BILL NUMBER: AB 923 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Steinorth
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to amend Section Sections
3750 and 3755 of, and to add Section
Sections 3754.8 and 3769.7 to, the Business and
Professions Code, relating to healing arts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 923, as amended, Steinorth. Respiratory care practitioners.
Under
(1) Under the Respiratory Care
Practice Act, the Respiratory Care Board of California licenses and
regulates the practice of respiratory care and therapy. The act
authorizes the board to order the denial, suspension, or revocation
of, or the imposition of probationary conditions upon, a license
issued under the act, for any of specified causes. A violation of the
act is a crime.
This bill would include among those causes for discipline the
commission of an act of neglect, endangerment, or abuse involving a
person under 18 years of age, a person 65 years of age or older, or a
dependent adult, as described . and the
provision of false statements or information on any form provided by
the board or to any person representing the board during an
investigation, probation monitoring compliance check, or any other
enforcement-related action.
The bill would provide that the expiration, cancellation,
forfeiture, or suspension of a license, practice privilege, or other
authority to practice respiratory care, the placement of a license on
a retired status, or the voluntary surrender of a license by a
licensee, does not deprive the board of jurisdiction to commence or
proceed with any investigation of, or action or disciplinary
proceeding against, the licensee, or to render a decision to suspend
or revoke the license.
(2) Under the act the board may take action against a respiratory
care practitioner who is charged with unprofessional conduct which
includes, but is not limited to, repeated acts of clearly
administering directly or indirectly inappropriate or unsafe
respiratory care procedures, protocols, therapeutic regimens, or
diagnostic testing or monitoring techniques, and violation of any
provision for which the board may order the denial, suspension, or
revocation of, or the imposition of probationary conditions upon, a
license. The act provides that engaging in repeated acts of
unprofessional conduct is a crime.
This bill would expand the definition of unprofessional conduct to
include any single act described above or any single act of abusive
behavior, including, but not limited to, humiliation, intimidation,
ridicule, coercion, threat, or any other conduct that threatens the
health, welfare, or safety of a person, whether or not the victim is
a patient, a friend or family member of the patient, or an employee.
Because this bill would change the definition of a crime, it would
impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) The act authorizes the board to deny, suspend, or take other
actions against a license for, among other things, conviction of a
sex offense or any crime involving bodily injury or sexual
misconduct.
This bill would authorize the board to provide notice of an
applicant's or licensee's arrest for those crimes on the board's
Internet Web site, to employers, or both, and would require the board
to remove the notice 60 days after the criminal matter is
adjudicated or when all appeal rights have been exhausted, whichever
is later.
(4)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 3750 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
3750. The board may order the denial, suspension, or revocation
of, or the imposition of probationary conditions upon, a license
issued under this chapter, for any of the following causes:
(a) Advertising in violation of Section 651 or Section 17500.
(b) Fraud in the procurement of any license under this chapter.
(c) Knowingly employing unlicensed persons who present themselves
as licensed respiratory care practitioners.
(d) Conviction of a crime that substantially relates to the
qualifications, functions, or duties of a respiratory care
practitioner. The record of conviction or a certified copy thereof
shall be conclusive evidence of the conviction.
(e) Impersonating or acting as a proxy for an applicant in any
examination given under this chapter.
(f) Negligence in his or her practice as a respiratory care
practitioner.
(g) Conviction of a violation of any of the provisions of
this chapter or of any provision of
Division 2 (commencing with Section 500), or violating, or attempting
to violate, directly or indirectly, or assisting in or abetting the
violation of, or conspiring to violate any provision or term
of this chapter or of any provision of
Division 2 (commencing with Section 500).
(h) The aiding or abetting of any person to violate this chapter
or any regulations duly adopted under this chapter.
(i) The aiding or abetting of any person to engage in the unlawful
practice of respiratory care.
(j) The commission of any fraudulent, dishonest, or corrupt act
which that is substantially related to
the qualifications, functions, or duties of a respiratory care
practitioner.
(k) Falsifying, or making grossly incorrect, grossly inconsistent,
or unintelligible entries in any patient, hospital, or other record.
(l) Changing the prescription of a physician and surgeon, or
falsifying verbal or written orders for treatment or a diagnostic
regime received, whether or not that action resulted in actual
patient harm.
(m) Denial, suspension, or revocation of any license to practice
by another agency, state, or territory of the United States for any
act or omission that would constitute grounds for the denial,
suspension, or revocation of a license in this state.
(n) Except for good cause, the knowing failure to protect patients
by failing to follow infection control guidelines of the board,
thereby risking transmission of bloodborne infectious diseases from
licensee to patient, from patient to patient, and from patient to
licensee. In administering this subdivision, the board shall consider
referencing the standards, regulations, and guidelines of the State
Department of Health Services developed pursuant to Section 1250.11
of the Health and Safety Code and the standards, regulations, and
guidelines pursuant to the California Occupational Safety and Health
Act of 1973 (Part 1 (commencing with Section 6300) of Division 5 of
the Labor Code) for preventing the transmission of HIV, hepatitis B,
and other bloodborne pathogens in health care settings. As necessary,
the board shall consult with the California Medical Board, the Board
of Podiatric Medicine, the Board of Dental Examiners,
Dental Board of California, the Board of
Registered Nursing, and the Board of Vocational Nursing and
Psychiatric Technicians, to encourage appropriate consistency in the
implementation of this subdivision.
The board shall seek to ensure that licensees are informed of the
responsibility of licensees and others to follow infection control
guidelines, and of the most recent scientifically recognized
safeguards for minimizing the risk of transmission of bloodborne
infectious diseases.
(o) Incompetence in his or her practice as a respiratory care
practitioner.
(p) A pattern of substandard care or negligence in his or her
practice as a respiratory care practitioner, or in any capacity as a
health care worker, consultant, supervisor, manager or health
facility owner, or as a party responsible for the care of another.
(q) Commission of an act of neglect, endangerment, or abuse
involving a person under 18 years of age, a person 65 years of age or
older, or a dependent adult as described in Section 368 of the Penal
Code, without regard to whether the person was a patient.
(r) Providing false statements or information on any form provided
by the board or to any person representing the board during an
investigation, probation monitoring compliance check, or any other
enforcement-related action.
SEC. 2. Section 3754.8 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
3754.8. The expiration, cancellation, forfeiture, or suspension
of a license, practice privilege, or other authority to practice
respiratory care by operation of law or by order or decision of the
board or a court of law, the placement of a license on a retired
status, or the voluntary surrender of the license by a licensee shall
not deprive the board of jurisdiction to commence or proceed with
any investigation of, or action or disciplinary proceeding against,
the licensee, or to render a decision to suspend or revoke the
license.
SEC. 3. Section 3755 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
3755. The board may take action against any respiratory care
practitioner who is charged with unprofessional conduct in
administering, or attempting to administer, direct or indirect
respiratory care. care in any care setting.
Unprofessional conduct includes, but is not limited to,
repeated acts any act of clearly
administering directly or indirectly inappropriate or unsafe
respiratory care procedures, protocols, therapeutic regimens, or
diagnostic testing or monitoring techniques, and
abusive behavior, including, but not limited to, humiliation,
intimidation, ridicule, coercion, threat, or any other conduct that
threatens the health, welfare, or safety of a person, whether or not
the victim is a patient, a friend or family member of the patient, or
an employee, or violation of any provision of Section 3750.
The board may determine unprofessional conduct involving any and all
aspects of respiratory care performed by anyone licensed as a
respiratory care practitioner. Any person who engages in repeated
acts of unprofessional conduct shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and
shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars
($1,000), or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed six months, or
by both that fine and imprisonment.
SEC. 4. Section 3769.7 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
3769.7. (a) If a licensee or applicant is arrested for any crime
described in Section 3752.5, 3752.6, or 3752.7, upon receipt of
certified copies of arrest documents, the board may provide notice of
the licensee's or applicant's arrest on the board's Internet Web
site, to employers, or both.
(b) If the board provides notice of a licensee's or applicant's
arrest pursuant to this section, the board shall remove the notice 60
days after the criminal matter is adjudicated or when all appeal
rights have been exhausted, whichever is later.
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.