California Senate Bill SB1488 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 1488AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 12, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 21, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 30, 2012 INTRODUCED BY Senator Yee FEBRUARY 24, 2012 An act to add and repeal Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 4979.1) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1488, as amended, Yee. Healing arts: California traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist certification.  Existing law, the Acupuncture Licensure Act, establishes the Acupuncture Board and makes it responsible for enforcing and administering the act, including licensing persons who meet specified licensure requirements. Under the act, licensees are titled "acupuncturists," and are authorized to perform designated activities pursuant to their license. The unlawful practice of acupuncture and any other violation of the act is a crime.   Existing law establishes various boards that license and regulate healing arts practitioners, including physicians and surgeons, chiropractors, physical therapists, and massage therapists. Existing law provides for the voluntary certification of certain practioners, including the voluntary certification of massage therapists by the California Massage Therapy Council, a nonprofit organization. Existing law prescribes specified educational and other requirements for an applicant to obtain a massage therapy certificate.  This bill would establish the California Traditional Chinese Medicine Traumatology Council as a nonprofit organization to provide for the certification and regulation of the practice of California traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologists, as defined. The bill would require the council to issue a certificate to practice as a California traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist to an applicant who meets certain training and clinical experience requirements and pays a specified fee. This bill would make the meetings and deliberations of the council subject to the open meeting requirements that apply to state bodies. This bill would set forth procedures for the renewal of a certificate to perform California traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology and would establish specified fees in that regard. This bill would  also require specified treatment procedures to be performed under the supervision of an orthopedic surgeon and  prohibit treatment that constitutes the practice of medicine or chiropractic procedures, as defined. This bill would also make it an unfair business practice to use the title of "California certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist" without meeting these certification requirements and would authorize the board to suspend or revoke a certificate for unprofessional conduct, certain fraudulent acts, or specified crimes committed by the certificate holder. This bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2017, unless legislation is enacted before that date to remove or extend that deadline. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 4979.1) is added to Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, to read: CHAPTER 12.5. CALIFORNIA TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE TRAUMATOLOGY 4979.1. As used in this chapter: (a) "California certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist" means a person who has been certified by the California Traditional Chinese Medicine Traumatology Council to perform California traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology. (b) "Council" means the California Traditional Chinese Medicine Traumatology Council. (c) "California traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology" includes a range of treatments to address both acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions  , as well as many nonmusculoskeletal conditions   through stimulation of acupressure points  . Techniques include, but are not limited to, brushing, kneading, rolling, pressing,  and  rubbing  , pushing, holding, and lifting  the areas between each of the joints to open the body's defensive chi and stimulate the energy movement in both meridians  , but do not include manipulation techniques to realign the musculoskeletal and ligamentous relationship, also known as bone setting  . 4979.3. (a) The California Traditional Chinese Medicine Traumatology Council shall be established as a nonprofit organization exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, for the purpose of developing standards for, and certifying the practice of, California traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology. The council may commence activities as authorized by this section after submitting a request to the Internal Revenue Service seeking the exemption. (b) (1) The council shall consist of  seven   five  members, composed of three representatives from the clinical settings of traumatology,  two representatives from the California Orthopaedic Association,  and one representative each from the Medical Board of California and the California Medical Association. (2) Representatives from the clinical settings of traumatology shall be selected by professional societies, associations, or other entities, whose memberships are comprised solely of practitioners of California traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology. (3) To qualify, a professional society, association, or entity shall have a dues-paying membership in California of at least 30 individuals for the last three years and shall have bylaws that require its members to comply with a code of ethics. (c) (1) Subject to subdivision (e), the council shall meet and confer to determine the certification standards, including the level of experience and training needed for an individual to qualify for certification in California traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology. (2) The council shall develop the application form for certification. (3) The meetings and deliberations of the council shall be subject to the provisions of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). (d) The council shall issue a certificate for California certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology to any person who makes an application and meets all of the following requirements, as determined by the council pursuant to subdivision (e): (1) Is at least 18 years of age. (2) Furnishes satisfactory evidence of training and clinical experience that meets the standards established by the council. (3) Is not subject to denial pursuant to Division 1.5 (commencing with Section 475). (e) The council shall evaluate whether an applicant meets the certification standards, including the level of experience and training to sufficiently qualify for the traumatology certification. (f) An individual who is not qualified to receive a certificate under this section, or who fails to apply for certification under this section, shall not hold himself or herself out as a California certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist pursuant to this section.  4979.4. (a) A California certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist, when engaging in traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology manipulation techniques to realign the musculoskeletal and ligamentous relationships, shall be supervised by a physician and surgeon who has completed an orthopaedic residency program. The extent of the relationship between a California traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist and an orthopedic surgeon regarding those manipulation techniques shall be determined by the council after the qualifications necessary for certification are defined and adopted by the council. (b)   4979.4.   (a) A California certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist shall not practice medicine, as defined in Section 2052.  (c)   (b)  A California certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist shall not practice within the scope of activities regulated by the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners. 4979.5. (a) An applicant for California traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology certification shall file an application for a certificate for California traditional Chinese Medicine traumatology with the council. (b) An individual who is not qualified to receive a certificate under this section shall not hold himself or herself out as a California certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist. 4979.6. An applicant for certification as a California traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist shall pay an application fee in a reasonable amount, not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200) for the regulatory cost to the council of processing the application, when submitting his or her application to the council. 4979.7. A California certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist shall renew his or her certificate every two years. 4979.8. An expired certificate may be renewed at any time within six months after its expiration. The holder of the certificate shall pay all accrued and unpaid renewal fees, plus a delinquency fee. (a) The renewal fee shall be one hundred dollars ($100). (b) The delinquency fee shall be twenty-five dollars ($25). (c) The fee for a duplicate or replacement engraved wall certificate shall be fifteen dollars ($15). (d) The fee for a duplicate or replacement renewal receipt/pocket certificate shall be ten dollars ($10). 4979.9. Moneys received under this section shall be utilized by the council to pay for the costs associated with administering this chapter. 4979.10. It is an unfair business practice for any person to hold himself or herself out as a California certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist or use the title of "California certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist" without meeting the requirements of this chapter. 4979.11. It is a violation of this chapter for a certificate holder to commit, and the council may deny an application for a certificate or suspend or revoke a certificate for, any of the following: (a) Unprofessional conduct, including, but not limited to, denial of licensure or certification, revocation, suspension, restriction, or any other disciplinary action against a certificate holder by another state or territory of the United States, by any other government agency, or by another entity. A certified copy of the decision, order, or judgment shall be conclusive evidence of these actions. (b) Procuring a certificate by fraud, misrepresentation, or mistake. (c) Violating or attempting to violate, directly or indirectly, or assisting in or abetting the violation of, or conspiring to violate, any provision of this chapter or any rule or bylaw adopted by the council. (d) Conviction of any felony, or conviction of a misdemeanor that is substantially related to the qualifications or duties of a certificate holder, in which event the record of the conviction shall be conclusive evidence of the crime. (e) Impersonating an applicant or acting as a proxy for an applicant in any part of the application process or any part of satisfying the standards set by the council referred to under this chapter for the issuance of a certificate. (f) Impersonating a California certified traditional Chinese Medicine traumatologist, or permitting or allowing an uncertified person to use a certificate. (g) Committing any fraudulent, dishonest, or corrupt act that is substantially related to the qualifications or duties of a certificate holder. (h) Committing any act punishable as a sexually related crime. 4979.12. This chapter 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.