Bill Text: CA AB1848 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Physicians and surgeons: expert witness testimony.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-04-24 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB1848 Detail]
Download: California-2011-AB1848-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1848 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 18, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Atkins
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
An act to add Section 2076.6 to the Business and Professions Code,
relating to healing arts , and making an appropriation
therefor .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1848, as amended, Atkins. Physicians and surgeons: expert
witness testimony.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the licensing
and regulation of physicians and surgeons in the state by the
Medical Board of California under the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Existing law provides exceptions from those licensing requirements
to permit physicians and surgeons who are licensed in another state
to practice medicine in California in specified circumstances.
This bill would require a physician and surgeon who is licensed in
another state to file an application a
request for authorization and a fee with the board
and receive approval authorization , as
specified, prior to offering providing
expert witness testimony related to the practice of medicine in any
legal proceeding in the state. A physician and surgeon so
approved authorized would be subject to
discipline by the board.
This bill would make an appropriation because the
application fees would require the filing fee
for a request for authorization to be deposited into the
Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California , a
continuously appropriated fund to be used, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, for developing the authorization
process and processing requests .
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes no
. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2076.6 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
2076.6. (a) A physician and surgeon who holds an active and valid
license to practice medicine in another state shall file a written
application request for authoriz
ation with the board, using a form that the board shall create,
and receive the approval of the board prior to providing expert
witness testimony, under oath, relating to the practice of medicine
in any legal proceeding in the state. The application shall
contain: Prior to providing that testimony, the person
shall do all of the following:
(1) Obtain authorization from the board to provide expert witness
testimony after submitting to the board a copy of his or her valid
license or certificate from each state in which the person holds
licensure or certification and a photographic identification issued
by one of those states in which the person holds licensure or
certification. The board shall notify the person, within 20 calendar
days of receiving a request for authorization, whether the board has
approved or denied that request. If the person requests authorization
to testify within 20 calendar days of the board's receipt of the
person's request for authorization, the board shall make reasonable
efforts to notify the person whether that request is approved or
denied within that shorter time period.
(2) Satisfy the following requirements:
(A) The person has not committed any act or been convicted of a
crime constituting grounds for denial of licensure or registration
under Section 480 and is in good standing in each state in which he
or she holds licensure or certification.
(B) The person has the appropriate education and experience to
provide expert witness testimony, as determined by the board.
(C) The person shall agree to comply with all applicable practice
requirements set forth in this division and the regulations adopted
pursuant to this division.
(3) Submit to the board, on a form prescribed by the board, a
request for authorization to provide expert witness testimony.
(4) Submit a statement declaring whether the person has previously
held or applied for a California medical license and whether that
license or application was ever suspended, revoked, or denied.
(1) The applicant's legal name, mailing address, and telephone
number.
(2) The names of all jurisdictions where the applicant holds, has
held, or has applied for, a license to practice medicine, the current
status of each license or application, and the name of any
jurisdictions in which a license or application has been suspended,
revoked, or denied.
(3) A statement declaring whether the applicant has previously
held or applied for a California medical license and whether that
license or application was ever suspended, revoked, or denied.
(4) A
(5) Submit a list of any felonies
or misdemeanors of which the applicant
person has been convicted in any jurisdiction.
(5) A
(6) Submit a statement indicating
whether the applicant person has
previously applied for, or held, an expert witness
certificate registration and whether any
previous expert witness certificate
registration has been revoked by the board, or a similar board,
committee, medical society, or administrative body in any other
jurisdiction.
(7) Submit any additional information required by the board.
(b) The application request shall be
accompanied by a fee in an amount set by the board by
regulation sufficient to cover the reasonable costs of
processing the application request .
All fees collected under this section shall be deposited in the
Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California and shall be
available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to cover the cost
of developing the authorization process and processing the requests
for authorization .
(c) If the board fails to approve or deny the application
request within 10 20
business days after receipt of the application
request and payment of the application
filing fee, the application
request shall be deemed approved. The board shall issue an
expert witness certificate registration
to all approved applicants requesters
. The certificate registration
shall be valid for two years from issuance.
(d) An expert witness certificate
registration does not authorize the holder to practice medicine,
as described in Section 2052. An expert witness certificate
registration shall be treated as a license in
any disciplinary action and the holder of the certificate
registration shall be subject to discipline by
the board.
(e) A physician and surgeon who is authorized under this section
to provide expert testimony relating to the practice of medicine
shall be deemed to consent to the jurisdiction, and regulatory and
disciplinary powers, of the board and shall be subject to the
provisions of Section 2234.
(f) An expert witness certificate
registration issued pursuant to this section shall be disclosed
upon request to a member of the public and shall be posted on the
board's Internet Web site.
