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Pending Legislation
For further information regarding pending legislation see California's Legislative Information website, which provides the bill's language, history, status, and analysis as provided by the California State Legislature. For further information regarding approved legislation, contact the Board office at (916) 574-7830 or see Approved Legislation for legislation that has been chaptered.
You can download the current version of the Board's Statutes and Regulations Relating to the Practice of Marriage and Family Therapy, Educational Psychology, and Clinical Social Work. The Board's Statutes and Regulations contain sections of the California Business and Professions Code and the California Code of Regulations. The publication also contains miscellaneous code sections from the California Health and Safety Code and the California Welfare and Institutions Code.
PENDING LEGISLATION
The Board is currently monitoring the following two year bills:
AB 64 (Berg) Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act
This proposal would set up a registry of volunteer health practitioners licensed in other states. It would permit these volunteers to provide health services through a host entity during a declared emergency. At its meeting on May 31, 2007, the Board took a position of “support if amended” on this bill.
AB 509 (Hayashi) Suicide Prevention
This proposal would establish the Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP) under the Department of Mental Health (DMH). The OSP would be required to coordinate and implement a statewide suicide prevention strategy modeled after the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, among other tasks. The Board’s Policy and Advocacy Committee recommended a position of “support” to the full Board, who, at its meeting on May 31, 2007, adopted the Committee’s recommendation. The Board recently received a letter from Assembly Member Hayashi regarding this legislation, which is attached. This letter states that the Governor has agreed to create the OSP by Executive Order. This bill is currently on inactive status.
AB 1367 (DeSaulnier) Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors This proposal would establish title protection and licensure for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors, with the program to be administered by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. This is a two-year bill.
AB 1486 (Calderon) Licensed Professional Counselors
This proposal would establish title protection and licensure for Licensed Professional Counselors, with the program to be administered by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. At its meeting on May 31, 2007, the Board took a position of “support” on this legislation. This is a two-year bill.
AB 1897 (Emmerson) MFT Qualifying Degrees from Regional Accrediting Bodies This Board sponsored legislation will permit the Board to recognize degrees from universities accredited by regional accrediting bodies equivalent to the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
SB 797 (Ridley-Thomas) Unprofessional Conduct; Statute of Limitations
This bill would permit the board to discipline a licensee or deny a license for certain sexual acts with a minor that occurred prior to the person being licensed. Currently, when a complaint is received regarding a person who is not yet registered or licensed with the board, the board can investigate and deny a registration or license, if warranted. However when a complaint is received regarding conduct prior to licensure after a person becomes licensed, the board cannot take any action. This legislation would correct this problem in cases where sexual misconduct with a minor is alleged, and only when there is corroborating evidence. This bill also would create a different statute of limitations for these types of complaints, and would require the board to file an accusation within three years. This bill also proposes a number of substantive and technical changes pertaining to programs and boards in the Department of Consumer Affairs.
SB 963 (Ridley-Thomas) Oversight of DCA Boards and Bureaus
This bill would create a new oversight mechanism for the boards and bureaus under DCA and would eliminate sunset dates for DCA boards and bureaus, establish the Office of the Consumer Advocate with the DCA with a range of powers, including serving as the “independent monitor” of boards reconstituted by the Legislature, establishing a “Consumer Participation Program,” hold hearings, subpoena witnesses, take testimony, compel production of documents and evidence, participate as an amicus curiae in disciplinary matters, and charge each board an annual pro-rata share of its operating costs. It would also enact broad new reporting requirements for boards and bureaus within the DCA, subject the appointment of board executive officers to the approval of the DCA Director and Senate confirmation, and establish criteria for reviewing board/bureau evaluations. The Board has not taken a position on this legislation, but decided, at its November 2007 meeting, to develop recommendations regarding this legislation.
SB 1218 (Correa) MFT Educational Requirements This Board sponsored legislation will do the following: Increase the minimum unit requirement from 48 to 60 semester units; Increase the minimum client contact hours from 150 to 225; require principles of mental health recovery be integrated throughout the curriculum; require the clinical implications of demographic and linguistic diversity be integrated throughout the curriculum; require programs to integrate experience with consumers of mental health throughout the curriculum; provide programs with greater flexibility to design curriculum by removing specific hour requirements for certain subject areas; and, create an integrated degree program that satisfies all educational requirements for licensure. MFT practice has changed dramatically in 20 years, and existing curriculum emphasizes traditional medical model/private practice competencies and is not adequately preparing MFT candidates for a practice environment where 40-50% of MFTs are not working in a private practice setting. Public practice settings require additional competencies and knowledge that build on the core training in psychotherapy provided by the existing curriculum requirements.
SB 1505 (Yee) Mental Health Services Provider Education Program Fee
This Board sponsored legislation will increase funds directed into the Mental Health Services Provider Education Program by increasing the license renewal surcharge by $20, for a total of $30 for a biennial renewal for MFT and LCSW. The Board will reduce its biennial license renewal fee by $20; this reduction in fees will result in no fee changes for licensees. This legislation will produce added revenue of approximately $500,000 per year for the Program.
The following bills were vetoed by the Governor in 2007:
AB 249 (Eng) Regulatory Gag Clauses This proposal would prohibit Board licensees and registrants, as well as other healing arts licensees from including any of the following provisions in a civil settlement:
- Prohibiting the other party from contacting, cooperating or filing a complaint with the Board
- Requiring the other party to withdraw a complaint from the Board
The Board’s Policy and Advocacy Committee recommended a position of “support” to the full Board, who at its meeting on May 31, 2007, adopted the Committee’s recommendation.
AB 423 (Beall) Mental Health Parity
This proposal would require health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of a mental illness to persons of all ages under the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions. Defines “mental illness” as mental disorders defined in the DSM-IV or subsequent editions, and includes substance abuse. The Board’s Policy and Advocacy Committee recommended a position of “support” to the full Board, who at its meeting on May 31, 2007, adopted the Committee’s recommendation.
AB 1025 (Bass) Denial of Licensure
This proposal would prohibit a person from being denied licensure or from having his or her license suspended or revoked based on a criminal conviction that has been expunged. The Board’s Policy and Advocacy Committee recommended a position of “oppose” to the full Board, who, at its meeting on May 31, 2007, adopted the Committee’s recommendation.
SB 851 (Steinberg and Romero) Mentally Ill Offenders
This proposal would establish mental health courts statewide, and would require each county to establish a method for screening every defendant for mental illness. If the defendant is eligible and consents, he or she would be placed on probation and required to participate in the program for a minimum of one year. This proposal would also expand mental health and treatment programs for prisoners and probationers with severe mental illness. It would provide a structure and philosophy consistent with the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) but does not use any MHSA funding. The Board’s Policy and Advocacy Committee recommended a position of “support” to the full Board, who at its meeting on May 31, 2007, adopted the Committee’s recommendation.
PENDING LEGISLATION OF INTEREST
AB 164 (Smyth) Child Custody: Child’s Records
This proposal would prohibit denying a parent who has either physical or legal custody of a child with access to medical and other types of records and information unless a court orders otherwise. This bill is currently inactive.
AB 612 (Ruskin) Child Custody Investigations
This proposal would permit a court, as part of a child custody evaluation, to grant a motion for the psychological testing or diagnosis of a parent intended to produce a diagnosisonly for good cause shown. The bill also would require the child custody evaluator that conducts the testing or diagnosis to summarize the data-gathering procedures, information sources, and the amount of time spent conducting the testing or diagnosis, and to present all relevant information, including information that does not support the conclusions reached. This bill is currently inactive.
SB 823 (Perata) Bureau for Private, Postsecondary and Vocational Education (BPPVE)
This bill would create a new regulatory structure and a new bureau within the Department of Consumer Affairs to regulate private postsecondary education.
SB 993 (Calderon) Psychologists: Scope of Practice
This proposal would establish the requirements to become a “Medical Psychologist” and would permit a Medical Psychologist to administer and prescribe psychotropic medication.
Updated: March 10, 2008