Assembly Bill No. 465
CHAPTER 167

An act to amend Section 6538 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to professions and vocations.

[ Approved by Governor  September 16, 2021. Filed with Secretary of State  September 16, 2021. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 465, Nazarian. Professional fiduciaries: prelicensing and renewal or restoration: education.
Existing law, the Professional Fiduciaries Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of professional fiduciaries and provides for the administration of those provisions by the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau, which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Consumer Affairs. The act requires an applicant to complete 30 hours of prelicensing education courses provided by an educational program approved by the bureau as a condition of licensure. The act also requires a licensee to complete 15 hours of continuing education courses each year as a condition of license renewal or restoration.
This bill, beginning January 1, 2023, would require the prelicensing education courses to include at least one hour of instruction in cultural competency, as defined. The bill, beginning January 1, 2023, would also require a licensee to complete at least 2 hours of instruction in ethics, cultural competency, or both every year as a condition of license renewal or restoration.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 6538 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

6538.
 (a) (1) To qualify for licensure, an applicant shall have completed 30 hours of prelicensing education courses provided by an educational program approved by the bureau.
(2) Beginning January 1, 2023, the prelicensing education courses shall include at least one hour of instruction in cultural competency.
(b) (1) To renew a license, or to restore a license from retired status to active status, a licensee shall complete 15 hours of approved continuing education courses each year.
(2) Beginning January 1, 2023, as part of the approved continuing education courses required by paragraph (1), a licensee shall complete at least two hours of instruction in ethics, two hours of instruction in cultural competency, or two hours of instruction in both ethics and cultural competency every year.
(c) The cost of any educational course required by this chapter shall not be borne by any client served by a licensee.
(d) For purposes of this section, “cultural competency” means understanding and applying cultural and ethnic data to the process of providing services that includes, but is not limited to, information on the appropriate services for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex communities, ethnic communities, and religious communities.