October 2008

As the legislature came to an end and bills made their way to the Governor in midst of the struggle to come to terms on a budget for California, those bills not yet acted on by the Governor resulted in somewhat of a blood bath. In incredibly large number of bills were vetoed with little to no anticipation of this fateful outcome. This legislative report provides a brief overview of the results of the various bills. Those few bills that have been signed by the Governor take effect January 1, 2009. For more complete background information on these bills, read the Legislative Updates in the July/August or September/October 2008 issues of The Therapist.

CAMFT Legislation for 2008

Department of Corrections—Marriage and Family Therapist Registered Interns
AB 2652 (Anderson)

This bill, which sought to amend Penal Code, Section 5068.5(c) to allow persons aspiring to MFT licensure to be employed within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), (as is the case with persons pursuing the psychology and clinical social work licenses) was set aside for this year. We will pursue the legislation in 2009. At the same time, the Department is currently working to create a job classification specifically for marriage and family therapists to be utilized.

Schools’ and Their Ability to Terminate Students and Faculty and be Immune from Liability
AB 164—Smyth

This bill amends Section 43.8 of the Civil Code. It provides for immunity from liability for MFT qualified educational programs where persons are evaluated with regard to their qualifications, fitness, character, or insurability as practitioners of the healing arts. This bill was signed into law by the Governor and will become effective January 1, 2009.

Limitation on Publishing Citations and Fines on the Internet
SB 1779 (Senate Business and Professions Committee)

This bill, among other things, intended to add a section to the Business and Professions Code to limit the publication (on the Internet) of citations issued by the BBS and resolved by payment of a fine to a period of no more than five years. This limitation on publication would be for fines up to $1,500. Fines over $1,500 would be published pursuant to current policy—in perpetuity. This measure was part of a non-controversial, omnibus Committee bill. This bill was vetoed by the Governor because it was believed to not be of high priority for California.

Inclusion of MFTs in Peer Review Procedures
AB 1922 (Hernandez)

This bill amends Section 809(b) of the Business and Professions Code to include LMFTs within the definition of “healing arts practitioner” for purposes of being subject to specified peer review processes and protections. This bill permits MFTs to be subject to the same peer review procedures available to other professionals who are specifically named in this section of law. Late in the bill’s progress, clinical social workers were amended into the bill. The bill was signed into law by the Governor and will become effective January 1, 2009.

Other Legislation

Following are some of the most significant bills, sponsored by others that CAMFT was following:

Licensing of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors
AB 239 DeSaulnier (previously AB 1367 DeSaulnier)
AB 239 would have created a license for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors. The bill was vetoed by the Governor.

Juveniles and Confidential Information
AB 1405 (Maze)
This bill would have authorized a juvenile court joint assessment team comprised of representatives of mental health, child welfare, probation, and other necessary agencies, to share information relating to a minor that might otherwise be confidential. The bill was vetoed by the Governor.

Licensing of Professional Counselors
AB 1486—Calderon
This bill would have provided for the licensing of professional counselors in California. It did not make it to the Governor.

Elder Abuse and Mandated Reporters
AB 1765 (Blakeslee)
This bill would have required, if the abuse of an elder occurred in a long-term care facility, that the mandated reporter would be required to report the abuse to both the local ombudsman and the local law enforcement agency. Currently, such a report could be to either one. If the abuse occurred in any other place, the mandated reporter would be required to report the abuse to both the adult protective services agency and the local law enforcement agency. Currently, such a report could be to either one. This bill did not move forward.

Department of Consumer Affairs—Licensing Boards Within Department
AB 1869 (Anderson)
This 949-page bill would have placed all licensing boards, including the Board of Behavioral Sciences, within the Department of Consumer Affairs. We vigorously opposed this legislation, and it fortunately suffered a quick death.

Child Custody Evaluations and Confidentiality
AB 1877 (Adams)
If directed by the court, the court-appointed child custody evaluator would have been required to file a written confidential report on his or her evaluation, which report could not be made available other than as specified in law. Additionally, the Judicial Council was to adopt a form to be served with every child custody evaluation report to inform the report recipient of the confidentiality of the report and the potential consequences for the unwarranted disclosure of the report. This bill was signed into law by the Governor.

Mental Health Parity
AB 1887 (Beall—pronounced “Bell”)
This bill would treat all mental illnesses defined in DSM IV on par with physical disorders. Similar legislation was vetoed by the Governor last year and was vetoed again this year.

Marriage and Family Therapist Licensure
AB 1897 (Emmerson)
This bill permits regionally accepted accrediting bodies, in addition to the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), to be recognized to determine qualifying degrees for licensure as marriage and family therapists. This bill also permits the BBS to accept BPPVE approved degrees to satisfy the educational requirements as long as the degree is conferred on or before July 1, 2010. This bill was signed by the Governor.

Health Care Coverage
AB 1945 (De La Torre)
Among other things, this bill would have required a health care service plan or insurer to obtain approval from the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) or the Department of Insurance (DOI) respectively prior to rescinding, canceling, or limiting a plan contract or policy, unless there was a willful and material misrepresentation by the applicant. This bill was vetoed by the Governor.

Mandatory Continuing Education in Suicide Prevention
AB 1951 (Hayashi)
This bill intended to require mental health licensees and applicants to complete training in suicide prevention, assessment, intervention, and post-intervention strategies. It was amended to become a non-related bill and was subsequently vetoed by the Governor.

Supplemental Health Insurance
AB 2183 (Aghazarian)
This bill would have recognized the existence of supplemental health insurance policies. The bill died.

Alcohol and Drug Counselors—Mandated Reporters of Child Abuse
AB 2337 (Beall)
This bill added alcohol and drug counselors (persons providing counseling, therapy, or other clinical services for a private or state licensed or certified drug, alcohol, or drug and alcohol treatment program) to the list of individuals who are mandated reporters of child abuse. It also provides that alcohol or drug abuse, or both alcohol and drug abuse, is not in and of itself, a sufficient basis for reporting child abuse or neglect. The bill was signed by the Governor.

Professions and Vocations
AB 2427 (Eng)
This legislation was intended to prevent a county or city from restricting a licensed professional from doing what the license permits the licensee to do, which has occurred in the City of Hollywood with regard to the practice of veterinary medicine. Licensing boards, with the approval of the Department of Consumer Affairs and/or the legislature, determine the breadth of the scopes of practice and the qualifications for each of the professions. We believe that no municipality or county should have any authority to limit this scope as granted by the state or restrict what a licensed professional does, who the professional may work with, the types of services that are provided, or when services are provided within that particular county or municipality. This bill was vetoed by the Governor.

Geriatric and Gerontology Workforce Expansion Act
AB 2543 (Berg)
This bill would have established the Geriatric and Gerontology Workforce Expansion Act, which would have provided loan repayment assistance to persons who are or intend to become employed as licensed health care professionals in geriatric care settings. The funding would have come from an increase of $10 in license renewal fees. The bill was vetoed by the Governor.

Health Care Coverage—Required Notification to Insured
AB 2549 (Hayashi)
This bill would have prohibited a health care service plan or health insurer from rescinding an individual health care service plan contract or individual health insurance policy for any reason after 18 months following the issuance of the contract or policy. This legislation died.

Child Custody Evaluators
AB 2587 (Ruskin)
This bill would have made a distinction between court-connected or court-appointed child custody investigators or evaluators and private child custody evaluators. There was no action on the bill.

Suicide Prevention Hotlines
AB 2667 (Hayashi)
This bill would have required, by January 1, 2012, each county mental health agency to establish and maintain a 24-hour suicide prevention hotline. This bill died.

Title Protection for Social Workers
AB 2753 (Solorio)
This bill would have provided that on and after January 1, 2009, there would be no classification in state civil service as a “social worker” except for an individual who possesses a bachelors, masters, or doctorate degree from a school of social work. CAMFT opposed this legislation. This bill died.

California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board
AB 2809 (Leno and Price)
This bill permits a minor who suffers emotional injury as a result of witnessing a violent crime, who has been in close proximity to the victim when he or she witnessed the crime, to be eligible for mental health counseling compensated by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board. The bill was signed by the Governor.

Health Care Provider Contracts
AB 2839 (Huffman)
A Health Care Service Plan would have been prohibited from requiring a health care provider to execute an unfair or unreasonable agreement as a condition for entering into contract negotiations with the plan. Unfair or unreasonable agreements are such things as “take it or leave it” threats or restrictions on the provider’s use of professional or legal representation. This bill died.

Health Care Service Plans
AB 2847 (Krekorian)
This bill would have required a health care service plan or insurer to disprove medical necessity during any grievance or medical review process. This bill would have also permitted a provider to directly apply to DMHC or DOI for an independent medical review of a decision to deny, modify, or delay health care services to an enrollee, subscriber, or insured, if that person has exhausted any internal grievance process. This bill died.

Bureau on Private Post Secondary and Vocational Education
SB 823 (Perata)
This bill would have continued the Bureau on Private Post Secondary and Vocational Education. It was vetoed by the Governor.

Single Payer Health Coverage
SB 840 (Kuehl)
This bill would have created a single payer health care system for California. The bill was vetoed by the Governor.

Regulatory Boards
SB 963 (Ridley-Thomas)
This bill addressed the composition, operation, and existence of a multitude of licensing boards in California. The bill, among other things, changed the sunsetting process that has been typical for licensing boards over time. This bill extended the BBS through January 1, 2011. It permits the various boards to pass regulations providing requirements for reporting ex parte communications and sanctions for non-compliance. It also permits the department to develop guidelines for drafting and making board’s minutes available to the public. This bill was signed by the Governor.

Marriage and Family Therapist Educational Requirements
SB 1218 (Correa)
This BBS sponsored bill, among other things, intended to revise the educational requirements for aspiring marriage and family therapists. There was no significant opposition to the bill, but it was nevertheless vetoed by the Governor.

Health Care Coverage Provider Contracts
SB 1300 (Corbett)
This bill would have prohibited a contract between a health care provider and a health care service plan or a health insurer from containing a provision that restricts the ability of the plan or insurer to furnish information on the cost of procedures or health care quality information to subscribers, enrollees, policyholders, or insureds. The bill died.

Public Social Services—Reimbursement for Mental Health Services
SB 1349 (Cox)
This bill would have required that Medi-Cal claims for reimbursement by cities and counties for the delivery of mental health services be paid within 90 days of submission. If a claim was not paid with the 90-day period, and the funds were available to pay the claim, interest would accrue. The bill died.

Requirements for the Maintenance and Storage of Patient Records
SB 1415 (Kuehl)
This bill as initially drafted would have required certain health care providers, including MFTs, to maintain patient records for a minimum of ten years, and would have allowed a patient to elect to have his or her records archived once the required maintenance period expired. CAMFT opposed this legislation, as did others, and the author agreed to revise the bill removing its applicability to mental health professionals. Regardless, the Governor vetoed the bill.

Elder Abuse Registry
SB 1416 (Hollingsworth)
This bill would have declared the legislature’s intent to create a publicly available registry of known abusers of the elderly. The bill died.

Psychologist Prescription Privileges
SB 1427 (Calderon)
This bill, not sponsored by the California Psychological Association, would have authorized prescribing psychologists to prescribe drugs for the treatment of specified disorders if certain requirements were met. The bill died.

Health Insurers and Health Care Service Plans
SB 1440 (Kuehl)
This bill would have required full service health care service plans and health insurers to expend on health care benefits no less than 85 percent of the payments for coverage on policies issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2011. The bill was vetoed by the Governor.

Healing Arts Practitioners and Name Tags
SB 1454 (Ridley-Thomas)
This bill would have required many healing arts practitioners, including MFTs, to disclose on name tags name and license status. CAMFT opposed this legislation and due to opposition from us and others, it was amended to be applicable only to hospital personnel. It nevertheless died.

Board of Behavioral Science License Renewal Fees
SB 1505 (Yee)
This bill would have allowed the BBS to direct a higher amount of the license renewal fee ($20) toward the Mental Health Practitioner Education Fund. These monies would have been used to provide loan reimbursements to MFT licensees and interns who made commitments to work for a period of time in mental health underserved areas. The BBS abandoned the bill given that about half of its reserves were “borrowed” by the State to help cover the state’s financial deficit. The bill died.

Health Care Service Plan Review of Procedures Regarding Medical Necessity
SB 1525 (Kuehl)
This bill would have, among other things, required plans and insurers to report to the director of the DMHC or the commissioner of the DOI, and to enrollees and providers upon request, the rates at which requests for health care services have resulted in initial delays, denials, or modifications of health care services or payments. The bill died.

Health Care Service Plan Reform Legislation
SB 1553 (Lowenthal)
As introduced, this bill addressed a multitude of issues of concern to patients and providers. It was significantly amended, removing many of its key components due to heated opposition from the managed care and insurance industry, physician’s groups, some consumer advocates, and others. This bill now prohibits a health care service plan from basing decisions to deny requests by providers for authorization or claim reimbursement on whether admission was voluntary or involuntary or the method of transportation used to get to the health facility. This bill also requires a plan web site to include information on accessing mental health services. This bill is one of very few health care bills signed by the Governor. CAMFT worked on this bill with a number of mental health care related organizations.

Problem Gambling—Therapist Training and Treatment Programs
SB 1616 (Florez)
This bill would have required the establishment of a program to increase the number of qualified problem and pathological gambling treatment therapists and would have established a stepped-care plan of treatment to provide comprehensive care to problem and pathological gamblers and their families. This bill died.

Mentally Ill Offenders
SB 1651 (Steinberg and Romero)
This bill would have, among other things, authorized the use of mental health courts. It would also have expressed intent regarding the need to provide mental health and related services to parolees. The bill died.

Health Professionals and Torture
SJR 19 (Ridley-Thomas)
This bill recommended that all relevant California agencies notify California-licensed health professionals about their professional obligations under international law relating to torture and the treatment of detainees, and also notify those professionals that those who participate in coercive or enhanced interrogation, torture, or other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment may be subject to prosecution. The measure requests that health professionals report abusive interrogation practices to the appropriate authorities. In addition, the measure requests the United States Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency remove all California-licensed health professionals from participating in prisoner and detainee interrogations. This bill was signed by the Governor.