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California 2001-02 Regular Session
2001 CA SB 1951
Amended
07/02/2002
Figueroa
SENATE BILL                                                           No. 1951
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                      INTRODUCED BY Senator Figueroa
               (Coauthors: Senators Johannessen and Polanco)
        (Coauthors: Assembly Members Aanestad, Correa, and Thomson)

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                       AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JULY 2, 2002
                         AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 2, 2002

                               FEBRUARY 22, 2002
    An act to amend Sections 4928, 4929, 4933, and 4934 of, and to add
Sections 4934.1 and 4934.2 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to
professional boards.
                          LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

    SB 1951, as amended, Figueroa. Professional boards: acupuncture board.

    Existing law provides for the regulation of various professions by
professional boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs, including the
regulation of the practice of acupuncture by the Acupuncture Board. Existing
law provides, until July 1, 2003, that the board consists of 9 members.
Existing law requires the board, until July 1, 2003, to employ an executive
officer and other personnel necessary for the administration of the laws
regulating the practice of acupuncture. Existing law provides that those
provisions of law are repealed on January 1, 2004.

    This bill would delete the July 1, 2003, and January 1, 2004, dates upon
which those provisions establishing the board and requiring it to employ an
executive officer and other personnel become inoperative and are repealed.
The bill would instead extend the operation of those provisions until July 1,
2005, and would repeal those provisions on January 1, 2006.

    Existing law requires the Acupuncture Board to include 4 acupuncturists
that are not licensed as physicians and surgeons.

    This bill would instead require the board to include 3 acupuncturists who
are not licensed as physicians and surgeons and one acupuncturist who is a
faculty member of an acupuncture college approved by the board.

    Existing law provides that a majority of the appointed board members
constitutes a quorum for the conduct of business.

    This bill would provide that 5 members of the board constitutes a quorum
for the conduct of business.

    This bill would require the department and the board request
the Milton Marks "Little Hoover" Commission on California State Government
Organization and Economy to conduct separate reviews addressing specified
issues with respect to the practice of acupuncture. The bill would 
require the department request the commission to report its
findings from its review to the Legislature by September 1, 2004. The
bill would also require the board to conduct certain studies and
reviews relating acupuncture assistants and report its findings from
its review to the department and the Joint Legislative Sunset Review
Committee by September 1, 2004.

    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 4928 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to
read:

    4928. The Acupuncture Board, which consists of nine members, shall enforce
and administer this chapter.

    This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2005, and, as of January
1, 2006, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, which becomes effective
on or before January 1, 2006, deletes or extends the dates on which it
becomes inoperative and is repealed.

    The repeal of this section renders the board subject to the review
required by Division 1.2 (commencing with Section 473).

    SEC. 2. Section 4929 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to
read:

    4929. Three members of the board shall be acupuncturists with at least
five years of experience in acupuncture and not licensed as physicians and
surgeons, one member of the board shall be a licensed acupuncturist who is
also a faculty member of any board approved acupuncture college, one member
of the board shall be a physician and surgeon licensed in this state with two
years of experience in acupuncture, and four members shall be public members
who do not hold a license or certificate as a physician and surgeon or
acupuncturist.

    The Governor shall appoint the four acupuncturist members qualified as
provided in this section, who shall be appointed to represent a cross section
of the cultural backgrounds of licensed members of the acupuncturist
profession, two of the public members, and the one licensed physician and
surgeon member qualified as provided in this section. All members appointed
to the board by the Governor shall be subject to confirmation by the Senate.
The Senate Rules Committee and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each appoint
a public member. Any member of the board may be removed by the appointing
power for neglect of duty, misconduct, or malfeasance in office, after being
provided with a written statement of the charges and an opportunity to be
heard.

    SEC. 3. Section 4933 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to
read:

    4933. (a) The board shall administer this chapter.

    (b) The board may adopt, amend, or repeal, in accordance with the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), regulations as may
be necessary to enable it to carry into effect the provisions of law relating
to the practice of acupuncture.

    (c) Five members of the board shall constitute a quorum to conduct
business.

    (d) It shall require an affirmative vote of a majority of those present at
a meeting of the board to take any action or pass any motion.

    SEC. 4. Section 4934 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to
read:

    4934. The board shall employ personnel necessary for the administration of
this chapter; however, the board may appoint an executive officer who is
exempt from the provisions of the Civil Service Act.

    This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2005, and, as of January
1, 2006, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, which becomes effective
on or before January 1, 2006, deletes or extends the dates on which it
becomes inoperative and is repealed.

    The repeal of this section renders the board subject to the review
required by Division 1.2 (commencing with Section 473).

    SEC. 5. Section 4934.1 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to
read:

    4934.1. (a) The Department of Consumer Affairs, in conjunction with
the board and the Joint Legislative Sunset Review Committee, shall 
Legislature requests the Milton Marks "Little Hoover" Commission on
California State Government Organization and Economy to conduct a
comprehensive analysis consisting of the following reviews and evaluations
and shall report their findings and recommendations to the Legislature by
September 1, 2004:

    (1) Review and make recommendations on the scope of practice for
acupuncturists.

    (2) Review and make recommendations on the educational requirements for
acupuncturists.

    (3) Evaluate the national examination, administered by the National
Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, and make
recommendations as to whether or not the national examination should be
offered in California in lieu of, or as part of, the state examination.

    (4) Evaluate and make recommendations on the approval process of the
Accreditation Commission of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, the approval
process of the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, and the board's
approval process.

    (b) For purposes of subdivision (a), the following shall apply:

    (1) The department shall employ the services of an independent
consultant to perform the comprehensive analysis.

    (2) The department may enter into an interagency agreement or shall be
exempted from obtaining sole source approval for a sole source contract.

    (3) The board shall pay for all of the costs associated with the
comprehensive analysis.

    SEC. 6. Section 4934.2 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to
read:

    4934.2. The board shall conduct the following studies and reviews, and
shall report its findings and recommendations to the department and the Joint
Legislative Sunset Review Committee no later that September 1, 2004:

    (a) The board shall conduct a comprehensive study of the use of unlicensed
acupuncture assistants and the need to license and regulate those assistants.

    (b) The board shall study and recommend ways to improve the frequency and
consistency of their auditing and the quality and relevance of their courses.