California 2019-2020 Regular Session Status: Enacted

SB 679 — Healing arts: therapists and counselors: licensing.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 380, Statutes of 2019.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 22, 2019. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 78% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 5 sponsors

    1 primary, 4 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 6 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

(1) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of marriage and family therapists under the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act, of clinical social workers under the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act, and of professional clinical counselors under the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law prescribes requirements for an applicant for licensure as a marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, or professional clinical counselor who holds a valid license in good standing by a corresponding authority in any state or country, including that the applicant's education is substantially equivalent, as specified, and that the applicant's supervised experience is substantially equivalent as determined by the board. Existing law requires the board to determine substantially equivalency for these purposes based on specified standards for an applicant who has held a license for less than 4 years. This bill would revise and recast requirements for an applicant who holds a license in another jurisdiction of the United States as a marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, or professional clinical counselor at the highest level of independent clinical practice that has been current, active, and unrestricted for at least 2 years. The bill would delete the requirement that the applicant's education is substantially equivalent and instead would require the applicant's degree that qualified the person for licensure is a master's degree or, if applicable, a doctoral degree, obtained from an accredited or approved institution. The bill would delete a requirement for the applicant to pass a clinical licensing examination set forth in regulations adopted by the board, and would impose specified coursework requirements on those applicants, including coursework in California cultures and social and psychological implications of socioeconomic position. The bill would also require, on or after January 1, 2021, all applicants holding out-of-state licenses, regardless of how long they have held the out-of-state license, to complete specified coursework or training in suicide risk assessment and intervention. The bill would make conforming and other nonsubstantive changes. (2) Existing law requires that, with respect to an applicant for licensure as a marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, or professional clinical counselor who does not qualify for licensure as described above, education and experience that the applicant gained outside of the state to be accepted for specified licensure or registration requirements if that education or experience is substantially equivalent, subject to certain standards. This bill would revise those requirements by requiring the amount of time that the applicant held an active license in good standing in another state or country to be accepted as qualifying supervised experience at a specified rate and up to a maximum of a specified amount of hours. The bill would also exempt an applicant who obtained a license or registration in another state or country from the clinical examination if certain conditions are met. The bill would also revise the requirements to determine whether education is substantially equivalent for these purposes by, among other changes, requiring coursework to be from an accredited or approved institution or continuing education provider, on or after January 1, 2021, and for the applicant to complete specified coursework or applied experience in suicide risk assessment and intervention. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4980.03 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by AB 1651 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1651 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4980.81 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by SB 786 to be operative only if this bill and SB 786 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 380, Statutes of 2019.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

  4. Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2530.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

  5. Ordered to special consent calendar.

  6. In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  7. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 2959.) Ordered to the Senate.

  8. Ordered to third reading.

  9. Read third time and amended.

  10. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  11. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 18. Noes 0.) (August 14).

  12. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  13. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 19. Noes 0.) (July 9).

  14. June 25 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author.

  15. Referred to Com. on B. & P.

  16. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

  17. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 961.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  18. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  19. From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.

  20. Set for hearing April 29.

  21. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  22. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0. Page 599.) (April 8). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  23. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on B., P. & E.D.

  24. Set for hearing April 8.

  25. Referred to Com. on B., P. & E.D.

  26. Read first time.

  27. From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 27.

  28. Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

  • Bates · Primary
  • Chang · Cosponsor
  • Dodd · Cosponsor
  • Wilk · Cosponsor
  • Jim Patterson · Cosponsor

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 4 co-sponsors · 117 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • Bates

Co-sponsors (4)

Not signed on (117)

117 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 117 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Unfinished Business SB679 Bates et al. Concurrence

Passed 40 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 27000
Democratic 10000
Republican 3000
Total 40000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Rubio — Yea
Monning — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Wilk — Yea
Beall — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Hill — Yea
Roth — Yea
Morrell — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Moorlach — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Allen — Yea
Borgeas — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Bates — Yea
Glazer — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Chang — Yea
Pan — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A. Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea

Official roll call →

SB 679 Bates Senate Third Reading By Patterson

Passed 77 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 50002
Democratic 22000
Republican 5000
Total 77002
% of votes cast 97%0%0%3%
How each member voted (79)
Member Party Vote
Mathis — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Diep — Yea
Chau — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Low — Yea
Burke — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Smith — Yea
Cunningham — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Voepel — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Gray — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Kamlager-Dove — Yea
Medina — Yea
Chu — Yea
Ting — Yea
McCarty — Yea
O'Donnell — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Salas — Yea
Brough — Yea
Gloria — Yea
Obernolte — Yea
Holden — Yea
Daly — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Weber — Yea
Fong — Yea
Kiley — Yea
Mayes — Yea
Bigelow — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Levine — Yea
Wood — Yea
Melendez — Yea
Frazier — Not Voting
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Not Voting
Jim Patterson — Yea
Luz Rivas — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Yea
Choi, Steven S. Republican Yea
Flora, Heath Republican Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Yea
Lackey, Tom Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 18 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 5000
Unaffiliated 13000
Total 18000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (18)
Member Party Vote
Bloom — Yea
Fong — Yea
Brough — Yea
Obernolte — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Bigelow — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Diep — Yea
Chau — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 19 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 14000
Democratic 4000
Republican 1000
Total 19000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (19)
Member Party Vote
Fong — Yea
Brough — Yea
Cunningham — Yea
Gloria — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Obernolte — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Holden — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Mullin — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Low — Yea
Medina — Yea
Ting — Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Yea

Official roll call →

3rd Reading SB679 Bates et al.

Passed 38 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 27000
Democratic 9000
Republican 2000
Total 38000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (38)
Member Party Vote
Rubio — Yea
Monning — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Wilk — Yea
Beall — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Hill — Yea
Roth — Yea
Morrell — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Moorlach — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Allen — Yea
Borgeas — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Bates — Yea
Glazer — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Chang — Yea
Pan — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

healthcare labor
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Frequently asked questions

What does SB 679 do?
(1) Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of marriage and family therapists under the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act, of clinical social workers under the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act, and of professional clinical counselors under the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law prescribes requirements for an applicant for licensure as a marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, or professional clinical counselor who holds a valid license in good standing by a corresponding authority in any state or country, including that the applicant's education is substantially equivalent, as specified, and that the applicant's supervised experience is substantially equivalent as determined by the board. Existing law requires the board to determine substantially equivalency for these purposes based on specified standards for an applicant who has held a license for less than 4 years. This bill would revise and recast requirements for an applicant who holds a license in another jurisdiction of the United States as a marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, or professional clinical counselor at the highest level of independent clinical practice that has been current, active, and unrestricted for at least 2 years. The bill would delete the requirement that the applicant's education is substantially equivalent and instead would require the applicant's degree that qualified the person for licensure is a master's degree or, if applicable, a doctoral degree, obtained from an accredited or approved institution. The bill would delete a requirement for the applicant to pass a clinical licensing examination set forth in regulations adopted by the board, and would impose specified coursework requirements on those applicants, including coursework in California cultures and social and psychological implications of socioeconomic position. The bill would also require, on or after January 1, 2021, all applicants holding out-of-state licenses, regardless of how long they have held the out-of-state license, to complete specified coursework or training in suicide risk assessment and intervention. The bill would make conforming and other nonsubstantive changes. (2) Existing law requires that, with respect to an applicant for licensure as a marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker, or professional clinical counselor who does not qualify for licensure as described above, education and experience that the applicant gained outside of the state to be accepted for specified licensure or registration requirements if that education or experience is substantially equivalent, subject to certain standards. This bill would revise those requirements by requiring the amount of time that the applicant held an active license in good standing in another state or country to be accepted as qualifying supervised experience at a specified rate and up to a maximum of a specified amount of hours. The bill would also exempt an applicant who obtained a license or registration in another state or country from the clinical examination if certain conditions are met. The bill would also revise the requirements to determine whether education is substantially equivalent for these purposes by, among other changes, requiring coursework to be from an accredited or approved institution or continuing education provider, on or after January 1, 2021, and for the applicant to complete specified coursework or applied experience in suicide risk assessment and intervention. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4980.03 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by AB 1651 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1651 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 4980.81 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by SB 786 to be operative only if this bill and SB 786 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Who sponsors SB 679?
SB 679 is sponsored by Bates, Chang, Dodd, Wilk, and Jim Patterson.
What is the current status of SB 679?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 22, 2019. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 679?
Track SB 679 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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