Bill Text: CA AB2190 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2190 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Acupuncture Board: executive officer: education.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Passed) 2016-09-26 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 667, Statutes of 2016. [AB2190 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB2190-Amended.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 2190	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 22, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 5, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Salas
   (Principal coauthor: Senator Hill)

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2016

   An act to amend Sections  4928 and   4927.5,
4928, and  4934 of  , to add Section 4942 to, and to repeal
Section 4939 of,  the Business and Professions Code, relating to
healing arts.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2190, as amended, Salas. Acupuncture Board: executive officer
 .   : education. 
   Existing law, the Acupuncture Licensure Act, provides for the
licensure and regulation of the practice of acupuncture by the
Acupuncture Board, within the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Existing law authorizes the board, with the approval of the Director
of Consumer Affairs, to  employ personnel necessary to
administer the Acupuncture Licensure Act, including  
appoint  an executive officer who is exempt from civil service.
Existing law repeals the provisions establishing the board and
authority for it to  employ personnel   appoint
an   executive officer  on January 1, 2017.
   The bill would extend the operation of the board and the board's
authority to appoint an executive officer  exempt from civil
service  until January 1, 2019. 
   Existing law requires, among other things, the completion of an
approved educational and training program in order to be issued a
license to practice acupuncture. For purposes of the act, beginning
January 1, 2017, existing law defines "approved educational and
training program" as a school or college offering education and
training in the practice of an acupuncturist who meets various
requirements, including offering curriculum that includes specified
hours of didactic and laboratory training and supervised clinical
instruction. Existing law requires these programs to submit that
curriculum to the board and to receive board approval of the
curriculum.  
   This bill would provide that any school or college offering
education and training in the practice of acupuncture that was
approved by the board prior to January 1, 2017, is deemed to have had
its curriculum approved by the board if its approval has not been
revoked and it has not changed its curriculum since receiving board
approval.  
   Beginning January 1, 2017, existing law requires the board to
establish standards for the approval of educational training and
clinical experience received outside the United States.  
   This bill would repeal that board requirement. The bill would
instead authorize the board to require an applicant completing
education outside of the United States to submit documentation of his
or her education to a credential evaluation service that is approved
by the board for evaluation and to have the results of the
evaluation sent directly from the credential evaluation service to
the board. The bill would require the board to establish, by
regulation, an application process, criteria, and procedures for
approval of a credential evaluation service to assess the equivalency
of an applicant's education. The bill would require the regulations
to, at a minimum, require the credential evaluation service to meet
specified requirements. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 4927.5 of the  
Business and Professions Code   , as added by Section 2 of
Chapter 397 of the Statutes of 2014, is amended to read: 
   4927.5.  (a) For purposes of this chapter, "approved educational
and training program" means a school or college offering education
and training in the practice of an acupuncturist that meets all of
the following requirements:
   (1) Offers curriculum that includes at least 3,000 hours of which
at least 2,050 hours are didactic and laboratory training, and at
least 950 hours are supervised clinical instruction. Has submitted
that curriculum to the board, and has received board approval of the
curriculum.  Any school or college offering education and
training in the practice of acupuncture that was approved by the
board prior to January 1, 2017, has not had its approval revoked, and
has not   changed its curriculum since receiving board
approval, is deemed to have had its curriculum approved by the board
for the purposes of this section. 
   (2) Has received full institutional approval under Article 6
(commencing with Section 94885) of Chapter 8 of Part 59 of Division
10 of Title 3 of the Education Code in the field of traditional Asian
medicine, or in the case of institutions located outside of this
state, approval by the appropriate governmental educational authority
using standards equivalent to those of Article 6 (commencing with
Section 94885) of Chapter 8 of Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3 of
the Education Code.
   (3) Meets any of the following:
   (A) Is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture
and Oriental Medicine.
   (B) Has been granted candidacy status by the Accreditation
Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
   (C) Has submitted a letter of intent to pursue accreditation to
the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
within 30 days of receiving full institutional approval pursuant to
paragraph (2), and is granted candidacy status within three years of
the date that letter was submitted.
   (b) Within 30 days after receiving curriculum pursuant to
paragraph (1), the board shall review the curriculum, determine
whether the curriculum satisfies the requirements established by the
board, and notify the school or college, the Accreditation Commission
for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, and Bureau of Private and
Postsecondary Education of whether the board has approved the
curriculum.
   (c) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2017.
   SECTION 1.   SEC. 2.   Section 4928 of
the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
   4928.  (a) The Acupuncture Board, which consists of seven members,
shall enforce and administer this chapter.
   (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2019, and as of that date is repealed.
   (c) Notwithstanding any other law, the repeal of this section
renders the board subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.
   SEC. 2.   SEC. 3.   Section 4934 of the
Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
   4934.  (a) The board, by and with the approval of the director,
may appoint an executive officer who is exempt from the State Civil
Service Act (Part 2 (commencing with Section 18500) of Division 5 of
Title 2 of the Government Code).
   (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2019, and as of that date is repealed.
   SEC. 4.    Section 4939 of the   Business
and Professions Code   , as amended by Section 37 of Chapter
426 of the Statutes of 2015, is repealed.  
   4939.  (a) The board shall establish standards for the approval of
educational training and clinical experience received outside the
United States.
   (b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2017.

   SEC. 5.    Section 4942 is added to the  
Business and Professions Code   , to read:  
   4942.  (a) If an applicant completes education outside of the
United States, the board may require the applicant to submit
documentation of his or her education to a credential evaluation
service that is approved by the board for evaluation and to have the
results of the evaluation sent directly from the credential
evaluation service to the board in order to assess educational
equivalency.
   (b) The board shall establish, by regulation, an application
process, criteria, and procedures for approval of credential
evaluation services to assess the equivalency of an applicant's
education. The regulations shall, at a minimum, require the
credential evaluation service to meet all of the following
requirements:
   (1) Furnish evaluations written in English directly to the board.
   (2) Be a member of a nationally recognized foreign credential
evaluation association, such as, but not limited to, the American
Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers or the
National Association of Credential Evaluation Services.
   (3) Undergo reevaluation by the board every five years.
   (4) Certify to the board that the credential evaluation service
maintains a complete set of reference materials as determined by the
board.
   (5) Base evaluations only upon verified authentic, official
transcripts, and degrees.
   (6) Have a written procedure for identifying fraudulent
transcripts.
   (7) Include in an evaluation report submitted to the board the
specific method or methods of authentication for the transcripts,
certification, degrees, and other education evaluated for the
purposes of the report.
   (8) Include in the evaluation report, for each degree held by the
applicant, the equivalent degree offered in the United States, the
date the degree was granted, the institution granting the degree, an
English translation of the course titles, and the semester unit
equivalence for each course.
   (9) Have an appeal procedure for applicants.
   (10) Provide information concerning the credential evaluation
service to the board that includes, but is not limited to, resumes or
curriculum vitae for each evaluator and translator, which includes
biographical information, three letters of references from public or
private agencies, statistical information on the number of
applications processed annually for the past five years, and any
other information the board may require to determine whether the
credential evaluation service meets the standards under this
subdivision and the board's regulations.
   (11) Provide to the board all information required by the board,
including, but not limited to, the following:
   (A) Its credential evaluation policy.
   (B) A complete list of terminology and evaluation terms used in
producing its credential evaluations.
   (C) A detailed description of the specific methods utilized for
credential authentication.