CHAPTER
9.7. Allied Behavioral Health Board
4450.
(a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs the Allied Behavioral Health Board that consists of the following members:(1) Five members appointed by the Governor. The members shall be alcohol drug counselors, licensed pursuant to this chapter and having at least two years of experience in their profession. From the commencement of appointments and until licenses for alcohol drug counselors are issued, the Governor shall appoint alcohol and drug addiction counselors certified by a certifying organization recognized by the Department of Health Care Services pursuant to Section 13035 of Title 9 of the California Code of Regulations, as it read on January 1, 2022.
(2) Six
public members who are not licensed pursuant to this chapter or certified by a certifying organization recognized by the Department of Health Care Services pursuant to Section 13035 of Title 9 of the California Code of Regulations, as it read on January 1, 2023, appointed as follows:
(A) Three members appointed by the Governor.
(B) One member appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
(C) One member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(3) One member, appointed by the Governor, who is a licensed physician and surgeon and who specializes in addiction medicine.
(b) Each member shall reside in the State of California.
(c) Each member of the board shall be appointed for a term of four years. A member shall hold office until the appointment and qualification of their successor or until one year from the expiration date of the term for which they were appointed, whichever occurs first.
(d) A vacancy on the board shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term by the authority who appointed the member whose membership was vacated.
(e) On or before June 1 of each calendar year, the board shall elect a chairperson and a vice chairperson from its membership.
4451.
(a) The board shall appoint an executive officer. This position is designated as a confidential position and is exempt from civil service under subdivision (e) of Section 4 of Article VII of the California Constitution.(b) The executive officer serves at the pleasure of the board.
(c) The executive officer shall exercise the powers and perform the duties delegated by the board and vested in them by this chapter.
(d) With the approval of the director, the board shall fix the salary of the executive officer.
(e) The chairperson and executive officer may call meetings of
the board and any duly appointed committee at a specified time and place. For purposes of this section, “call meetings” means setting the agenda, time, date, or place for any meeting of the board or any committee.
4452.
Subject to the State Civil Service Act (Part 2 (commencing with Section 18500) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code) and except as provided by Sections 155, 156, and 159.5, the board may employ any clerical, technical, and other personnel as it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter and the other chapters it administers and enforces, within budget limitations.4453.
The board shall keep an accurate record of all of its proceedings and a record of all applicants for licensure and all individuals to whom it has issued a license.4454.
The duty of administering and enforcing this chapter is vested in the board and the executive officer subject to, and under the direction of, the board. In the performance of this duty, the board and the executive officer have all the powers and are subject to all the responsibilities vested in, and imposed upon, the head of a department by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11150) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.125800.4455.
(a) The State Department of Public Health board shall establish any regulations and standards for the licensure of substance use disorder counselors as the director deems necessary to promote and protect the public health and safety.(b) The department
board shall consult the public, especially people in recovery, providers of substance use disorder services, and organizations that certify substance use disorder counselors before adopting regulations and standards pursuant to subdivision (a).
125802.4456.
(a) The State Department of Public Health board shall require that an applicant for a substance use disorder counselor license meet minimum qualifications that include, but are not limited to, both of the following:(1) The person has documented to a certifying organization approved by the
department board that they have obtained a master’s degree in alcohol and drug counseling or related counseling master’s degree that meets the certifying organization’s requirements to sit for an exam described in paragraph (2).
(2) The person has demonstrated competence by passing the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium Advanced Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Counselor written examination, the National Certification Commission for Addiction Professionals Master of Addiction Counseling written examination, or another equivalent examination, as determined by the department.
board.
(b) The license shall be valid for two years unless at any time during that period it is revoked or suspended. The license may be renewed prior to the expiration of the two-year period.
(c) To qualify to renew the license, a licenseholder licensee shall have maintained their certification with a certifying organization approved by the department board and documented to the certifying
organization completion of 50 hours of continuing education units during the two-year license renewal period.
125804.4457.
(a) The State Department of Public Health board shall oversee substance use disorder certifying organizations and all functions performed by the State Department of Health Care services Services prior to January
1, 2023, regarding oversight of counselors and certifying organization and counselor oversight, organizations, shall be transferred to the department. board. The department’s board’s oversight responsibilities shall include both of the following:(1) Overseeing the disciplinary actions of certifying organizations.
(2) Ensuring that appropriate disciplinary action is taken by a certifying organization when a counselor has been found guilty of unprofessional conduct. For purposes of this section, unprofessional conduct shall include, but is not limited to, all conduct specified in Section 4982 of the Business and Professions Code. 4982.
(b) The department board shall not approve a
certifying organization that does not, prior to before registering or certifying an individual, contact other department-approved board-approved
certifying organizations to determine whether the individual has ever had their registration or certification revoked.
(c) If a counselor’s registration or certification has been previously revoked, the certifying organization shall deny the request for registration and shall send the counselor a written notice of denial. The notice shall specify the counselor’s right to appeal the denial in accordance with pursuant to applicable statutes and regulations.
(d) The department shall have the authority to
board may conduct periodic reviews of certifying organizations to determine compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including subdivision (c), and to may take actions for noncompliance, including revocation of the department’s approval.
(e)On January 1, 2023, the State Department of Public Health shall, pursuant to subdivision (b), approve
(e) (1) Between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, the certifying organizations that were approved by the State Department of Health Care Services to certify alcohol drug counselors on or before January 1, 2022, 2023, pursuant to Section 13035 of Title 9 of the California Code of Regulations as they read on that date, if that certifying organization is in good standing on January 1, 2023.
shall be considered approved by the board.
(2) On or before January 1, 2024, the board shall review the certifying organizations specified in paragraph (1) and shall reapprove those certifying organizations that are in good standing.
(f) If a certifying organization approved pursuant to subdivision (e) ceases credentialing operations or has its departmental approval revoked by the department, the department the board revokes its approval, the board may approve an additional certifying organization to
replace a defaulted
the certifying organization that ceased credentialing operations or whose approval the board revoked
if a the new organization meets the department’s certifying organization approval requirements. requirements adopted by the board pursuant to this chapter.
125806.4458.
(a) Before issuing a license pursuant to Section 125802, the State Department of Public Health 4456, the board shall review the state, national, and federal criminal history of the applicant.(b) (1) (A) The department
board shall deny, suspend, delay, or set aside a person’s license application if, at the time of the department’s board’s determination, the person has a criminal conviction or criminal charge pending, relating to an offense for which the circumstances substantially relate to actions as a licensed alcohol and drug counselor.
(B) An applicant who has a criminal conviction or pending criminal charge shall request the appropriate authorities to provide
information about the conviction or charge directly to the department board in sufficient specificity to enable the department board to make a determination as to whether the conviction or charge is substantially related to actions as a licensed alcohol and drug counselor.
(2) After a hearing or review of documentation demonstrating that the applicant meets all of the following criteria for a waiver, the department
board may waive the requirements of this subdivision:
(A) Either of the following:
(i) For waiver of a felony conviction, more than five years has elapsed since the date of the conviction, and at the time of the application, the applicant is not incarcerated, on work release, on probation, on parole, on postrelease community supervision, or serving any part of a suspended sentence and the applicant is in substantial compliance with all court orders pertaining to fines, restitution, or community service.
(ii) For waiver of a misdemeanor conviction or violation, at the time of the application, the applicant is not incarcerated, on work release, on probation, on parole, on postrelease
community supervision, or serving any part of a suspended sentence and the applicant is in substantial compliance with all court orders pertaining to fines, restitution, or community service.
(B) The applicant is capable of practicing licensed alcohol and drug treatment counselor services in a competent and professional manner.
(C) Granting the waiver will not endanger the public health, safety, or welfare.
(3) No past criminal conviction shall serve as an automatic exclusion for licensure. The department board shall evaluate the circumstances
leading to conviction and determine if the person meets the conditions in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (2) in determining approval or denial of the application.
125808.4459.
(a) No person shall use the title of “Licensed Alcohol Drug Counselor” unless the person has applied for and obtained a license from the department board pursuant to Section 125802. 4456.(b) A violation of subdivision (a) shall be punishable by a civil an administrative penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).
125810.4460.
(a) The department board may establish fees for licensure under this part. chapter. The total amount of fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall not exceed the reasonable regulatory cost to the department
board for administering this part. chapter. The license fee for an original license and license renewal shall not exceed two hundred dollars ($200).(b) All unencumbered funds appropriated from licensing or certification fees in the Residential and Outpatient Program Licensing Fund to the State Department of Health Care Services for the purpose of certification oversight of substance use disorder counselors are hereby reverted to the fund and instead appropriated to the State
Department of Public Health for purposes of administering this part. fund.
(c)The startup funds to implement this chapter shall, upon appropriation, be distributed from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) Substance Abuse Block Grant (SABG) fund, to the extent that the purposes of this section are deemed to be consistent with the requirements of that act. The department is not required to implement this chapter until moneys are made available pursuant to this subdivision.
4461.
This chapter shall become operative upon the appropriation by the Legislature of funds allocated to the state from a 2022 settlement agreement approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, between the certain governments, including the State of California, and Purdue Pharma L.P., Purdue Pharma Inc., The Purdue Frederick Company Inc., Dr. Richard S. Sackler, and other defendants, consistent with the requirements of the settlement agreement, and sufficient to implement this chapter.