Board of Accountancy shall disclose information
on its licensees and registrants.
(9) The California Architects Board shall disclose information on
its licensees, including architects and landscape architects.
(10) The State Athletic Commission shall disclose information on
its licensees and registrants.
(11) The State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology shall disclose
information on its licensees.
(12) The State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind shall disclose
information on its licensees and registrants.
(13) The Acupuncture Board shall disclose information on its
licensees.
(14) The Board of Behavioral Sciences shall disclose information
on its licensees, including licensed marriage and family therapists,
licensed clinical social workers, licensed educational psychologists,
and licensed professional clinical counselors.
(15) The Dental Board of California shall disclose information on
its licensees.
(16) The State Board of Optometry shall disclose information on
its licensees and registrants.
(17) The Board of Psychology shall disclose information on its
licensees, including psychologists, psychological assistants, and
registered psychologists.
(d) The State Board of Chiropractic Examiners shall disclose
information on its licensees.
(e) The Structural Pest Control Board shall disclose information
on its licensees, including applicators, field representatives, and
operators in the areas of fumigation, general pest and wood
destroying pests and organisms, and wood roof cleaning and treatment.
(f) The Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation shall disclose
information on its licensees.
(g) "Internet" for the purposes of this section has the meaning
set forth in paragraph (6) of subdivision (f) of Section 17538.
SEC. 2. Section 208 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
208. (a) Beginning April 1, 2014, a Controlled Substance
Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) fee of six dollars
($6) shall be assessed annually on each of the licensees specified in
subdivision (b) to pay the reasonable costs associated with
operating and maintaining CURES for the purpose of regulating those
licensees. The fee assessed pursuant to this subdivision shall be
billed and collected by the regulating agency of each licensee at the
time of the licensee's license renewal. If the reasonable regulatory
cost of operating and maintaining CURES is less than six dollars
($6) per licensee, the Department of Consumer Affairs may, by
regulation, reduce the fee established by this section to the
reasonable regulatory cost.
(b) (1) Licensees authorized pursuant to Section 11150 of the
Health and Safety Code to prescribe, order, administer, furnish, or
dispense Schedule II, Schedule III, or Schedule IV controlled
substances or pharmacists licensed pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing
with Section 4000) of Division 2.
(2) Beginning July 1, 2017, licensees issued a license that has
been placed in a retired or inactive status pursuant to a statute or
regulation are exempt from the CURES fee requirement in subdivision
(a). This exemption shall not apply to licensees whose license has
been placed in a retired or inactive status if the licensee is at any
time authorized to prescribe, order, administer, furnish, or
dispense Schedule II, Schedule III, or Schedule IV controlled
substances.
(3) Wholesalers, third-party logistics providers, nonresident
wholesalers, and nonresident third-party logistics providers of
dangerous drugs licensed pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with
Section 4160) of Chapter 9 of Division 2.
(4) Nongovernmental clinics licensed pursuant to Article 13
(commencing with Section 4180) and Article 14 (commencing with
Section 4190) of Chapter 9 of Division 2.
(5) Nongovernmental pharmacies licensed pursuant to Article 7
(commencing with Section 4110) of Chapter 9 of Division 2.
(c) The funds collected pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
deposited in the CURES Fund, which is hereby created within the State
Treasury. Moneys in the CURES Fund shall, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, be available to the Department of Consumer Affairs to
reimburse the Department of Justice for costs to operate and maintain
CURES for the purposes of regulating the licensees specified in
subdivision (b).
(d) The Department of Consumer Affairs shall contract with the
Department of Justice on behalf of the Medical Board of California,
the Dental Board of California, the California State Board of
Pharmacy, the Veterinary Medical Board, the Board of Registered
Nursing, the Physician Assistant Board of the Medical Board of
California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, the
Naturopathic Medicine Committee of the Osteopathic Medical Board, the
State Board of Optometry, and the California Board of Podiatric
Medicine to operate and maintain CURES for the purposes of regulating
the licensees specified in subdivision (b).
SEC. 3. Section 852 of the Business and Professions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 4. Section 1632 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
1632. (a) The board shall require each applicant to successfully
complete the written examination of the National Board Dental
Examination of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations.
(b) The board shall require each applicant to successfully
complete an examination in California law and ethics developed and
administered by the board. The board shall provide a separate
application for this examination. The board shall ensure that the law
and ethics examination reflects current law and regulations, and
ensure that the examinations are randomized. Applicants shall submit
this application and required fee to the board in order to take this
examination. In addition to the aforementioned application, the only
other requirement for taking this examination shall be certification
from the dean of the qualifying dental school attended by the
applicant that the applicant has graduated, or will graduate, or is
expected to graduate. Applicants who submit completed applications
and certification from the dean at least 15 days prior to a scheduled
examination shall be scheduled to take the examination. Successful
results of the examination shall, as established by board regulation,
remain valid for two years from the date that the applicant is
notified of having passed the examination.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in Section 1632.5, the board
shall require each applicant to have taken and received a passing
score on one of the following:
(1) A portfolio examination of the applicant's competence to enter
the practice of dentistry. This examination shall be conducted while
the applicant is enrolled in a dental school program at a
board-approved school located in California. This examination shall
utilize uniform standards of clinical experiences and competencies,
as approved by the board pursuant to Section 1632.1. The applicant
shall pass a final assessment of the submitted portfolio at the end
of his or her dental school program. Before any portfolio assessment
may be submitted to the board, the applicant shall remit the required
fee to the board to be deposited into the State Dentistry Fund, and
a letter of good standing signed by the dean of his or her dental
school or his or her delegate stating that the applicant has
graduated or will graduate with no pending ethical issues.
(A) The portfolio examination shall not be conducted until the
board adopts regulations to carry out this paragraph. The board shall
post notice on its Internet Web site when these regulations have
been adopted.
(B) The board shall also provide written notice to the Legislature
and the Legislative Counsel when these regulations have been
adopted.
(2) A clinical and written examination administered by the Western
Regional Examining Board, which board shall determine the passing
score for that examination.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 1628, the board is
authorized to do either of the following:
(1) Approve an application for examination from, and to examine an
applicant who is enrolled in, but has not yet graduated from, a
reputable dental school approved by the board.
(2) Accept the results of an examination described in paragraph
(2) of subdivision (c) submitted by an applicant who was enrolled in,
but had not graduated from, a reputable dental school approved by
the board at the time the examination was administered.
In either case, the board shall require the dean of that school or
his or her delegate to furnish satisfactory proof that the applicant
will graduate within one year of the date the examination was
administered or as provided in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c).
SEC. 4.5. Section 1632 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
1632. (a) The board shall require each applicant to successfully
complete the written examination of the National Board Dental
Examination of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations.
(b) The board shall require each applicant to successfully
complete an examination in California law and ethics developed and
administered by the board. The board shall provide a separate
application for this examination. The board shall ensure that the law
and ethics examination reflects current law and regulations, and
ensure that the examinations are randomized. Applicants shall submit
this application and required fee to the board in order to take this
examination. In addition to the aforementioned application, the only
other requirement for taking this examination shall be certification
from the dean of the qualifying dental school attended by the
applicant that the applicant has graduated, or will graduate, or is
expected to graduate. Applicants who submit completed applications
and certification from the dean at least 15 days prior to a scheduled
examination shall be scheduled to take the examination. Successful
results of the examination shall, as established by board regulation,
remain valid for two years from the date that the applicant is
notified of having passed the examination.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in Section 1632.5, the board
shall require each applicant to have taken and received a passing
score on one of the following:
(1) A portfolio examination of the applicant's competence to enter
the practice of dentistry. This examination shall be conducted while
the applicant is enrolled in a dental school program at a
board-approved school located in California. This examination shall
utilize uniform standards of clinical experiences and competencies,
as approved by the board pursuant to Section 1632.1. The applicant
shall pass a final assessment of the submitted portfolio at the end
of his or her dental school program. Before any portfolio assessment
may be submitted to the board, the applicant shall remit the required
fee to the board to be deposited into the State Dentistry Fund, and
a letter of good standing signed by the dean of his or her dental
school or his or her delegate stating that the applicant has
graduated or will graduate with no pending ethical issues.
(A) The portfolio examination shall not be conducted until the
board adopts regulations to carry out this paragraph. The board shall
post notice on its Internet Web site when these regulations have
been adopted.
(B) The board shall also provide written notice to the Legislature
and the Legislative Counsel when these regulations have been
adopted.
(2) Either one of the following examinations:
(A) A clinical and written examination administered by the Western
Regional Examining Board.
(B) The clinical and written examination developed by the American
Board of Dental Examiners, Inc.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 1628, the board is
authorized to do either of the following:
(1) Approve an application for examination from, and to examine an
applicant who is enrolled in, but has not yet graduated from, a
reputable dental school approved by the board.
(2) Accept the results of an examination described in paragraph
(2) of subdivision (c) submitted by an applicant who was enrolled in,
but had not graduated from, a reputable dental school approved by
the board at the time the examination was administered.
In either case, the board shall require the dean of that school or
his or her delegate to furnish satisfactory proof that the applicant
will graduate within one year of the date the examination was
administered or as provided in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c).
(e) The board may determine the testing format, as related to
patients, for the examination provided pursuant to subparagraph (B)
of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c).
SEC. 5. Section 1634.1 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
1634.1. Notwithstanding Section 1634, the board may grant a
license to practice dentistry to an applicant who submits all of the
following to the board:
(a) A completed application form and all fees required by the
board.
(b) Satisfactory evidence of having graduated from a dental school
approved by the board or by the Commission on Dental Accreditation
of the American Dental Association.
(c) Satisfactory evidence of having completed a clinically based
advanced education program in general dentistry or an advanced
education program in general practice residency that is, at minimum,
one year in duration and is accredited by either the Commission on
Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association or a national
accrediting body approved by the board. The advanced education
program shall include a certification of clinical residency program
completion approved by the board, to be completed upon the resident's
successful completion of the program in order to evaluate his or her
competence to practice dentistry in the state.
(d) Satisfactory evidence of having successfully completed the
written examination of the National Board Dental Examination of the
Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations.
(e) Satisfactory evidence of having successfully completed an
examination in California law and ethics.
(f) Proof that the applicant has not failed the examination for
licensure to practice dentistry under this chapter within five years
prior to the date of his or her application for a license under this
chapter.
SEC. 6. Section 2029 of the Business and Professions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 7. Article 16 (commencing with Section 2380) of Chapter 5 of
Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code is repealed.
SEC. 8. Section 2467 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2467. (a) The board may convene from time to time as it deems
necessary.
(b) Four members of the board constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business at any meeting.
(c) It shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of those
members present at a meeting, those members constituting at least a
quorum, to pass any motion, resolution, or measure.
(d) The board shall elect from its members a president, a vice
president, and a secretary who shall hold their respective positions
at the pleasure of the board. The president may call meetings of the
board and any duly appointed committee at a specified time and place.
SEC. 9. Section 2540.1 of the Business and Professions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 10. Section 2541.3 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2541.3. (a) The State Department of Public Health, the State
Board of Optometry, and the Medical Board of California shall prepare
and adopt quality standards and adopt regulations relating to
prescription ophthalmic devices, including, but not limited to,
lenses, frames, and contact lenses. In promulgating these rules and
regulations, the department and the boards shall adopt the current
standards of the American National Standards Institute regarding
ophthalmic materials. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the
department and the boards from jointly adopting subsequent standards
that are equivalent or more stringent than the current standards of
the American National Standards Institute regarding ophthalmic
materials.
(b) No individual or group that deals with prescription ophthalmic
devices, including, but not limited to, distributors, dispensers,
manufacturers, laboratories, optometrists, or ophthalmologists shall
sell, dispense, or furnish any prescription ophthalmic device that
does not meet the minimum standards set by the State Department of
Public Health, the State Board of Optometry, or the Medical Board of
California.
(c) Any violation of the regulations adopted by the State
Department of Public Health, the State Board of Optometry, or the
Medical Board of California pursuant to this section shall be a
misdemeanor.
(d) Any optometrist, ophthalmologist, or dispensing optician who
violates the regulations adopted by the State Department of Public
Health, the State Board of Optometry, or the Medical Board of
California pursuant to this section shall be subject to disciplinary
action by his or her licensing board.
(e) The State Board of Optometry or the Medical Board of
California may send any prescription ophthalmic device to the State
Department of Public Health for testing as to whether or not the
device meets established standards adopted pursuant to this section,
which testing shall take precedence over any other prescription
ophthalmic device testing being conducted by the department. The
department may conduct the testing in its own facilities or may
contract with any other facility to conduct the testing.
SEC. 11. Section 2541.6 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2541.6. No prescription ophthalmic device that does not meet the
standards adopted by the State Department of Public Health, the State
Board of Optometry, or the Medical Board of California under Section
2541.3 shall be purchased with state funds.
SEC. 12. Section 2545 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2545. (a) Whenever any person has engaged, or is about to engage,
in any acts or practices which constitute, or will constitute, an
offense against this chapter, the superior court in and for the
county wherein the acts or practices take place, or are about to take
place, may issue an injunction, or other appropriate order,
restraining the conduct on application of the State Board of
Optometry, the Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical
Board of California, the Attorney General, or the district attorney
of the county.
The proceedings under this section shall be governed by Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 525) of Title 7 of Part 2 of the Code of
Civil Procedure.
(b) (1) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this
chapter shall be subject to a fine of not less than one thousand
dollars ($1,000) nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500) per violation. The fines collected pursuant to this section
from licensed physicians and surgeons shall be available upon
appropriation to the Medical Board of California for the purposes of
administration and enforcement. The fines collected pursuant to this
section from licensed optometrists and registered dispensing
opticians shall be deposited into the Optometry Fund and the
Dispensing Opticians Fund, respectively, and shall be available upon
appropriation to the State Board of Optometry for the purposes of
administration and enforcement.
(2) The Medical Board of California and the State Board of
Optometry shall adopt regulations implementing this section and shall
consider the following factors, including, but not limited to,
applicable enforcement penalties, prior conduct, gravity of the
offense, and the manner in which complaints will be processed.
(3) The proceedings under this section shall be conducted in
accordance with the provisions of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section
11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SEC. 13. Section 2550 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2550. Individuals, corporations, and firms engaged in the
business of filling prescriptions of physicians and surgeons licensed
by the Medical Board of California or optometrists licensed by the
State Board of Optometry for prescription lenses and kindred
products, and, as incidental to the filling of those prescriptions,
doing any or all of the following acts, either singly or in
combination with others, taking facial measurements, fitting and
adjusting those lenses and fitting and adjusting spectacle frames,
shall be known as dispensing opticians and shall not engage in that
business unless registered with the State Board of Optometry.
SEC. 14. Section 2550.1 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2550.1. All references in this chapter to the board shall mean
the State Board of Optometry.
SEC. 15. Section 2552 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2552. Each application shall be verified under oath by the person
required to sign the application and shall designate the name,
address, and business telephone number of the applicant's employee
who will be responsible for handling customer inquiries and
complaints with respect to the business address for which
registration is applied.
The applicant shall furnish such additional information or proof,
oral or written, which the board may request, including information
and proof relating to the provisions of Division 1.5 (commencing with
Section 475).
The board shall promptly notify any applicant if, as of the 30th
day following the submission of an application under this chapter,
the application and supporting documentation are not substantially
complete and in proper form. The notification shall be in writing,
shall state specifically what documents or other information are to
be supplied by the applicant to the board, and shall be sent to the
applicant by certified or registered mail. Within 30 days of the
applicant's submission of the requested documents or information to
the board, the board shall notify the applicant by certified or
registered mail if the board requires additional documents or
information.
This section shall become operative on January 1, 1988.
SEC. 16. Section 2553 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2553. If the board, after investigation, approves the
application, it shall register the applicant and issue to the
applicant a certificate of dispensing optician. A separate
certificate of registration shall be required for each address where
the business is to be conducted.
A certificate authorizes the applicant, its agents and employees
acting therefor to engage in the business defined in Section 2550
provided that the fitting and adjusting of spectacle lenses is
performed in compliance with Article 1.5 (commencing with Section
2559.1) and the fitting and
adjusting of contact lenses is performed in compliance with Article
2 (commencing with Section 2560).
Each certificate shall be at all times displayed in a conspicuous
place at the certified place of business. The certificate shall not
be transferable, but on application to the board there may be
registered a change of address of the certificate.
SEC. 17. Section 2554 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2554. Each registrant shall conspicuously and prominently display
at each registered location the following consumer information:
"Eye doctors are required to provide patients with a copy of their
ophthalmic lens prescriptions as follows:
Spectacle prescriptions: Release upon completion of exam.
Contact lens prescriptions: Release upon completion of exam or
upon completion of the fitting process.
Patients may take their prescription to any eye doctor or
registered dispensing optician to be filled.
Optometrists and registered dispensing opticians are regulated by
the State Board of Optometry. The State Board of Optometry receives
and investigates all consumer complaints involving the practice of
optometry and registered dispensing opticians. Complaints involving a
California-licensed optometrist or a registered dispensing optician
should be directed to:
California State Board of Optometry
Department of Consumer Affairs
2450 Del Paso Road, Suite 105
Sacramento, CA 95834
Phone: 1-866-585-2666 or (916) 575-7170
Email: optometry@dca.ca.gov
Internet Web site: www.optometry.ca.gov"
SEC. 18. Section 2555 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2555. Certificates issued hereunder may in the discretion of the
board be suspended or revoked or subjected to terms and conditions of
probation for violating or attempting to violate this chapter,
Chapter 5.4 (commencing with Section 2540) or any regulation adopted
under this chapter or, Chapter 5.4 (commencing with Section 2540), or
Section 651, 654, or 655, or for incompetence, gross negligence, or
repeated similar negligent acts performed by the registrant or by an
employee of the registrant. The proceedings shall be conducted in
accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the board shall
have all the powers granted therein.
SEC. 19. Section 2555.1 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2555.1. In the discretion of the board, a certificate issued
hereunder may be suspended or revoked if an individual certificate
holder or persons having any proprietary interest who will engage in
dispensing operations, have been convicted of a crime substantially
related to the qualifications, functions and duties of a dispensing
optician. The record of conviction or a certified copy thereof shall
be conclusive evidence of the conviction.
A plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of
nolo contendere made to a charge substantially related to the
qualifications, functions and duties of a dispensing optician is
deemed to be a conviction within the meaning of this article. The
board may order the certificate suspended or revoked, or may decline
to issue a certificate, when the time for appeal has elapsed, or the
judgment of conviction has been affirmed on appeal or when an order
granting probation is made suspending the imposition of sentence,
irrespective of a subsequent order under the provisions of Section
1203.4 of the Penal Code allowing such person to withdraw his or her
plea of guilty and to enter a plea of not guilty, or setting aside
the verdict of guilty, or dismissing the accusation, information or
indictment.
The proceeding under this section shall be conducted in accordance
with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division
3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the board shall have all
the powers granted therein.
This section shall become operative on January 1, 1988.
SEC. 20. Section 2558 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2558. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this
chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not less than 10
days nor more than one year, or by a fine of not less than two
hundred dollars ($200) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or
by both such fine and imprisonment.
The board may adopt, amend, or repeal, in accordance with the
Administrative Procedure Act, any regulations as are reasonably
necessary to carry out this chapter.
SEC. 21. Section 2559 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2559. Whenever any person has engaged, or is about to engage, in
any acts or practices which constitute, or will constitute, a
violation of any provision of this chapter, or Chapter 5.4
(commencing with Section 2540), the superior court in and for the
county wherein the acts or practices take place, or are about to take
place, may issue an injunction, or other appropriate order,
restraining such conduct on application of the board, the Attorney
General, or the district attorney of the county.
The proceedings under this section shall be governed by Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 525) of Title 7 of Part 2 of the Code of
Civil Procedure.
SEC. 22. Section 2559.2 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2559.2. (a) An individual shall apply for registration as a
registered spectacle lens dispenser on forms prescribed by the board.
The board shall register an individual as a registered spectacle
lens dispenser upon satisfactory proof that the individual has passed
the registry examination of the American Board of Opticianry or any
successor agency to that board. In the event the board should
determine, after hearing, that the registry examination is not
appropriate to determine entry level competence as a spectacle lens
dispenser or is not designed to measure specific job performance
requirements, the board may thereafter prescribe or administer a
written examination that meets those specifications. If an applicant
for renewal has not engaged in the full-time or substantial part-time
practice of fitting and adjusting spectacle lenses within the last
five years then the board may require the applicant to take and pass
the examination referred to in this section as a condition of
registration. Any examination prescribed or administered by the board
shall be given at least twice each year on dates publicly announced
at least 90 days before the examination dates. The board is
authorized to contract for administration of an examination.
(b) The board may deny registration where there are grounds for
denial under the provisions of Division 1.5 (commencing with Section
475).
(c) The board shall issue a certificate to each qualified
individual stating that the individual is a registered spectacle lens
dispenser.
(d) Any individual who had been approved as a manager of
dispensing operations of a registered dispensing optician under the
provisions of Section 2552 as it existed before January 1, 1988, and
who had not been subject to any disciplinary action under the
provisions of Section 2555.2 shall be exempt from the examination
requirement set forth in this section and shall be issued a
certificate as a registered spectacle lens dispenser, provided an
application for that certificate is filed with the board on or before
December 31, 1989.
(e) A registered spectacle lens dispenser is authorized to fit and
adjust spectacle lenses at any place of business holding a
certificate of registration under Section 2553 provided that the
certificate of the registered spectacle lens dispenser is displayed
in a conspicuous place at the place of business where he or she is
fitting and adjusting.
SEC. 23. Section 2559.3 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2559.3. A certificate issued to a registered spectacle lens
dispenser may, in the discretion of the board, be suspended or
revoked for violating or attempting to violate any provision of this
chapter or any regulation adopted under this chapter, or for
incompetence, gross negligence, or repeated similar negligent acts
performed by the certificate holder. A certificate may also be
suspended or revoked if the individual certificate holder has been
convicted of a felony as provided in Section 2555.1.
Any proceedings under this section shall be conducted in
accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the board shall
have all the powers granted therein.
SEC. 24. Section 2559.5 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2559.5. This article shall become operative on January 1, 1988.
However, the board may, prior to that date, accept and process
applications, including the collection of fees, and perform other
functions necessary to implement this article.
SEC. 25. Section 2561 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2561. An individual shall apply for registration as a registered
contact lens dispenser on forms prescribed by the board. The board
shall register an individual as a registered contact lens dispenser
upon satisfactory proof that the individual has passed the contact
lens registry examination of the National Committee of Contact Lens
Examiners or any successor agency to that committee. In the event the
board should ever find after hearing that the registry examination
is not appropriate to determine entry level competence as a contact
lens dispenser or is not designed to measure specific job performance
requirements, the board may thereafter from time to time prescribe
or administer a written examination that meets those specifications.
If an applicant for renewal has not engaged in the full-time or
substantial part-time practice of fitting and adjusting contact
lenses within the last five years then the board may require the
applicant to take and pass the examination referred to in this
section as a condition of registration. Any examination administered
by the board shall be given at least twice each year on dates
publicly announced at least 90 days before the examination dates. The
board is authorized to contract with the National Committee of
Contact Lens Examiners or any successor agency to that committee to
provide that the registry examination is given at least twice each
year on dates publicly announced at least 90 days before the
examination dates.
The board may deny registration where there are grounds for denial
under the provisions of Division 1.5 (commencing with Section 475).
The board shall issue a certificate to each qualified individual
stating that the individual is a registered contact lens dispenser.
A registered contact lens dispenser may use that designation, but
shall not hold himself or herself out in advertisements or otherwise
as a specialist in fitting and adjusting contact lenses.
SEC. 26. Section 2563 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2563. A certificate issued to a registered contact lens dispenser
may in the discretion of the board be suspended or revoked for
violating or attempting to violate any provision of this chapter or
any regulation adopted under this chapter, or for incompetence, gross
negligence, or repeated similar negligent acts performed by the
certificate holder. A certificate may also be suspended or revoked if
the individual certificate holder has been convicted of a felony as
provided in Section 2555.1.
Any proceedings under this section shall be conducted in
accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the board shall
have all the powers granted therein.
SEC. 27. Section 3027 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
3027. The board shall employ an executive officer and other
necessary assistance in the carrying out of the provisions of this
chapter.
The executive officer shall perform the duties delegated by the
board and shall be responsible to it for the accomplishment of those
duties. The executive officer shall not be a member of the board.
With the approval of the Director of Finance, the board shall fix the
salary of the executive officer. The executive officer shall be
entitled to traveling and other necessary expenses in the performance
of his or her duties.
SEC. 28. Section 4980.09 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
4980.09. (a) The title "marriage and family therapist intern" or
"marriage and family therapist registered intern" is hereby renamed
"associate marriage and family therapist" or "registered associate
marriage and family therapist," respectively. Any reference in
statute or regulation to a "marriage and family therapist intern" or
"marriage and family therapist registered intern" shall be deemed a
reference to an "associate marriage and family therapist" or
"registered associate marriage and family therapist."
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to expand or
constrict the scope of practice of a person licensed or registered
pursuant to this chapter.
(c) This section shall become operative January 1, 2018.
SEC. 29. Section 4980.36 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4980.36. (a) This section shall apply to the following:
(1) Applicants for licensure or registration who begin graduate
study before August 1, 2012, and do not complete that study on or
before December 31, 2018.
(2) Applicants for licensure or registration who begin graduate
study before August 1, 2012, and who graduate from a degree program
that meets the requirements of this section.
(3) Applicants for licensure or registration who begin graduate
study on or after August 1, 2012.
(b) To qualify for a license or registration, applicants shall
possess a doctoral or master's degree meeting the requirements of
this section in marriage, family, and child counseling, marriage and
family therapy, couple and family therapy, psychology, clinical
psychology, counseling psychology, or counseling with an emphasis in
either marriage, family, and child counseling or marriage and family
therapy, obtained from a school, college, or university approved by
the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, or accredited by
either the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family
Therapy Education, or a regional or national institutional
accrediting agency that is recognized by the United States Department
of Education. The board has the authority to make the final
determination as to whether a degree meets all requirements,
including, but not limited to, course requirements, regardless of
accreditation or approval.
(c) A doctoral or master's degree program that qualifies for
licensure or registration shall do the following:
(1) Integrate all of the following throughout its curriculum:
(A) Marriage and family therapy principles.
(B) The principles of mental health recovery-oriented care and
methods of service delivery in recovery-oriented practice
environments, among others.
(C) An understanding of various cultures and the social and
psychological implications of socioeconomic position, and an
understanding of how poverty and social stress impact an individual's
mental health and recovery.
(2) Allow for innovation and individuality in the education of
marriage and family therapists.
(3) Encourage students to develop the personal qualities that are
intimately related to effective practice, including, but not limited
to, integrity, sensitivity, flexibility, insight, compassion, and
personal presence.
(4) Permit an emphasis or specialization that may address any one
or more of the unique and complex array of human problems, symptoms,
and needs of Californians served by marriage and family therapists.
(5) Provide students with the opportunity to meet with various
consumers and family members of consumers of mental health services
to enhance understanding of their experience of mental illness,
treatment, and recovery.
(d) The degree described in subdivision (b) shall contain no less
than 60 semester or 90 quarter units of instruction that includes,
but is not limited to, the following requirements:
(1) Both of the following:
(A) No less than 12 semester or 18 quarter units of coursework in
theories, principles, and methods of a variety of psychotherapeutic
orientations directly related to marriage and family therapy and
marital and family systems approaches to treatment and how these
theories can be applied therapeutically with individuals, couples,
families, adults, including elder adults, children, adolescents, and
groups to improve, restore, or maintain healthy relationships.
(B) Practicum that involves direct client contact, as follows:
(i) A minimum of six semester or nine quarter units of practicum
in a supervised clinical placement that provides supervised fieldwork
experience.
(ii) A minimum of 150 hours of face-to-face experience counseling
individuals, couples, families, or groups.
(iii) A student must be enrolled in a practicum course while
counseling clients, except as specified in subdivision (c) of Section
4980.42.
(iv) The practicum shall provide training in all of the following
areas:
(I) Applied use of theory and psychotherapeutic techniques.
(II) Assessment, diagnosis, and prognosis.
(III) Treatment of individuals and premarital, couple, family, and
child relationships, including trauma and abuse, dysfunctions,
healthy functioning, health promotion, illness prevention, and
working with families.
(IV) Professional writing, including documentation of services,
treatment plans, and progress notes.
(V) How to connect people with resources that deliver the quality
of services and support needed in the community.
(v) Educational institutions are encouraged to design the
practicum required by this subparagraph to include marriage and
family therapy experience in low income and multicultural mental
health settings.
(vi) In addition to the 150 hours required in clause (ii), 75
hours of either of the following, or a combination thereof:
(I) Client centered advocacy, as defined in Section 4980.03.
(II) Face-to-face experience counseling individuals, couples,
families, or groups.
(2) Instruction in all of the following:
(A) Diagnosis, assessment, prognosis, and treatment of mental
disorders, including severe mental disorders, evidence-based
practices, psychological testing, psychopharmacology, and promising
mental health practices that are evaluated in peer reviewed
literature.
(B) Developmental issues from infancy to old age, including
instruction in all of the following areas:
(i) The effects of developmental issues on individuals, couples,
and family relationships.
(ii) The psychological, psychotherapeutic, and health implications
of developmental issues and their effects.
(iii) Aging and its biological, social, cognitive, and
psychological aspects. This coursework shall include instruction on
the assessment and reporting of, as well as treatment related to,
elder and dependent adult abuse and neglect.
(iv) A variety of cultural understandings of human development.
(v) The understanding of human behavior within the social context
of socioeconomic status and other contextual issues affecting social
position.
(vi) The understanding of human behavior within the social context
of a representative variety of the cultures found within California.
(vii) The understanding of the impact that personal and social
insecurity, social stress, low educational levels, inadequate
housing, and malnutrition have on human development.
(C) The broad range of matters and life events that may arise
within marriage and family relationships and within a variety of
California cultures, including instruction in all of the following:
(i) A minimum of seven contact hours of training or coursework in
child abuse assessment and reporting as specified in Section 28, and
any regulations promulgated thereunder.
(ii) Spousal or partner abuse assessment, detection, intervention
strategies, and same gender abuse dynamics.
(iii) Cultural factors relevant to abuse of partners and family
members.
(iv) Childbirth, child rearing, parenting, and stepparenting.
(v) Marriage, divorce, and blended families.
(vi) Long-term care.
(vii) End of life and grief.
(viii) Poverty and deprivation.
(ix) Financial and social stress.
(x) Effects of trauma.
(xi) The psychological, psychotherapeutic, community, and health
implications of the matters and life events described in clauses (i)
to (x), inclusive.
(D) Cultural competency and sensitivity, including a familiarity
with the racial, cultural, linguistic, and ethnic backgrounds of
persons living in California.
(E) Multicultural development and cross-cultural interaction,
including experiences of race, ethnicity, class, spirituality, sexual
orientation, gender, and disability, and their incorporation into
the psychotherapeutic process.
(F) The effects of socioeconomic status on treatment and available
resources.
(G) Resilience, including the personal and community qualities
that enable persons to cope with adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats,
or other stresses.
(H) Human sexuality, including the study of physiological,
psychological, and social cultural variables associated with sexual
behavior and gender identity, and the assessment and treatment of
psychosexual dysfunction.
(I) Substance use disorders, co-occurring disorders, and
addiction, including, but not limited to, instruction in all of the
following:
(i) The definition of substance use disorders, co-occurring
disorders, and addiction. For purposes of this subparagraph,
"co-occurring disorders" means a mental illness and substance abuse
diagnosis occurring simultaneously in an individual.
(ii) Medical aspects of substance use disorders and co-occurring
disorders.
(iii) The effects of psychoactive drug use.
(iv) Current theories of the etiology of substance abuse and
addiction.
(v) The role of persons and systems that support or compound
substance abuse and addiction.
(vi) Major approaches to identification, evaluation, and treatment
of substance use disorders, co-occurring disorders, and addiction,
including, but not limited to, best practices.
(vii) Legal aspects of substance abuse.
(viii) Populations at risk with regard to substance use disorders
and co-occurring disorders.
(ix) Community resources offering screening, assessment,
treatment, and followup for the affected person and family.
(x) Recognition of substance use disorders, co-occurring
disorders, and addiction, and appropriate referral.
(xi) The prevention of substance use disorders and addiction.
(J) California law and professional ethics for marriage and family
therapists, including instruction in all of the following areas of
study:
(i) Contemporary professional ethics and statutory, regulatory,
and decisional laws that delineate the scope of practice of marriage
and family therapy.
(ii) The therapeutic, clinical, and practical considerations
involved in the legal and ethical practice of marriage and family
therapy, including, but not limited to, family law.
(iii) The current legal patterns and trends in the mental health
professions.
(iv) The psychotherapist-patient privilege, confidentiality, the
patient dangerous to self or others, and the treatment of minors with
and without parental consent.
(v) A recognition and exploration of the relationship between a
practitioner's sense of self and human values and his or her
professional behavior and ethics.
(vi) Differences in legal and ethical standards for different
types of work settings.
(vii) Licensing law and licensing process.
(e) The degree described in subdivision (b) shall, in addition to
meeting the requirements of subdivision (d), include instruction in
case management, systems of care for the severely mentally ill,
public and private services and supports available for the severely
mentally ill, community resources for persons with mental illness and
for victims of abuse, disaster and trauma response, advocacy for the
severely mentally ill, and collaborative treatment. This instruction
may be provided either in credit level coursework or through
extension programs offered by the degree-granting institution.
(f) The changes made to law by this section are intended to
improve the educational qualifications for licensure in order to
better prepare future licentiates for practice, and are not intended
to expand or restrict the scope of practice for marriage and family
therapists.
SEC. 30. Section 4980.37 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4980.37. (a) This section shall apply to applicants for licensure
or registration who begin graduate study before August 1, 2012, and
complete that study on or before December 31, 2018. Those applicants
may alternatively qualify under paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of
Section 4980.36.
(b) To qualify for a license or registration, applicants shall
possess a doctor's or master's degree in marriage, family, and child
counseling, marriage and family therapy, couple and family therapy,
psychology, clinical psychology, counseling psychology, or counseling
with an emphasis in either marriage, family, and child counseling or
marriage and family therapy, obtained from a school, college, or
university accredited by a regional or national institutional
accrediting agency that is recognized by the United States Department
of Education or approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary
Education. The board has the authority to make the final
determination as to whether a degree meets all requirements,
including, but not limited to, course requirements, regardless of
accreditation or approval. In order to qualify for licensure pursuant
to this section, a doctor's or master's degree program shall be a
single, integrated program primarily designed to train marriage and
family therapists and shall contain no less than 48 semester or 72
quarter units of instruction. This instruction shall include no less
than 12 semester units or 18 quarter units of coursework in the areas
of marriage, family, and child counseling, and marital and family
systems approaches to treatment. The coursework shall include all of
the following areas:
(1) The salient theories of a variety of psychotherapeutic
orientations directly related to marriage and family therapy, and
marital and family systems approaches
to treatment.
(2) Theories of marriage and family therapy and how they can be
utilized in order to intervene therapeutically with couples,
families, adults, children, and groups.
(3) Developmental issues and life events from infancy to old age
and their effect on individuals, couples, and family relationships.
This may include coursework that focuses on specific family life
events and the psychological, psychotherapeutic, and health
implications that arise within couples and families, including, but
not limited to, childbirth, child rearing, childhood, adolescence,
adulthood, marriage, divorce, blended families, stepparenting, abuse
and neglect of older and dependent adults, and geropsychology.
(4) A variety of approaches to the treatment of children.
The board shall, by regulation, set forth the subjects of
instruction required in this subdivision.
(c) (1) In addition to the 12 semester or 18 quarter units of
coursework specified in subdivision (b), the doctor's or master's
degree program shall contain not less than six semester or nine
quarter units of supervised practicum in applied psychotherapeutic
technique, assessments, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of
premarital, couple, family, and child relationships, including
dysfunctions, healthy functioning, health promotion, and illness
prevention, in a supervised clinical placement that provides
supervised fieldwork experience within the scope of practice of a
marriage and family therapist.
(2) For applicants who enrolled in a degree program on or after
January 1, 1995, the practicum shall include a minimum of 150 hours
of face-to-face experience counseling individuals, couples, families,
or groups.
(3) The practicum hours shall be considered as part of the 48
semester or 72 quarter unit requirement.
(d) As an alternative to meeting the qualifications specified in
subdivision (b), the board shall accept as equivalent degrees those
master's or doctor's degrees granted by educational institutions
whose degree program is approved by the Commission on Accreditation
for Marriage and Family Therapy Education.
(e) In order to provide an integrated course of study and
appropriate professional training, while allowing for innovation and
individuality in the education of marriage and family therapists, a
degree program that meets the educational qualifications for
licensure or registration under this section shall do all of the
following:
(1) Provide an integrated course of study that trains students
generally in the diagnosis, assessment, prognosis, and treatment of
mental disorders.
(2) Prepare students to be familiar with the broad range of
matters that may arise within marriage and family relationships.
(3) Train students specifically in the application of marriage and
family relationship counseling principles and methods.
(4) Encourage students to develop those personal qualities that
are intimately related to the counseling situation such as integrity,
sensitivity, flexibility, insight, compassion, and personal
presence.
(5) Teach students a variety of effective psychotherapeutic
techniques and modalities that may be utilized to improve, restore,
or maintain healthy individual, couple, and family relationships.
(6) Permit an emphasis or specialization that may address any one
or more of the unique and complex array of human problems, symptoms,
and needs of Californians served by marriage and family therapists.
(7) Prepare students to be familiar with cross-cultural mores and
values, including a familiarity with the wide range of racial and
ethnic backgrounds common among California's population, including,
but not limited to, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans.
(f) Educational institutions are encouraged to design the
practicum required by this section to include marriage and family
therapy experience in low income and multicultural mental health
settings.
(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 31. Section 4980.40.5 of the Business and Professions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 32. Section 4980.43 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4980.43. (a) To qualify for licensure as specified in Section
4980.40, each applicant shall complete experience related to the
practice of marriage and family therapy under a supervisor who meets
the qualifications set forth in Section 4980.03. The experience shall
comply with the following:
(1) A minimum of 3,000 hours of supervised experience completed
during a period of at least 104 weeks.
(2) A maximum of 40 hours in any seven consecutive days.
(3) A minimum of 1,700 hours obtained after the qualifying master'
s or doctoral degree was awarded.
(4) A maximum of 1,300 hours obtained prior to the award date of
the qualifying master's or doctoral degree.
(5) A maximum of 750 hours of counseling and direct supervisor
contact prior to the award date of the qualifying master's or
doctoral degree.
(6) No hours of experience may be gained prior to completing
either 12 semester units or 18 quarter units of graduate instruction.
(7) No hours of experience may be gained more than six years prior
to the date the application for examination eligibility was filed,
except that up to 500 hours of clinical experience gained in the
supervised practicum required by subdivision (c) of Section 4980.37
and subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section
4980.36 shall be exempt from this six-year requirement.
(8) A minimum of 1,750 hours of direct counseling with
individuals, groups, couples, or families, that includes not less
than 500 total hours of experience in diagnosing and treating
couples, families, and children.
(9) A maximum of 1,250 hours of nonclinical practice, consisting
of direct supervisor contact, administering and evaluating
psychological tests, writing clinical reports, writing progress or
process notes, client centered advocacy, and workshops, seminars,
training sessions, or conferences directly related to marriage and
family therapy that have been approved by the applicant's supervisor.
(10) It is anticipated and encouraged that hours of experience
will include working with elders and dependent adults who have
physical or mental limitations that restrict their ability to carry
out normal activities or protect their rights.
This subdivision shall only apply to hours gained on and after
January 1, 2010.
(b) An individual who submits an application for examination
eligibility between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020, may
alternatively qualify under the experience requirements that were in
place on January 1, 2015.
(c) All applicants, trainees, and registrants shall be at all
times under the supervision of a supervisor who shall be responsible
for ensuring that the extent, kind, and quality of counseling
performed is consistent with the training and experience of the
person being supervised, and who shall be responsible to the board
for compliance with all laws, rules, and regulations governing the
practice of marriage and family therapy. Supervised experience shall
be gained by an intern or trainee only as an employee or as a
volunteer. The requirements of this chapter regarding gaining hours
of experience and supervision are applicable equally to employees and
volunteers. Associates and trainees shall not be employed as
independent contractors, and shall not gain experience for work
performed as an independent contractor, reported on an IRS Form 1099,
or both.
(1) If employed, an intern shall provide the board with copies of
the corresponding W-2 tax forms for each year of experience claimed
upon application for licensure.
(2) If volunteering, an intern shall provide the board with a
letter from his or her employer verifying the intern's employment as
a volunteer upon application for licensure.
(d) Except for experience gained by attending workshops, seminars,
training sessions, or conferences as described in paragraph (9) of
subdivision (a), supervision shall include at least one hour of
direct supervisor contact in each week for which experience is
credited in each work setting, as specified:
(1) A trainee shall receive an average of at least one hour of
direct supervisor contact for every five hours of client contact in
each setting. No more than six hours of supervision, whether
individual or group, shall be credited during any single week.
(2) An individual supervised after being granted a qualifying
degree shall receive at least one additional hour of direct
supervisor contact for every week in which more than 10 hours of
client contact is gained in each setting. No more than six hours of
supervision, whether individual or group, shall be credited during
any single week.
(3) For purposes of this section, "one hour of direct supervisor
contact" means one hour per week of face-to-face contact on an
individual basis or two hours per week of face-to-face contact in a
group.
(4) Direct supervisor contact shall occur within the same week as
the hours claimed.
(5) Direct supervisor contact provided in a group shall be
provided in a group of not more than eight supervisees and in
segments lasting no less than one continuous hour.
(6) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), an intern working in a
governmental entity, a school, a college, or a university, or an
institution that is both nonprofit and charitable may obtain the
required weekly direct supervisor contact via two-way, real-time
videoconferencing. The supervisor shall be responsible for ensuring
that client confidentiality is upheld.
(7) All experience gained by a trainee shall be monitored by the
supervisor as specified by regulation.
(8) The six hours of supervision that may be credited during any
single week pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply to
supervision hours gained on or after January 1, 2009.
(e) (1) A trainee may be credited with supervised experience
completed in any setting that meets all of the following:
(A) Lawfully and regularly provides mental health counseling or
psychotherapy.
(B) Provides oversight to ensure that the trainee's work at the
setting meets the experience and supervision requirements set forth
in this chapter and is within the scope of practice for the
profession as defined in Section 4980.02.
(C) Is not a private practice owned by a licensed marriage and
family therapist, a licensed professional clinical counselor, a
licensed psychologist, a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed
physician and surgeon, or a professional corporation of any of those
licensed professions.
(2) Experience may be gained by the trainee solely as part of the
position for which the trainee volunteers or is employed.
(f) (1) An intern may be credited with supervised experience
completed in any setting that meets both of the following:
(A) Lawfully and regularly provides mental health counseling or
psychotherapy.
(B) Provides oversight to ensure that the intern's work at the
setting meets the experience and supervision requirements set forth
in this chapter and is within the scope of practice for the
profession as defined in Section 4980.02.
(2) An applicant shall not be employed or volunteer in a private
practice, as defined in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (e), until registered as an intern.
(3) While an intern may be either a paid employee or a volunteer,
employers are encouraged to provide fair remuneration to interns.
(4) Except for periods of time during a supervisor's vacation or
sick leave, an intern who is employed or volunteering in private
practice shall be under the direct supervision of a licensee that has
satisfied subdivision (g) of Section 4980.03. The supervising
licensee shall either be employed by and practice at the same site as
the intern's employer, or shall be an owner or shareholder of the
private practice. Alternative supervision may be arranged during a
supervisor's vacation or sick leave if the supervision meets the
requirements of this section.
(5) Experience may be gained by the intern solely as part of the
position for which the intern volunteers or is employed.
(g) Except as provided in subdivision (h), all persons shall
register with the board as an intern to be credited for postdegree
hours of supervised experience gained toward licensure.
(h) Postdegree hours of experience shall be credited toward
licensure so long as the applicant applies for the intern
registration within 90 days of the granting of the qualifying master'
s or doctoral degree and is thereafter granted the intern
registration by the board. An applicant shall not be employed or
volunteer in a private practice until registered as an intern by the
board.
(i) Trainees, interns, and applicants shall not receive any
remuneration from patients or clients, and shall only be paid by
their employers.
(j) Trainees, interns, and applicants shall only perform services
at the place where their employers regularly conduct business, which
may include performing services at other locations, so long as the
services are performed under the direction and control of their
employer and supervisor, and in compliance with the laws and
regulations pertaining to supervision. For purposes of paragraph (3)
of subdivision (a) of Section 2290.5, interns and trainees working
under licensed supervision, consistent with subdivision (c), may
provide services via telehealth within the scope authorized by this
chapter and in accordance with any regulations governing the use of
telehealth promulgated by the board. Trainees and interns shall have
no proprietary interest in their employers' businesses and shall not
lease or rent space, pay for furnishings, equipment, or supplies, or
in any other way pay for the obligations of their employers.
(k) Trainees, interns, or applicants who provide volunteered
services or other services, and who receive no more than a total,
from all work settings, of five hundred dollars ($500) per month as
reimbursement for expenses actually incurred by those trainees,
interns, or applicants for services rendered in any lawful work
setting other than a private practice shall be considered employees
and not independent contractors. The board may audit applicants who
receive reimbursement for expenses, and the applicants shall have the
burden of demonstrating that the payments received were for
reimbursement of expenses actually incurred.
(l) Each educational institution preparing applicants for
licensure pursuant to this chapter shall consider requiring, and
shall encourage, its students to undergo individual, marital or
conjoint, family, or group counseling or psychotherapy, as
appropriate. Each supervisor shall consider, advise, and encourage
his or her interns and trainees regarding the advisability of
undertaking individual, marital or conjoint, family, or group
counseling or psychotherapy, as appropriate. Insofar as it is deemed
appropriate and is desired by the applicant, the educational
institution and supervisors are encouraged to assist the applicant in
locating that counseling or psychotherapy at a reasonable cost.
SEC. 33. Section 4980.78 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4980.78. (a) This section applies to persons who apply for
licensure or registration on or after January 1, 2016, and who do not
hold a license as described in Section 4980.72.
(b) For purposes of Section 4980.74, education is substantially
equivalent if all of the following requirements are met:
(1) The degree is obtained from a school, college, or university
accredited by a regional or national institutional accrediting agency
that is recognized by the United States Department of Education and
consists of, at a minimum, the following:
(A) (i) For an applicant who obtained his or her degree within the
timeline prescribed by subdivision (a) of Section 4980.36, the
degree shall contain no less than 60 semester or 90 quarter units of
instruction.
(ii) Up to 12 semester or 18 quarter units of instruction may be
remediated, if missing from the degree. The remediation may occur
while the applicant is registered as an intern.
(B) For an applicant who obtained his or her degree within the
timeline prescribed by subdivision (a) of Section 4980.37, the degree
shall contain no less than 48 semester units or 72 quarter units of
instruction.
(C) Six semester or nine quarter units of practicum, including,
but not limited to, a minimum of 150 hours of face-to-face experience
counseling individuals, couples, families, or groups, and an
additional 75 hours of either face-to-face experience counseling
individuals, couples, families, or groups or client centered
advocacy, or a combination of face-to-face experience counseling
individuals, couples, families, or groups and client centered
advocacy.
(D) Twelve semester or 18 quarter units in the areas of marriage,
family, and child counseling and marital and family systems
approaches to treatment, as specified in subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 4980.36.
(2) The applicant shall complete coursework in California law and
ethics as follows:
(A) An applicant who completed a course in law and professional
ethics for marriage and family therapists as specified in paragraph
(8) of subdivision (a) of Section 4980.81, that did not contain
instruction in California law and ethics, shall complete an 18-hour
course in California law and professional ethics. The content of the
course shall include, but not be limited to, advertising, scope of
practice, scope of competence, treatment of minors, confidentiality,
dangerous patients, psychotherapist-patient privilege, recordkeeping,
patient access to records, state and federal laws relating to
confidentiality of patient health information, dual relationships,
child abuse, elder and dependent adult abuse, online therapy,
insurance reimbursement, civil liability, disciplinary actions and
unprofessional conduct, ethics complaints and ethical standards,
termination of therapy, standards of care, relevant family law,
therapist disclosures to patients, differences in legal and ethical
standards in different types of work settings, and licensing law and
licensing process. This coursework shall be completed prior to
registration as an intern.
(B) An applicant who has not completed a course in law and
professional ethics for marriage and family therapists as specified
in paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 4980.81 shall complete
this required coursework. The coursework shall contain content
specific to California law and ethics. This coursework shall be
completed prior to registration as an intern.
(3) The applicant completes the educational requirements specified
in Section 4980.81 not already completed in his or her education.
The coursework may be from an accredited school, college, or
university as specified in paragraph (1), from an educational
institution approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary
Education, or from a continuing education provider that is acceptable
to the board as defined in Section 4980.54. Undergraduate courses
shall not satisfy this requirement.
(4) The applicant completes the following coursework not already
completed in his or her education from an accredited school, college,
or university as specified in paragraph (1) from an educational
institution approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary
Education, or from a continuing education provider that is acceptable
to the board as defined in Section 4980.54. Undergraduate courses
shall not satisfy this requirement.
(A) At least three semester units, or 45 hours, of instruction
regarding the principles of mental health recovery-oriented care and
methods of service delivery in recovery-oriented practice
environments, including structured meetings with various consumers
and family members of consumers of mental health services to enhance
understanding of their experience of mental illness, treatment, and
recovery.
(B) At least one semester unit, or 15 hours, of instruction that
includes an understanding of various California cultures and the
social and psychological implications of socioeconomic position.
(5) An applicant may complete any units and course content
requirements required under paragraphs (3) and (4) not already
completed in his or her education while registered as an intern,
unless otherwise specified.
(6) The applicant's degree title need not be identical to that
required by subdivision (b) of Section 4980.36.
SEC. 34. Section 4980.79 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4980.79. (a) This section applies to persons who apply for
licensure or registration on or after January 1, 2016, and who hold a
license as described in Section 4980.72.
(b) For purposes of Section 4980.72, education is substantially
equivalent if all of the following requirements are met:
(1) The degree is obtained from a school, college, or university
accredited by a regional or national institutional accrediting agency
recognized by the United States Department of Education and consists
of, at a minimum, the following:
(A) (i) For an applicant who obtained his or her degree within the
timeline prescribed by subdivision (a) of Section 4980.36, the
degree shall contain no less than 60 semester or 90 quarter units of
instruction.
(ii) Up to 12 semester or 18 quarter units of instruction may be
remediated, if missing from the degree. The remediation may occur
while the applicant is registered as an intern.
(B) For an applicant who obtained his or her degree within the
timeline prescribed by subdivision (a) of Section 4980.37, the degree
shall contain no less than 48 semester or 72 quarter units of
instruction.
(C) Six semester or nine quarter units of practicum, including,
but not limited to, a minimum of 150 hours of face-to-face experience
counseling individuals, couples, families, or groups, and an
additional 75 hours of either face-to-face experience counseling
individuals, couples, families, or groups or client centered
advocacy, or a combination of face-to-face experience counseling
individuals, couples, families, or groups and client centered
advocacy.
(i) An out-of-state applicant who has been licensed for at least
two years in clinical practice, as verified by the board, is exempt
from this requirement.
(ii) An out-of-state applicant who has been licensed for less than
two years in clinical practice, as verified by the board, who does
not meet the practicum requirement, shall remediate it by obtaining
150 hours of face-to-face experience counseling individuals, couples,
families, or groups, and an additional 75 hours of either
face-to-face experience counseling individuals, couples, families, or
groups or client centered advocacy, or a combination of face-to-face
experience counseling individuals, couples, families, or groups and
client centered advocacy. These hours are in addition to the 3,000
hours of experience required by this chapter, and shall be gained
while registered as an intern.
(D) Twelve semester or 18 quarter units in the areas of marriage,
family, and child counseling and marital and family systems
approaches to treatment, as specified in subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 4980.36.
(2) An applicant shall complete coursework in California law and
ethics as follows:
(A) An applicant who completed a course in law and professional
ethics for marriage and family therapists as specified in paragraph
(8) of subdivision (a) of Section 4980.81 that did not include
instruction in California law and ethics, shall complete an 18-hour
course in California law and professional ethics. The content of the
course shall include, but not be limited to, advertising, scope of
practice, scope of competence, treatment of minors, confidentiality,
dangerous patients, psychotherapist-patient privilege, recordkeeping,
patient access to records, state and federal laws relating to
confidentiality of patient health information, dual relationships,
child abuse, elder and dependent adult abuse, online therapy,
insurance reimbursement, civil liability, disciplinary actions and
unprofessional conduct, ethics complaints and ethical standards,
termination of therapy, standards of care, relevant family law,
therapist disclosures to patients, differences in legal and ethical
standards in different types of work settings, and licensing law and
licensing process. This coursework shall be completed prior to
registration as an intern.
(B) An applicant who has not completed a course in law and
professional ethics for marriage and family therapists as specified
in paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 4980.81 shall complete
this required coursework. The coursework shall include content
specific to California law and ethics. An applicant shall complete
this coursework prior to registration as an intern.
(3) The applicant completes the educational requirements specified
in Section 4980.81 not already completed in his or her education.
The coursework may be from an accredited school, college, or
university as specified in paragraph (1), from an educational
institution approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary
Education, or from a continuing education provider that is acceptable
to the board as defined in Section 4980.54. Undergraduate coursework
shall not satisfy this requirement.
(4) The applicant completes the following coursework not already
completed in his or her education from an accredited school, college,
or university as specified in paragraph (1) above, from an
educational institution approved by the Bureau for Private
Postsecondary Education, or from a continuing education provider that
is acceptable to the board as defined in Section 4980.54.
Undergraduate coursework shall not satisfy this requirement.
(A) At least three semester units, or 45 hours, of instruction
pertaining to the principles of mental health recovery-oriented care
and methods of service delivery in recovery-oriented practice
environments, including structured meetings with various consumers
and family members of consumers of mental health services to enhance
understanding of their experience of mental illness, treatment, and
recovery.
(B) At least one semester unit, or 15 hours, of instruction that
includes an understanding of various California cultures and the
social and psychological implications of socioeconomic position.
(5) An applicant's degree title need not be identical to
that required by subdivision (b) of Section 4980.36.
(6) An applicant may complete any units and course content
requirements required under paragraphs (3) and (4) not already
completed in his or her education while registered as an intern,
unless otherwise specified.
SEC. 35. Section 4980.81 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4980.81. This section applies to persons subject to Section
4980.78 or 4980.79, who apply for licensure or registration on or
after January 2016.
(a) For purposes of Sections 4980.78 and 4980.79, an applicant
shall meet all of the following educational requirements:
(1) A minimum of two semester units of instruction in the
diagnosis, assessment, prognosis, and treatment of mental disorders,
including severe mental disorders, evidence-based practices, and
promising mental health practices that are evaluated in peer reviewed
literature.
(2) At least one semester unit or 15 hours of instruction in
psychological testing and at least one semester unit or 15 hours of
instruction in psychopharmacology.
(3) (A) Developmental issues from infancy to old age, including
demonstration of at least one semester unit, or 15 hours, of
instruction that includes all of the following subjects:
(i) The effects of developmental issues on individuals, couples,
and family relationships.
(ii) The psychological, psychotherapeutic, and health implications
of developmental issues and their effects.
(iii) The understanding of the impact that personal and social
insecurity, social stress, low educational levels, inadequate
housing, and malnutrition have on human development.
(B) An applicant who is deficient in any of these subjects may
remediate the coursework by completing three hours of instruction in
each deficient subject.
(4) (A) The broad range of matters and life events that may arise
within marriage and family relationships and within a variety of
California cultures, including instruction in all of the following:
(i) A minimum of seven contact hours of training or coursework in
child abuse assessment and reporting as specified in Section 28 and
any regulations promulgated under that section.
(ii) A minimum of 10 contact hours of coursework that includes all
of the following:
(I) The assessment and reporting of, as well as treatment related
to, elder and dependent adult abuse and neglect.
(II) Aging and its biological, social, cognitive, and
psychological aspects.
(III) Long-term care.
(IV) End-of-life and grief.
(iii) A minimum of 15 contact hours of coursework in spousal or
partner abuse assessment, detection, intervention strategies, and
same-gender abuse dynamics.
(iv) Cultural factors relevant to abuse of partners and family
members.
(v) Childbirth, child rearing, parenting, and stepparenting.
(vi) Marriage, divorce, and blended families.
(vii) Poverty and deprivation.
(viii) Financial and social stress.
(ix) Effects of trauma.
(x) The psychological, psychotherapeutic, community, and health
implications of the matters and life events described in clauses (i)
to (ix), inclusive.
(5) At least one semester unit, or 15 hours, of instruction in
multicultural development and cross-cultural interaction, including
experiences of race, ethnicity, class, spirituality, sexual
orientation, gender, and disability, and their incorporation into the
psychotherapeutic process.
(6) A minimum of 10 contact hours of training or coursework in
human sexuality, as specified in Section 25 and any regulations
promulgated under that section, including the study of physiological,
psychological, and social cultural variables associated with sexual
behavior and gender identity, and the assessment and treatment of
psychosexual dysfunction.
(7) A minimum of 15 contact hours of coursework in substance use
disorders, and a minimum of 15 contact hours of coursework in
cooccurring disorders and addiction. The following subjects shall be
included in this coursework:
(A) The definition of substance use disorders, cooccurring
disorders, and addiction. For purposes of this subparagraph
"cooccurring disorders" means a mental illness and substance abuse
diagnosis occurring simultaneously in an individual.
(B) Medical aspects of substance use disorders and cooccurring
disorders.
(C) The effects of psychoactive drug use.
(D) Current theories of the etiology of substance abuse and
addiction.
(E) The role of persons and systems that support or compound
substance abuse and addiction.
(F) Major approaches to identification, evaluation, and treatment
of substance use disorders, cooccurring disorders, and addiction,
including, but not limited to, best practices.
(G) Legal aspects of substance abuse.
(H) Populations at risk with regard to substance use disorders and
cooccurring disorders.
(I) Community resources offering screening, assessment, treatment,
and followup for the affected person and family.
(J) Recognition of substance use disorders, cooccurring disorders,
and addiction, and appropriate referral.
(K) The prevention of substance use disorders and addiction.
(8) A minimum of a two semester or three quarter unit course in
law and professional ethics for marriage and family therapists,
including instruction in all of the following subjects:
(A) Contemporary professional ethics and statutory, regulatory,
and decisional laws that delineate the scope of practice of marriage
and family therapy.
(B) The therapeutic, clinical, and practical considerations
involved in the legal and ethical practice of marriage and family
therapy, including, but not limited to, family law.
(C) The current legal patterns and trends in the mental health
professions.
(D) The psychotherapist-patient privilege, confidentiality, the
patient dangerous to self or others, and the treatment of minors with
and without parental consent.
(E) A recognition and exploration of the relationship between a
practitioner's sense of self and human values and his or her
professional behavior and ethics.
(F) Differences in legal and ethical standards for different types
of work settings.
(G) Licensing law and licensing process.
SEC. 36. Section 4992.05 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4992.05. (a) Effective January 1, 2016, an applicant for
licensure as a clinical social worker shall pass the following two
examinations as prescribed by the board:
(1) A California law and ethics examination.
(2) A clinical examination.
(b) Upon registration with the board, an associate clinical social
worker registrant shall, within the first year of registration, take
an examination on California law and ethics.
(c) A registrant may take the clinical examination only upon
meeting all of the following requirements:
(1) Completion of all education requirements.
(2) Passage of the California law and ethics examination.
(3) Completion of all required supervised work experience.
(d) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2016.
SEC. 37. Section 4996.3 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4996.3. (a) The board shall assess the following fees relating to
the licensure of clinical social workers:
(1) The application fee for registration as an associate clinical
social worker shall be seventy-five dollars ($75).
(2) The fee for renewal of an associate clinical social worker
registration shall be seventy-five dollars ($75).
(3) The fee for application for examination eligibility shall be
one hundred dollars ($100).
(4) The fee for the board-administered clinical examination, if
the board chooses to adopt this examination in regulations, shall be
one hundred dollars ($100). The fee for the California law and ethics
examination shall be one hundred dollars ($100).
(A) An applicant who fails to appear for an examination, after
having been scheduled to take the examination, shall forfeit the
examination fees.
(B) The amount of the examination fees shall be based on the
actual cost to the board of developing, purchasing, and grading each
examination and the actual cost to the board of administering each
examination. The written examination fees shall be adjusted
periodically by regulation to reflect the actual costs incurred by
the board.
(5) The fee for rescoring an examination shall be twenty dollars
($20).
(6) The fee for issuance of an initial license shall be a maximum
of one hundred fifty-five dollars ($155).
(7) The fee for license renewal shall be a maximum of one hundred
fifty-five dollars ($155).
(8) The fee for inactive license renewal shall be a maximum of
seventy-seven dollars and fifty cents ($77.50).
(9) The renewal delinquency fee shall be a maximum of seventy-five
dollars ($75). A person who permits his or her license to expire is
subject to the delinquency fee.
(10) The fee for issuance of a replacement registration, license,
or certificate shall be twenty dollars ($20).
(11) The fee for issuance of a certificate or letter of good
standing shall be twenty-five dollars ($25).
(12) The fee for issuance of a retired license shall be forty
dollars ($40).
(b) With regard to license, examination, and other fees, the board
shall establish fee amounts at or below the maximum amounts
specified in this chapter.
(c) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2016.
SEC. 38. Section 4996.18 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4996.18. (a) A person who wishes to be credited with experience
toward licensure requirements shall register with the board as an
associate clinical social worker prior to obtaining that experience.
The application shall be made on a form prescribed by the board.
(b) An applicant for registration shall satisfy the following
requirements:
(1) Possess a master's degree from an accredited school or
department of social work.
(2) Have committed no crimes or acts constituting grounds for
denial of licensure under Section 480.
(3) Commencing January 1, 2014, have completed training or
coursework, which may be embedded within more than one course, in
California law and professional ethics for clinical social workers,
including instruction in all of the following areas of study:
(A) Contemporary professional ethics and statutes, regulations,
and court decisions that delineate the scope of practice of clinical
social work.
(B) The therapeutic, clinical, and practical considerations
involved in the legal and ethical practice of clinical social work,
including, but not limited to, family law.
(C) The current legal patterns and trends in the mental health
professions.
(D) The psychotherapist-patient privilege, confidentiality,
dangerous patients, and the treatment of minors with and without
parental consent.
(E) A recognition and exploration of the relationship between a
practitioner's sense of self and human values, and his or her
professional behavior and ethics.
(F) Differences in legal and ethical standards for different types
of work settings.
(G) Licensing law and process.
(c) An applicant who possesses a master's degree from a school or
department of social work that is a candidate for accreditation by
the Commission on Accreditation of the Council on Social Work
Education shall be eligible, and shall be required, to register as an
associate clinical social worker in order to gain experience toward
licensure if the applicant has not committed any crimes or acts that
constitute grounds for denial of licensure under Section 480. That
applicant shall not, however, be eligible to take the clinical
examination until the school or department of social work has
received accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of the
Council on Social Work Education.
(d) All applicants and registrants shall be at all times under the
supervision of a supervisor who shall be responsible for ensuring
that the extent, kind, and quality of counseling performed is
consistent with the training and experience of the person being
supervised, and who shall be responsible to the board for compliance
with all laws, rules, and regulations governing the practice of
clinical social work.
(e) Any experience obtained under the supervision of a spouse or
relative by blood or marriage shall not be credited toward the
required hours of supervised experience. Any experience obtained
under the supervision of a supervisor with whom the applicant has a
personal relationship that undermines the authority or effectiveness
of the supervision shall not be credited toward the required hours of
supervised experience.
(f) An applicant who possesses a master's degree from an
accredited school or department of social work shall be able to apply
experience the applicant obtained during the time the accredited
school or department was in candidacy status by the Commission on
Accreditation of the Council on Social Work Education toward the
licensure requirements, if the experience meets the requirements of
Section 4996.23. This subdivision shall apply retroactively to
persons who possess a master's degree from an accredited school or
department of social work and who obtained experience during the time
the accredited school or department was in candidacy status by the
Commission on Accreditation of the Council on Social Work Education.
(g) An applicant for registration or licensure trained in an
educational institution outside the United States shall demonstrate
to the satisfaction of the board that he or she possesses a master's
of social work degree that is equivalent to a master's degree issued
from a school or department of social work that is accredited by the
Commission on Accreditation of the Council on Social Work Education.
These applicants shall provide the board with a comprehensive
evaluation of the degree and shall provide any other documentation
the board deems necessary. The board has the authority to make the
final determination as to whether a degree meets all requirements,
including, but not limited to, course requirements regardless of
evaluation or accreditation.
(h) A registrant shall not provide clinical social work services
to the public for a fee, monetary or otherwise, except as an
employee.
(i) A registrant shall inform each client or patient prior to
performing any professional services that he or she is unlicensed and
is under the supervision of a licensed professional.
SEC. 39. Section 4996.23 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4996.23. (a) To qualify for licensure as specified in Section
4996.2, each applicant shall complete 3,200 hours of post-master's
degree supervised experience related to the practice of clinical
social work. The experience shall comply with the following:
(1) At least 1,700 hours shall be gained under the supervision of
a licensed clinical social worker. The remaining required supervised
experience may be gained under the supervision of a licensed mental
health professional acceptable to the board as defined by a
regulation adopted by the board.
(2) A minimum of 2,000 hours in clinical psychosocial diagnosis,
assessment, and treatment, including psychotherapy or counseling.
(3) A maximum of 1,200 hours in client centered advocacy,
consultation, evaluation, research, direct supervisor contact, and
workshops, seminars, training sessions, or conferences directly
related to clinical social work that have been approved by the
applicant's supervisor.
(4) Of the 2,000 clinical hours required in paragraph (2), no less
than 750 hours shall be face-to-face individual or group
psychotherapy provided to clients in the context of clinical social
work services.
(5) A minimum of two years of supervised experience is required to
be obtained over a period of not less than 104 weeks and shall have
been gained within the six years immediately preceding the date on
which the application for licensure was filed.
(6) Experience shall not be credited for more than 40 hours in any
week.
(b) An individual who submits an application for examination
eligibility between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020, may
alternatively qualify under the experience requirements that were in
place on January 1, 2015.
(c) "Supervision" means responsibility for, and control of, the
quality of clinical social work services being provided. Consultation
or peer discussion shall not be considered to be supervision.
(d) (1) Prior to the commencement of supervision, a supervisor
shall comply with all requirements enumerated in Section 1870 of
Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations and shall sign under
penalty of perjury the "Responsibility Statement for Supervisors of
an Associate Clinical Social Worker" form.
(2) Supervised experience shall include at least one hour of
direct supervisor contact for a minimum of 104 weeks. For purposes of
this subdivision, "one hour of direct supervisor contact" means one
hour per week of face-to-face contact on an individual basis or two
hours of face-to-face contact in a group conducted within the same
week as the hours claimed.
(3) An associate shall receive at least one additional hour of
direct supervisor contact for every week in which more than 10 hours
of face-to-face psychotherapy is performed in each setting in which
experience is gained. No more than six hours of supervision, whether
individual or group, shall be credited during any single week.
(4) Supervision shall include at least one hour of direct
supervisor contact during each week for which experience is gained in
each work setting. Supervision is not required for experience gained
attending workshops, seminars, training sessions, or conferences as
described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).
(5) The six hours of supervision that may be credited during any
single week pursuant to paragraph (3) shall apply only to supervision
hours gained on or after January 1, 2010.
(6) Group supervision shall be provided in a group of not more
than eight supervisees and shall be provided in segments lasting no
less than one continuous hour.
(7) Of the 104 weeks of required supervision, 52 weeks shall be
individual supervision, and of the 52 weeks of required individual
supervision, not less than 13 weeks shall be supervised by a licensed
clinical social worker.
(8) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), an associate clinical social
worker working for a governmental entity, school, college, or
university, or an institution that is both a nonprofit and charitable
institution, may obtain the required weekly direct supervisor
contact via live two-way videoconferencing. The supervisor shall be
responsible for ensuring that client confidentiality is preserved.
(e) The supervisor and the associate shall develop a supervisory
plan that describes the goals and objectives of supervision. These
goals shall include the ongoing assessment of strengths and
limitations and the assurance of practice in accordance with the laws
and regulations. The associate shall submit to the board the initial
original supervisory plan upon application for licensure.
(f) Experience shall only be gained in a setting that meets both
of the following:
(1) Lawfully and regularly provides clinical social work, mental
health counseling, or psychotherapy.
(2) Provides oversight to ensure that the associate's work at the
setting meets the experience and supervision requirements set forth
in this chapter and is within the scope of practice for the
profession as defined in Section 4996.9.
(g) Experience shall not be gained until the applicant has been
registered as an associate clinical social worker.
(h) Employment in a private practice as defined in subdivision (i)
shall not commence until the applicant has been registered as an
associate clinical social worker.
(i) A private practice setting is a setting that is owned by a
licensed clinical social worker, a licensed marriage and family
therapist, a licensed psychologist, a licensed professional clinical
counselor, a licensed physician and surgeon, or a professional
corporation of any of those licensed professions.
(j) Associates shall not be employed as independent contractors,
and shall not gain experience for work performed as an independent
contractor, reported on an IRS Form 1099, or both.
(k) If volunteering, the associate shall provide the board with a
letter from his or her employer verifying his or her voluntary status
upon application for licensure.
(l) If employed, the associate shall provide the board with copies
of his or her W-2 tax forms for each year of experience claimed upon
application for licensure.
(m) While an associate may be either a paid employee or volunteer,
employers are encouraged to provide fair remuneration to associates.
(n) An associate shall not do the following:
(1) Receive any remuneration from patients or clients and shall
only be paid by his or her employer.
(2) Have any proprietary interest in the employer's business.
(3) Lease or rent space, pay for furnishings, equipment, or
supplies, or in any other way pay for the obligations of his or her
employer.
(o) An associate, whether employed or volunteering, may obtain
supervision from a person not employed by the associate's employer if
that person has signed a written agreement with the employer to take
supervisory responsibility for the associate's social work services.
(p) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, associates and
applicants for examination shall receive a minimum of one hour of
supervision per week for each setting in which he or she is working.
SEC. 40. Section 4999.12 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4999.12. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(a) "Board" means the Board of Behavioral Sciences.
(b) "Accredited" means a school, college, or university accredited
by a regional or national institutional accrediting agency that is
recognized by the United States Department of Education.
(c) "Approved" means a school, college, or university that
possessed unconditional approval by the Bureau for Private
Postsecondary Education at the time of the applicant's graduation
from the school, college, or university.
(d) "Applicant" means an unlicensed person who has completed a
master's or doctoral degree program, as specified in Section 4999.32
or 4999.33, as applicable, and whose application for registration as
an intern is pending or who has applied for examination eligibility,
or an unlicensed person who has completed the requirements for
licensure specified in this chapter and is no longer registered with
the board as an intern.
(e) "Licensed professional clinical counselor" or "LPCC" means a
person licensed under this chapter to practice professional clinical
counseling, as defined in Section 4999.20.
(f) "Intern" means an unlicensed person who meets the requirements
of Section 4999.42 and is registered with the board.
(g) "Clinical counselor trainee" means an unlicensed person who is
currently enrolled in a master's or doctoral degree program, as
specified in Section 4999.32 or 4999.33, as applicable, that is
designed to qualify him or her for licensure under this chapter, and
who has completed no less than 12 semester units or 18 quarter units
of coursework in any qualifying degree program.
(h) "Approved supervisor" means an individual who meets the
following requirements:
(1) Has documented two years of clinical experience as a licensed
professional clinical counselor, licensed marriage and family
therapist, licensed clinical psychologist, licensed clinical social
worker, or licensed physician and surgeon who is certified in
psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
(2) Has received professional training in supervision.
(3) Has not provided therapeutic services to the clinical
counselor trainee or intern.
(4) Has a current and valid license that is not under suspension
or probation.
(i) "Client centered advocacy" includes, but is not limited to,
researching, identifying, and accessing resources, or other
activities, related to obtaining or providing services and supports
for clients or groups of clients receiving psychotherapy or
counseling services.
(j) "Advertising" or "advertise" includes, but is not limited to,
the issuance of any card, sign, or device to any person, or the
causing, permitting, or allowing of any sign or marking on, or in,
any building or structure, or in any newspaper or magazine or in any
directory, or any printed matter whatsoever, with or without any
limiting qualification. It also includes business solicitations
communicated by radio or television broadcasting. Signs within church
buildings or notices in church bulletins mailed to a congregation
shall not be construed as advertising within the meaning of this
chapter.
(k) "Referral" means evaluating and identifying the needs of a
client to determine whether it is advisable to refer the client to
other specialists, informing the client of that judgment, and
communicating that determination as requested or deemed appropriate
to referral sources.
(l) "Research" means a systematic effort to collect, analyze, and
interpret quantitative and qualitative data that describes how social
characteristics, behavior, emotion, cognitions, disabilities, mental
disorders, and interpersonal transactions among individuals and
organizations interact.
(m) "Supervision" includes the following:
(1) Ensuring that the extent, kind, and quality of counseling
performed is consistent with the education, training, and experience
of the person being supervised.
(2) Reviewing client or patient records, monitoring and evaluating
assessment, diagnosis, and treatment decisions of the clinical
counselor trainee.
(3) Monitoring and evaluating the ability of the intern or
clinical counselor trainee to provide services to the particular
clientele at the site or sites where he or she will be practicing.
(4) Ensuring compliance with laws and regulations governing the
practice of licensed professional clinical counseling.
(5) That amount of direct observation, or review of audio or
videotapes of counseling or therapy, as deemed appropriate by the
supervisor.
SEC. 41. Section 4999.12.5 is added to the Business and
Professions Code, to read:
4999.12.5. (a) The title "professional clinical counselor intern"
or "professional clinical counselor registered intern" is hereby
renamed "associate professional clinical counselor" or "registered
associate professional clinical counselor,
" respectively. Any reference in any statute
or regulation to a "professional clinical counselor intern" or
"professional clinical counselor registered intern" shall be deemed a
reference to an "associate professional clinical counselor" or
"registered associate professional clinical counselor."
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to expand or
constrict the scope of practice of a person licensed or registered
pursuant to this chapter.
(c) This section shall become operative January 1, 2018.
SEC. 42. Section 4999.40 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4999.40. (a) Each educational institution preparing applicants to
qualify for licensure shall notify each of its students by means of
its public documents or otherwise in writing that its degree program
is designed to meet the requirements of Section 4999.32 or 4999.33
and shall certify to the board that it has so notified its students.
(b) An applicant for registration or licensure shall submit to the
board a certification by the applicant's educational institution
that the institution's required curriculum for graduation and any
associated coursework completed by the applicant does one of the
following:
(1) Meets all of the requirements set forth in Section 4999.32.
(2) Meets all of the requirements set forth in Section 4999.33.
(c) An applicant trained at an educational institution outside the
United States shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the board
that he or she possesses a qualifying degree that is equivalent to a
degree earned from an institution of higher education that is
accredited or approved. These applicants shall provide the board with
a comprehensive evaluation of the degree performed by a foreign
credential evaluation service that is a member of the National
Association of Credential Evaluation Services and shall provide any
other documentation the board deems necessary.
SEC. 43. Section 4999.47 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4999.47. (a) Clinical counselor trainees, interns, and applicants
shall perform services only as an employee or as a volunteer.
The requirements of this chapter regarding gaining hours of
clinical mental health experience and supervision are applicable
equally to employees and volunteers. Associates and trainees shall
not be employed as independent contractors, and shall not gain
experience for work performed as an independent contractor, reported
on an IRS Form 1099, or both.
(1) If employed, a clinical counselor intern shall provide the
board with copies of the corresponding W-2 tax forms for each year of
experience claimed upon application for licensure as a professional
clinical counselor.
(2) If volunteering, a clinical counselor intern shall provide the
board with a letter from his or her employer verifying the intern's
employment as a volunteer upon application for licensure as a
professional clinical counselor.
(b) Clinical counselor trainees, interns, and applicants shall not
receive any remuneration from patients or clients, and shall only be
paid by their employers.
(c) While an intern may be either a paid employee or a volunteer,
employers are encouraged to provide fair remuneration.
(d) Clinical counselor trainees, interns, and applicants who
provide voluntary services or other services, and who receive no more
than a total, from all work settings, of five hundred dollars ($500)
per month as reimbursement for expenses actually incurred by those
clinical counselor trainees, interns, and applicants for services
rendered in any lawful work setting other than a private practice
shall be considered an employee and not an independent contractor.
(e) The board may audit an intern or applicant who receives
reimbursement for expenses and the intern or applicant shall have the
burden of demonstrating that the payments received were for
reimbursement of expenses actually incurred.
(f) Clinical counselor trainees, interns, and applicants shall
only perform services at the place where their employer regularly
conducts business and services, which may include other locations, as
long as the services are performed under the direction and control
of the employer and supervisor in compliance with the laws and
regulations pertaining to supervision. Clinical counselor trainees,
interns, and applicants shall have no proprietary interest in the
employer's business.
(g) Each educational institution preparing applicants for
licensure pursuant to this chapter shall consider requiring, and
shall encourage, its students to undergo individual, marital or
conjoint, family, or group counseling or psychotherapy, as
appropriate. Each supervisor shall consider, advise, and encourage
his or her interns and clinical counselor trainees regarding the
advisability of undertaking individual, marital or conjoint, family,
or group counseling or psychotherapy, as appropriate. Insofar as it
is deemed appropriate and is desired by the applicant, the
educational institution and supervisors are encouraged to assist the
applicant in locating that counseling or psychotherapy at a
reasonable cost.
SEC. 44. Section 4999.52 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4999.52. (a) Every applicant for a license as a professional
clinical counselor shall be examined by the board. The board shall
examine the candidate with regard to his or her knowledge and
professional skills and his or her judgment in the utilization of
appropriate techniques and methods.
(b) The examinations shall be given at least twice a year at a
time and place and under supervision as the board may determine.
(c) The board shall not deny any applicant who has submitted a
complete application for examination admission to the licensure
examinations required by this section if the applicant meets the
educational and experience requirements of this chapter, and has not
committed any acts or engaged in any conduct that would constitute
grounds to deny licensure.
(d) The board shall not deny any applicant whose application for
licensure is complete admission to the examinations specified by
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 4999.53, nor shall the
board postpone or delay this examination for any applicant or delay
informing the candidate of the results of this examination, solely
upon the receipt by the board of a complaint alleging acts or conduct
that would constitute grounds to deny licensure.
(e) If an applicant for the examination specified by paragraph (2)
of subdivision (a) of Section 4999.53, who has passed the California
law and ethics examination, is the subject of a complaint or is
under board investigation for acts or conduct that, if proven to be
true, would constitute grounds for the board to deny licensure, the
board shall permit the applicant to take this examination, but may
notify the applicant that licensure will not be granted pending
completion of the investigation.
(f) Notwithstanding Section 135, the board may deny any applicant
who has previously failed either the California law and ethics
examination, or the examination specified by paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 4999.53, permission to retake either
examination pending completion of the investigation of any complaints
against the applicant.
(g) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the board from denying
an applicant admission to any examination, withholding the results,
or refusing to issue a license to any applicant when an accusation or
statement of issues has been filed against the applicant pursuant to
Section 11503 or 11504 of the Government Code, respectively, or the
application has been denied in accordance with subdivision (b) of
Section 485.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the board may
destroy all examination materials two years following the date of an
examination.
(i) On and after January 1, 2016, the examination specified by
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 4999.53 shall be passed
within seven years of an applicant's initial attempt.
(j) A passing score on the clinical examination shall be accepted
by the board for a period of seven years from the date the
examination was taken.
(k) No applicant shall be eligible to participate in the
examination specified by paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
4999.53, if he or she fails to obtain a passing score on this
examination within seven years from his or her initial attempt. If
the applicant fails to obtain a passing score within seven years of
initial attempt, he or she shall obtain a passing score on the
current version of the California law and ethics examination in order
to be eligible to retake this examination.
(l) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2016.
SEC. 45. Section 4999.54 of the Business and Professions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 46. Section 4999.60 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4999.60. (a) This section applies to persons who are licensed
outside of California and apply for examination eligibility on or
after January 1, 2016.
(b) The board may issue a license to a person who, at the time of
submitting an application for a license pursuant to this chapter,
holds a valid license as a professional clinical counselor, or other
counseling license that allows the applicant to independently provide
clinical mental health services, in another jurisdiction of the
United States, if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The applicant's education is substantially equivalent, as
defined in Section 4999.63.
(2) The applicant complies with subdivision (c) of Section
4999.40, if applicable.
(3) The applicant's supervised experience is substantially
equivalent to that required for a license under this chapter. The
board shall consider hours of experience obtained outside of
California during the six-year period immediately preceding the date
the applicant initially obtained the license described above. If the
applicant has less than 3,000 hours of qualifying supervised
experience, time actively licensed as a professional clinical
counselor shall be accepted at a rate of 100 hours per month up to a
maximum of 1,200 hours if the applicant's degree meets the practicum
requirement described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) of Section 4999.63 without exemptions or remediation.
(4) The applicant passes the examinations required to obtain a
license under this chapter. An applicant who obtained his or her
license or registration under another jurisdiction may apply for
licensure with the board without taking the clinical examination if
both of the following conditions are met:
(A) The applicant obtained a passing score on the licensing
examination set forth in regulation as accepted by the board.
(B) The applicant's license or registration in that jurisdiction
is in good standing at the time of his or her application and is not
revoked, suspended, surrendered, denied, or otherwise restricted or
encumbered.
SEC. 47. Section 4999.61 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4999.61. (a) This section applies to persons who apply for
examination eligibility or registration on or after January 1, 2016,
and who do not hold a license as described in Section 4999.60.
(b) The board shall accept education gained from an out-of-state
school for purposes of satisfying licensure or registration
requirements if the education is substantially equivalent, as defined
in Section 4999.62, and the applicant complies with subdivision (c)
of Section 4999.40, if applicable.
(c) The board shall accept experience gained outside of California
for purposes of satisfying licensure or registration requirements if
the experience is substantially equivalent to that required by this
chapter.
SEC. 48. Section 4999.120 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4999.120. The board shall assess fees for the application for and
the issuance and renewal of licenses and for the registration of
interns to cover administrative and operating expenses of the board
related to this chapter. Fees assessed pursuant to this section shall
not exceed the following:
(a) The fee for the application for examination eligibility shall
be up to two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(b) The fee for the application for intern registration shall be
up to one hundred fifty dollars ($150).
(c) The fee for the application for licensure shall be up to one
hundred eighty dollars ($180).
(d) The fee for the board-administered clinical examination, if
the board chooses to adopt this examination in regulations, shall be
up to two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(e) The fee for the law and ethics examination shall be up to one
hundred fifty dollars ($150).
(f) The fee for the issuance of a license shall be up to two
hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(g) The fee for annual renewal of an intern registration shall be
up to one hundred fifty dollars ($150).
(h) The fee for two-year renewal of licenses shall be up to two
hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(i) The fee for issuance of a retired license shall be forty
dollars ($40).
(j) The fee for rescoring an examination shall be twenty dollars
($20).
(k) The fee for issuance of a replacement license or registration
shall be twenty dollars ($20).
(l) The fee for issuance of a certificate or letter of good
standing shall be twenty-five dollars ($25).
SEC. 49. Section 4.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to
Section 1632 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by both
this bill and Assembly Bill 2331. It shall only become operative if
(1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January
1, 2017, (2) each bill amends Section 1632 of the Business and
Professions Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill
2331, in which case Section 4 of this bill shall not become
operative.
SEC. 50. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
