SB 544

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of profession and vocation licensees by various boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Within the department, there are healing arts boards and nonhealing arts boards. The department is under the control of the Director of Consumer Affairs. This bill would require the Department of Justice to serve or submit to a healing arts board for service accusations and default decisions within a specified timeframe and would also require the Department of Justice to set a hearing within a specified timeframe upon receiving a notice of defense, except as specified. The bill would prohibit a licensee regulated by a board within the department from including certain provisions in an agreement to settle a civil litigation action arising from his or her practice, as specified. (2) Existing law authorizes the director to audit and review, among other things, inquiries and complaints regarding licensees, dismissals of disciplinary cases, and discipline short of formal accusation by the Medical Board of California and the California Board of Podiatric Medicine. This bill would additionally authorize the director or his or her designee to audit and review the aforementioned activities by any of the healing arts boards. Existing law authorizes the director to employ investigators, inspectors, and deputies as are necessary to investigate and prosecute all violations of any law, the enforcement of which is charged to the department, or to any board in the department. Inspectors used by the boards are not required to be employees of the Division of Investigation, but may be employees of, or under contract to, the boards. This bill would authorize healing arts boards to employ investigators who are not employees of the Division of Investigation, and would authorize those boards to contract for investigative services provided by the Department of Justice. The bill would also establish within the Division of Investigation the Health Quality Enforcement Unit to provide investigative services for healing arts proceedings. The bill would require all healing arts boards within the department to report annually, by October 1, to the department and the Legislature certain information, including, but not limited to, the total number of complaints closed or resolved without discipline, the total number of complaints and reports referred for formal investigation, and the total number of accusations filed and the final disposition of accusations through the board and court review, respectively. The bill would also provide that it is an act of unprofessional conduct for any licensee of a healing arts board to fail to furnish information in a timely manner to the board or the board's investigators, or to fail to cooperate and participate in any disciplinary investigation pending against him or her, except as specified. Existing law requires the district attorney, city attorney, and other prosecuting agencies to notify the Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, the California Board of Podiatric Medicine, the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, and other allied health boards and the court clerk if felony charges have been filed against one of the board's licensees. Existing law also requires, within 10 days after a court judgment, the clerk of the court to report to the appropriate board when a licentiate has committed a crime or is liable for any death or personal injury resulting in a specified judgment. Existing law also requires the clerk of the court to transmit to certain boards specified felony preliminary transcript hearings concerning a defendant licensee. The bill would instead make those provisions applicable to all healing arts boards. By imposing additional duties on these local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require a healing arts board, the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California to query the federal National Practitioner Data Bank prior to, among other things, granting a license to an applicant who is currently residing in another state or granting a petition for reinstatement of a revoked or surrendered license. This bill would make it a crime to engage in the practice of certain healing arts without a current and valid license, or to fraudulently buy, sell, or obtain such a license to practice certain healing arts. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Under existing law, healing arts licensees are regulated by various healing arts boards within the department. These boards are authorized to issue, deny, suspend, and revoke licenses based on various grounds and to take disciplinary action against a licensee for the failure to comply with their laws and regulations. Existing law requires or authorizes a board to appoint an executive officer to, among other things, perform duties delegated by the board. This bill would authorize a healing arts board to delegate to its executive officer, where an administrative action has been filed by the board to revoke the license of a licensee and the licensee has failed to file a notice of defense or appear at the hearing, the authority to adopt a proposed default decision. The bill would also authorize a healing arts board to enter into a settlement with a licensee or applicant in lieu of the issuance of an accusation or statement of issues against the licensee or applicant. The bill would also provide that the license of a licensee of a healing arts board shall be suspended if the licensee is incarcerated after the conviction of a felony and would require the board to notify the licensee of the suspension and of his or her right to a specified hearing. The bill would specify that no hearing is required, however, if the conviction was for a violation of federal law or state law for the use of dangerous drugs or controlled substances or specified sex offenses; a violation for the use of dangerous drugs or controlled substances would also constitute unprofessional conduct and a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide for the revocation of a license upon the conviction of certain sex offenses, as defined. The bill would provide that the commission of, and conviction for, any act of sexual abuse, misconduct, or attempted sexual misconduct, whether or not with a patient, or conviction of a felony requiring registration as a sex offender, be considered a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a healing arts licensee. The bill would require the employer of certain health care licensees to report to the appropriate board within a specified timeframe information relating to a health care licensee who is suspended or terminated for cause or who resigns. The bill would require a board to investigate these reports, including the inspection and copying of certain documents relating to that suspension, termination, or resignation. The bill would require specified healing arts boards, on or after July 1, 2014, to post on their Internet Web sites specified information in their possession, custody, or control regarding their licensees and their license status, prior discipline, and convictions. The bill would authorize certain healing arts boards to automatically suspend the license of any licensee who also has an out-of-state license or a license issued by an agency of the federal government that is suspended or revoked, except as specified. (4) The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that the Bureau of State Audits conduct a specified review of the diversion programs administered by the Dental Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, the Physical Therapy Board of California, the Board of Registered Nursing, the Physician Assistant Committee, and the Veterinary Medical Board of California by January 1, 2014. (5) Existing law establishes in the Department of Justice the Health Quality Enforcement Section, whose primary responsibility is to investigate and prosecute proceedings against licensees and applicants within the jurisdiction of the Medical Board of California and any committee of the board, the California Board of Podiatric Medicine, and the Board of Psychology. This bill would authorize a healing arts board to utilize the services of the Health Quality Enforcement Section or licensing section. If utilized, the bill would require the Attorney General to assign attorneys employed by the office of the Attorney General to work on location at the licensing unit of the Division of Investigation of the Department of Consumer Affairs, as specified. (6) The bill would delete, revise and recast various provisions of the Physical Therapy Practice Act and would make other conforming changes. (7) 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.