Bill Text: CA SB387 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Senate Bill 387

Introduced

Bill Title: Physicians and surgeons: special faculty permits: comprehensive cancer centers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-18 - From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 17. [SB387 Detail]

Download: California-2025-SB387-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 387

Introduced by Senator Rubio

February 14, 2025

An act to amend Section 2168 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 387, as introduced, Rubio. Physicians and surgeons: special faculty permits: comprehensive cancer centers.

Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, generally prohibits the practice of medicine without a physician’s and surgeon’s certificate issued by the Medical Board of California. The Medical Practice Act authorizes a person who meets certain eligibility requirements to apply to the board for a special faculty permit, which authorizes the holder to practice medicine without a physician’s and surgeon’s certificate only within a medical school itself, in any affiliated institution of the medical school, or in an academic medical center and any affiliated institution in which the permitholder is providing instruction as part of the medical school’s or academic medical center’s educational program and for which the medical school or academic medical center has assumed direct responsibility. Existing law defines “academic medical center” for these purposes as a facility that meets certain requirements. Among those requirements, existing law requires the facility to train a minimum of 250 resident physicians annually and to be accredited by both the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

This bill would modify the requirements for a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center to qualify as an academic medical center by, instead, requiring the facility to train 25 resident or fellow physicians annually and exempting the facility from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation requirement.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 2168 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

2168.

(a) (1) A special faculty permit authorizes the holder to practice medicine only within the medical school itself, any affiliated institution of the medical school, or an academic medical center and any affiliated institution in which the permitholder is providing instruction as part of the medical school’s or academic medical center’s educational program and for which the medical school or academic medical center has assumed direct responsibility. The holder of a special faculty permit shall not engage in the practice of medicine except as provided above.

(2) For the purposes of this section, the term “academic medical center” is defined as meeting all of the following requirements:

(A) A facility licensed by the State of California.

(B) The facility conducts both internal and external peer review of the faculty for the purpose of conferral of academic appointments on an ongoing basis.

(D) ~~The~~ (i) Except as provided in clause (ii), the facility trains a minimum of 250 resident physicians in Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited residencies on an annual basis commencing each January 1.

(ii) The facility is a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center that trains a minimum of 25 resident or fellow physicians in Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited residencies on an annual basis commencing each January 1.

(E) The facility has more than 100 research students or postdoctoral researchers annually.

(F) The facility has foreign medical graduates in research.

(G) The facility offers clinical observer experiences.

(H) ~~The~~ (i) Except as provided in clause (ii), the facility is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

(ii) The facility is a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center that is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

(b) Time spent in a faculty position under a special faculty permit shall not be counted toward the postgraduate training required for licensure and shall not qualify the holder of the permit for waiver of any written examination required for licensure.

(c) The medical school or academic medical center shall not appoint the holder of a special faculty permit to a position as a division chief or head of a department without express written authorization from the board.