Bill Text: CA SB1237 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Professions and vocations: regulatory boards.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-08-16 - Set, second hearing. Held in committee and under submission. [SB1237 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SB1237-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 1237	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 30, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 16, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Price

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2012

   An act to amend Sections 4001, 4003, 8000, 8005, 8027, 8030.2, and
8030.5 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to
professions, and making an appropriation therefor.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1237, as amended, Price. Professions: pharmacists, court
reporters, and Transcript Reimbursement Fund: sunset dates.
   (1) Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, provides for the licensure and
regulation of pharmacies, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians,
wholesalers of dangerous drugs or devices, and others by the
California State Board of Pharmacy. Existing law authorizes the board
to appoint an executive officer. Under existing law, the board and
its authority to appoint an executive officer will be repealed on
January 1, 2013. Under existing law, boards scheduled for repeal are
required to be evaluated by the Joint Sunset Review Committee.
   This bill would extend the operation of the California State Board
of Pharmacy and its authority to appoint an executive officer until
January 1, 2017, and would specify that the board is subject to
review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature.
   (2) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of
court reporters by the Court Reporters Board of California within the
Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law authorizes this board
to appoint an executive officer and committees as necessary. Existing
law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2013.
   This bill would extend the operation of these provisions until
January 1, 2017, and would specify that the board is subject to
review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature.
   Existing law requires, until January 1, 2013, certain fees and
revenues collected by the board to be deposited into the Transcript
Reimbursement Fund, to be available to provide reimbursement for the
cost of providing shorthand reporting services to low-income
litigants in civil cases. Existing law authorizes, until January 1,
2013, low-income persons appearing pro se to apply for funds from the
Transcript Reimbursement Fund, subject to specified requirements and
limitations. Existing law requires the board, until January 1, 2013,
to publicize the availability of the fund to prospective applicants.
Existing law requires the unencumbered funds remaining in the
Transcript Reimbursement Fund as of January 1, 2013, to be
transferred to the Court Reporters' Fund.
   This bill would extend the operation of these provisions until
January 1, 2017, and would make a technical change to these
provisions. By extending the operation of the Transcript
Reimbursement Fund, which is a continuously appropriated fund, the
bill would make an appropriation.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 4001 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4001.  (a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs a
California State Board of Pharmacy in which the administration and
enforcement of this chapter is vested. The board consists of 13
members.
   (b) The Governor shall appoint seven competent pharmacists who
reside in different parts of the state to serve as members of the
board. The Governor shall appoint four public members, and the Senate
Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each
appoint a public member who shall not be a licensee of the board, any
other board under this division, or any board referred to in Section
1000 or 3600.
   (c) At least five of the seven pharmacist appointees to the board
shall be pharmacists who are actively engaged in the practice of
pharmacy. Additionally, the membership of the board shall include at
least one pharmacist representative from each of the following
practice settings: an acute care hospital, an independent community
pharmacy, a chain community pharmacy, and a long-term health care or
skilled nursing facility. The pharmacist appointees shall also
include a pharmacist who is a member of a labor union that represents
pharmacists. For the purposes of this subdivision, a "chain
community pharmacy" means a chain of 75 or more stores in California
under the same ownership, and an "independent community pharmacy"
means a pharmacy owned by a person or entity who owns no more than
four pharmacies in California.
   (d) Members of the board shall be appointed for a term of four
years. No person shall serve as a member of the board for more than
two consecutive terms. Each member shall hold office until the
appointment and qualification of his or her successor or until one
year shall have elapsed since the expiration of the term for which
the member was appointed, whichever first occurs. Vacancies occurring
shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term.
   (e) Each member of the board shall receive a per diem and expenses
as provided in Section 103.
   (f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends
that date. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the repeal of
this section renders the board subject to review by the appropriate
policy committees of the Legislature.
  SEC. 2.  Section 4003 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4003.  (a) The board, with the approval of the director, may
appoint a person exempt from civil service who shall be designated as
an executive officer and who shall exercise the powers and perform
the duties delegated by the board and vested in him or her by this
chapter. The executive officer may or may not be a member of the
board as the board may determine.
   (b) The executive officer shall receive the compensation as
established by the board with the approval of the Director of
Finance. The executive officer shall also be entitled to travel and
other expenses necessary in the performance of his or her duties.
   (c) The executive officer shall maintain and update in a timely
fashion records containing the names, titles, qualifications, and
places of business of all persons subject to this chapter.
   (d) The executive officer shall give receipts for all money
received by him or her and pay it to the department, taking its
receipt therefor. Besides the duties required by this chapter, the
executive officer shall perform other duties pertaining to the office
as may be required of him or her by the board.
   (e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends
that date.
  SEC. 3.  Section 8000 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   8000.  (a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs a Court
Reporters Board of California, which consists of five members, three
of whom shall be public members and two of whom shall be holders of
certificates issued under this chapter who have been actively engaged
as shorthand reporters within this state for at least five years
immediately preceding their appointment.
   (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends
that date.
   (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the repeal of this
section renders the board subject to review by the appropriate
policy committees of the Legislature.
  SEC. 4.  Section 8005 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   8005.  The Court Reporters Board of California is charged with the
executive functions necessary for effectuating the purposes of this
chapter. It may appoint committees as it deems necessary or proper.
The board may appoint, prescribe the duties, and fix the salary of an
executive officer. Except as provided by Section 159.5, the board
may also employ other employees as may be necessary, subject to civil
service and other provisions of law.
   This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2017,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that date.
  SEC. 5.  Section 8027 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   8027.  (a) As used in this section, "school" means a court
reporter training program or an institution that provides a course of
instruction approved by the board and the Bureau for Private
Postsecondary Education, is a public school in this state, or is
accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
   (b) A court reporting school shall be primarily organized to train
students for the practice of shorthand reporting, as defined in
Sections 8016 and 8017. Its educational program shall be on the
postsecondary or collegiate level. It shall be legally organized and
authorized to conduct its program under all applicable laws of the
state, and shall conform to and offer all components of the minimum
prescribed course of study established by the board. Its records
shall be kept and shall be maintained in a manner to render them safe
from theft, fire, or other loss. The records shall indicate positive
daily and clock-hour attendance of each student for all classes,
apprenticeship and graduation reports, high school transcripts or the
equivalent or self-certification of high school graduation or the
equivalent, transcripts of other education, and student progress to
date, including all progress and counseling reports.
   (c) Any school intending to offer a program in court reporting
shall notify the board within 30 days of the date on which it
provides notice to, or seeks approval from, the State Department of
Education, the Bureau for Private Postsecondary  and
Vocational  Education, the Office of the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges, or the Western Association of Schools
and Colleges, whichever is applicable. The board shall review the
proposed curriculum and provide the school tentative approval, or
notice of denial, within 60 days of receipt of the notice. The school
shall apply for provisional recognition pursuant to subdivision (d)
within no more than one year from the date it begins offering court
reporting classes.
   (d) The board may grant provisional recognition to a new court
reporting school upon satisfactory evidence that it has met all of
the provisions of subdivision (b) and this subdivision. Recognition
may be granted by the board to a provisionally recognized school
after it has been in continuous operation for a period of no less
than three consecutive years from the date provisional recognition
was granted, during which period the school shall provide
satisfactory evidence that at least one person has successfully
completed the entire course of study established by the board and
complied with the provisions of Section 8020, and has been issued a
certificate to practice shorthand reporting as defined in Sections
8016 and 8017. The board may, for good cause shown, extend the
three-year provisional recognition period for not more than one year.
Failure to meet the provisions and terms of this section shall
require the board to deny recognition. Once granted, recognition may
be withdrawn by the board for failure to comply with all applicable
laws and regulations.
   (e) Application for recognition of a court reporting school shall
be made upon a form prescribed by the board and shall be accompanied
by all evidence, statements, or documents requested. Each branch,
extension center, or off-campus facility requires separate
application.
   (f) All recognized and provisionally recognized court reporting
schools shall notify the board of any change in school name, address,
telephone number, responsible court reporting program manager, owner
of private schools, and the effective date thereof, within 30 days
of the change. All of these notifications shall be made in writing.
   (g) A school shall notify the board in writing immediately of the
discontinuance or pending discontinuance of its court reporting
program or any of the program's components. Within two years of the
date this notice is sent to the board, the school shall discontinue
its court reporting program in its entirety. The board may, for good
cause shown, grant not more than two one-year extensions of this
period to a school. If a student is to be enrolled after this notice
is sent to the board, a school shall disclose to the student the fact
of the discontinuance or pending discontinuance of its court
reporting program or any of its program components.
   (h) The board shall maintain a roster of currently recognized and
provisionally recognized court reporting schools, including, but not
limited to, the name, address, telephone number, and the name of the
responsible court reporting program manager of each school.
   (i) The board shall maintain statistics that display the number
and passing percentage of all first-time examinees, including, but
not limited to, those qualified by each recognized or provisionally
recognized school and those first-time examinees qualified by other
methods as defined in Section 8020.
   (j) Inspections and investigations shall be conducted by the board
as necessary to carry out this section, including, but not limited
to, unannounced site visits.
   (k) All recognized and provisionally recognized schools shall
print in their school or course catalog the name, address, and
telephone number of the board. At a minimum, the information shall be
in 8-point bold type and include the following statement:

   "IN ORDER FOR A PERSON TO QUALIFY FROM A SCHOOL TO TAKE THE STATE
LICENSING EXAMINATION, THE PERSON SHALL COMPLETE A PROGRAM AT A
RECOGNIZED SCHOOL. FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING THE MINIMUM
REQUIREMENTS THAT A COURT REPORTING PROGRAM MUST MEET IN ORDER TO BE
RECOGNIZED, CONTACT: THE COURT REPORTERS BOARD OF CALIFORNIA;
(ADDRESS); (TELEPHONE NUMBER)."

   (  l  ) Each court reporting school shall file with the
board, not later than June 30 of each year, a current school catalog
that shows all course offerings and staff, and for private schools,
the owner, except that where there have been no changes to the
catalog within the previous year, no catalog need be sent. In
addition, each school shall also file with the board a statement
certifying whether the school is in compliance with all statutes and
the rules and regulations of the board, signed by the responsible
court reporting program manager.
   (m) A school offering court reporting shall not make any written
or verbal claims of employment opportunities or potential earnings
unless those claims are based on verified data and reflect current
employment conditions.
   (n) If a school offers a course of instruction that exceeds the
board's minimum requirements, the school shall disclose orally and in
writing the board's minimum requirements and how the course of
instruction differs from those criteria. The school shall make this
disclosure before a prospective student executes an agreement
obligating that person to pay any money to the school for the course
of instruction. The school shall also make this disclosure to all
students enrolled on January 1, 2002.
   (o) Private and public schools shall provide each prospective
student with all of the following and have the prospective student
sign a document that shall become part of that individual's permanent
record, acknowledging receipt of each item:
   (1) A student consumer information brochure published by the
board.
   (2) A list of the school's graduation requirements, including the
number of tests, the pass point of each test, the speed of each test,
and the type of test, such as jury charge or literary.
   (3) A list of requirements to qualify for the state-certified
shorthand reporter licensing examination, including the number of
tests, the pass point of each test, the speed of each test, and the
type of test, such as jury charge or literary, if different than
those requirements listed in paragraph (2).
   (4) A copy of the school's board-approved benchmarks for
satisfactory progress as identified in subdivision (u).
   (5) A report showing the number of students from the school who
qualified for each of the certified shorthand reporter licensing
examinations within the preceding two years, the number of those
students that passed each examination, the time, as of the date of
qualification, that each student was enrolled in court reporting
school, and the placement rate for all students that passed each
examination.
   (6) On and after January 1, 2005, the school shall also provide to
prospective students the number of hours each currently enrolled
student who has qualified to take the next licensing test, exclusive
of transfer students, has attended court reporting classes.
   (p) All enrolled students shall have the information in
subdivisions (n) and (o) on file no later than June 30, 2005.
   (q) Public schools shall provide the information in subdivisions
(n) and (o) to each new student the first day he or she attends
theory or machine speed class, if it was not provided previously.
   (r) Each enrolled student shall be provided written notification
of any change in qualification or graduation requirements that is
being implemented due to the requirements of any one of the school's
oversight agencies. This notice shall be provided to each affected
student at least 30 days before the effective date of the change and
shall state the new requirement and the name, address, and telephone
number of the agency that is requiring it of the school. Each student
shall initial and date a document acknowledging receipt of that
information and that document, or a copy thereof, shall be made part
of the student's permanent file.
   (s) Schools shall make available a comprehensive final examination
in each academic subject to any student desiring to challenge an
academic class in order to obtain credit towards certification for
the state licensing examination. The points required to pass a
challenge examination shall not be higher than the minimum points
required of other students completing the academic class.
   (t) An individual serving as a teacher, instructor, or reader
shall meet the qualifications specified by regulation for his or her
position.
   (u) Each school shall provide a substitute teacher or instructor
for any class for which the teacher or instructor is absent for two
consecutive days or more.
   (v) The board has the authority to approve or disapprove
benchmarks for satisfactory progress which each school shall develop
for its court reporting program. Schools shall use only
board-approved benchmarks to comply with the provisions of paragraph
(4) of subdivision (o) and subdivision (u).
   (w) Each school shall counsel each student a minimum of one time
within each 12-month period to identify the level of attendance and
progress, and the prognosis for completing the requirements to become
eligible to sit for the state licensing examination. If the student
has not progressed in accordance with the board-approved benchmarks
for that school, the student shall be counseled a minimum of one
additional time within that same 12-month period.
   (x) The school shall provide to the board, for each student
qualifying through the school as eligible to sit for the state
licensing examination, the number of hours the student attended court
reporting classes, both academic and machine speed classes,
including theory.
   (y) The pass rate of first-time examination takers for each school
offering court reporting shall meet or exceed the average pass rate
of all first-time test takers for a majority of examinations given
for the preceding three years. Failure to do so shall require the
board to conduct a review of the program. In addition, the board may
place the school on probation and may withdraw recognition if the
school continues to place below the above-described standard on the
two examinations that follow the three-year period.
   (z) A school shall not require more than one 10-minute qualifying
examination, as defined in the regulations of the board, for a
student to be eligible to sit for the state certification
examination.
   (aa) A school shall provide the board the actual number of hours
of attendance for each applicant the school qualifies for the state
licensing examination.
   (ab) The board shall, by December 1, 2001, do the following by
regulation as necessary:
   (1) Establish the format that shall be used by schools to report
tracking of all attendance hours and actual timeframes for completed
coursework.
   (2) Require schools to provide a minimum of 10 hours of live
dictation class each school week for every full-time student.
   (3) Require schools to provide students with the opportunity to
read back from their stenographic notes a minimum of one time each
day to his or her instructor.
   (4) Require schools to provide students with the opportunity to
practice with a school-approved speed-building audio recording, or
other assigned material, a minimum of one hour per day after school
hours as a homework assignment and provide the notes from this audio
recording to their instructor the following day for review.
   (5) Develop standardization of policies on the use and
administration of qualifier examinations by schools.
   (6) Define qualifier examination as follows: the qualifier
examination shall consist of 4-voice testimony of 10-minute duration
at 200 words per minute, graded at 97.5 percent accuracy, and in
accordance with the guidelines followed by the board. Schools shall
be required to date and number each qualifier and announce the date
and number to the students at the time of administering the
qualifier. All qualifiers shall indicate the actual dictation time of
the test and the school shall catalog and maintain the qualifier for
a period of not less than three years for the purpose of inspection
by the board.
   (7) Require schools to develop a program to provide students with
the opportunity to interact with professional court reporters to
provide skill support, mentoring, or counseling that they can
document at least quarterly.
   (8) Define qualifications and educational requirements required of
instructors and readers that read test material and qualifiers.
   (ac) The board shall adopt regulations to implement the
requirements of this section not later than September 1, 2002.
   (ad) The board may recover costs for any additional expenses
incurred under the enactment amending this section in the 2001-02
Regular Session of the Legislature pursuant to its fee authority in
Section 8031.
  SEC. 6.  Section 8030.2 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   8030.2.  (a) To provide shorthand reporting services to low-income
litigants in civil cases, who are unable to otherwise afford those
services, funds generated by fees received by the board pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 8031 in excess of funds needed to support
the board's operating budget for the fiscal year in which a transfer
described below is made shall be used by the board for the purpose of
establishing and maintaining a Transcript Reimbursement Fund. The
Transcript Reimbursement Fund shall be established by a transfer of
funds from the Court Reporters' Fund in the amount of three hundred
thousand dollars ($300,000) at the beginning of each fiscal year.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a transfer to
the Transcript Reimbursement Fund in excess of the fund balance
established at the beginning of each fiscal year shall not be made by
the board if the transfer will result in the reduction of the
balance of the Court Reporters' Fund to an amount less than six
months' operating budget.
   (b) All moneys held in the Court Reporters' Fund on the effective
date of this section in excess of the board's operating budget for
the 1996-97 fiscal year shall be used as provided in subdivision (a).

   (c) Refunds and unexpended funds that are anticipated to remain in
the Transcript Reimbursement Fund at the end of the fiscal year
shall be considered by the board in establishing the fee assessment
pursuant to Section 8031 so that the assessment shall maintain the
level of funding for the Transcript Reimbursement Fund, as specified
in subdivision (a), in the following fiscal year.
   (d) The Transcript Reimbursement Fund is hereby created in the
State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,
moneys in the Transcript Reimbursement Fund are continuously
appropriated for the purposes of this chapter.
   (e) (1) Applicants, including applicants pursuant to Section
8030.5, who have been reimbursed pursuant to this chapter for
services provided to litigants and who are awarded court costs or
attorney's fees by judgment or by settlement agreement shall refund
the full amount of that reimbursement to the fund within 90 days of
receipt of the award or settlement.
   (2) An applicant pursuant to Section 8030.5 who has been
reimbursed for services provided to litigants under this chapter
shall refund the full amount reimbursed if a court orders the
applicant's fee waiver withdrawn or denied retroactively pursuant to
Section 68636 of the Government Code, within 90 days of the court's
order withdrawing or denying the fee waiver.
   (f) Subject to the limitations of this chapter, the board shall
maintain the fund at a level that is sufficient to pay all qualified
claims. To accomplish this objective, the board shall utilize all
refunds, unexpended funds, fees, and any other moneys received by the
board.
   (g) Notwithstanding Section 16346 of the Government Code, all
unencumbered funds remaining in the Transcript Reimbursement Fund as
of January 1, 2017, shall be transferred to the Court Reporters'
Fund.
   (h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends
that date.
  SEC. 7.  Section 8030.5 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   8030.5.  (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (e) of Section 8030.4, as
used in this chapter the term "applicant" also means an indigent
person, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 8030.4, appearing
pro se to represent himself or herself at any stage of the case and
applying to receive funds from the Transcript Reimbursement Fund
established by this chapter.
   (b) Notwithstanding Section 8030.6, total disbursements to cover
the cost of providing transcripts to all applicants pursuant to this
section shall not exceed thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) annually
and shall not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) per
case.
   (c) The board shall provide a report to the Senate and Assembly
Committees on Judiciary by March 1, 2012, that includes a summary of
the expenditures and claims relating to this article, including the
initial fund balance as of January 1, 2011; all funds received,
including the amount of, and reason for, any refunds pursuant to
subdivision (e) of Section 8030.2; all claims received, including the
type of case, court involved, service for which reimbursement was
sought, amount paid, and amount denied, if any, and the reason for
denial; and all administrative fees. This report shall be provided
using existing resources.
   (d) The Legislature finds and declares that there are funds
available for indigent pro se parties under this article only because
the Transcript Reimbursement Fund has not been fully utilized in
recent years by the eligible applicants for whom its use has been
intended, despite the evident financial need among legal services
organizations and pro bono attorneys. Accordingly, the board shall,
using existing resources, undertake further efforts to publicize the
availability of the Transcript Reimbursement Fund to prospective
applicants, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 8030.4, through
appropriate entities serving these applicants, including the State
Bar of California, the California Commission on Access to Justice,
and the Legal Aid Association of California. These efforts shall be
described in the report required by subdivision (c).
   (e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that
date.