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2021 California Legislative Session CAMFT's Legislative Committee and staff have completed their initial bill review of 2021 legislation impacting CAMFT members. A few bills of interest to CAMFT members are summarized below, along with an update of CAMFT sponsored legislation.
AB 723 (Low) – MFT Scope of Practice- This bill, sponsored by CAMFT, clarifies the existing scope of practice for MFTs. The current MFT practice statute contains an oversimplified short description and refers to other statutes rather than specifying what MFTs actually do. With the help of Assemblymember Low, our bill addresses this by accurately portraying the clinical skill set possessed by MFTs in California. This modernization does not expand the MFT scope but will help to demonstrate the work that MFTs do on a day-today-basis.
This bill passed Assembly Business and Professions Committee with a unanimous vote in support and is continuing forward in the legislative process.
AB 4 (Arambula) – Medi-Cal Eligibility - This bill extends eligibility for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits to anyone regardless of age and who is otherwise eligible for those benefits but for their immigration status. CAMFT supports this bill.
SB 56 (Durazo) – Medi-Cal Eligibility - This bill extends eligibility for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits to individuals who are 65 years of age or older and who are otherwise eligible for those benefits but for their immigration status. CAMFT supports this bill.
AB 690 (Arambula) – Exempt Settings- This bill is sponsored by the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) and provides definitions of the specific types of practice settings Board licensees, associates are employed in. This bill is similar to AB 2363 (Arambula) that BBS sponsored last year but was dropped due to the impact of COVID 19 on the legislative process. CAMFT is monitoring this bill.
CAMFT encourages all members to visit CAMFT's Legislative Action Page to learn about all of the bills CAMFT follows, including in-depth descriptions, legislative analyses, and up-to-date status reports. You can also subscribe here to CAMFT's Action E-Lerts for CAMFT emails on key pieces of legislation.
Board of Behavioral Sciences CAMFT staff attended the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) Board meeting on March 5th and the Telehealth and Licensing Committee meetings on March 26th. During the BBS Board meeting, the Board voted to support CAMFT's Scope of Practice legislation, AB 723 (Low). During the Licensing Committee meeting, the committee discussed the committee's scope and future items for their agenda. The Licensing Committee Agenda can be found here. During the Telehealth Committee meeting, options for the use of telehealth by associates and supervision requirements were discussed. A link to the Telehealth Committee agenda can be found here.
CAMFT encourages all members to participate in BBS meetings and a list of virtual BBS Board and committee meetings can be found here.
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