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AB-1245 Political Reform Act of 1974: contribution prohibitions.(2019-2020)

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Date Published: 04/09/2019 09:00 PM
AB1245:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 09, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1245

Introduced by Assembly Member Low

February 21, 2019

An act to amend Section 4935 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts. add Section 85322 to, the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1245, as amended, Low. Acupuncture: advertising. Political Reform Act of 1974: contribution prohibitions.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 imposes various limitations on contributions that may be made to, or accepted by, candidates for elective office, statewide elective office, and Governor. The act generally prohibits a person from making to any committee, and a committee from accepting, any contribution totaling more than $5,000 per calendar year for the purpose of making contributions to candidates for elective state office. A violation of the act’s provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor and subject to specified penalties.
This bill would prohibit a business entity from making, and a candidate for elective state office from receiving, a contribution to a candidate for elective state office. By expanding the scope of existing crimes with regard to contribution limitations, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law establishes the Acupuncture Board to administer and enforce laws in the Acupuncture Licensure Act and makes it a misdemeanor for any person who does not hold a current and valid license to practice acupuncture to advertise or otherwise represent that the person is practicing or engaging in the practice of acupuncture. Existing law provides that a person advertises or otherwise represents that the person is practicing or engaging in the practice of acupuncture by representing that the person is trained, experienced, an expert, or otherwise qualified to practice acupuncture, Asian Medicine, oriental medicine, or any other complementary or integrative medicine that involves acupuncture and is associated with an Asian subgroup.

This bill would additionally provide that a person advertises or otherwise represents that the person is practicing or engaging in the practice of acupuncture by representing that the person is trained, experienced, an expert, or otherwise qualified to practice any other traditional medicine that involves acupuncture and is associated with an Asian subgroup. By adding traditional medicine to the provision of what constitutes a person advertising or representing that the person engages in the practice of acupuncture, this bill would expand an existing crime and would, therefore, result in a state-mandated local program.

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.
The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act’s purposes upon a 2/3 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements.
This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Vote: MAJORITY2/3   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 85322 is added to the Government Code, to read:

85322.
 (a) Notwithstanding Section 85301, a business entity shall not make a contribution to a candidate for elective state office.
(b) A candidate for elective state office shall not accept a contribution from a business entity.

SECTION 1.Section 4935 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
4935.

(a)(1)It is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) and not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment, for any person who does not hold a current and valid license to practice acupuncture under this chapter or to advertise or otherwise represent that the person is practicing or engaging in the practice of acupuncture.

(2)It is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) and not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment, for any person to fraudulently buy, sell, or obtain a license to practice acupuncture, or to violate the provisions of this chapter.

(b)Notwithstanding any other law, any person, other than a physician and surgeon, a dentist, or a podiatrist, who is not licensed under this article but is licensed under Division 2 (commencing with Section 500), who practices acupuncture involving the application of a needle to the human body, performs any acupuncture technique or method involving the application of a needle to the human body, or directs, manages, or supervises another person in performing acupuncture involving the application of a needle to the human body is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(c)A person advertises or otherwise represents that the person is practicing or engaging in the practice of acupuncture by the use of any title or description of services incorporating the words “acupuncture,” “acupuncturist,” “certified acupuncturist,” “licensed acupuncturist,” “Asian medicine,” “oriental medicine,” or any combination of those words, phrases, or abbreviations of those words or phrases, or by representing that the person is trained, experienced, an expert, or otherwise qualified to practice in the field of acupuncture, Asian medicine, oriental medicine, or any other traditional, complementary, or integrative medicine that involves acupuncture and is associated with an Asian subgroup, including Chinese medicine, Japanese medicine, or Korean medicine.

(d)Subdivision (a) shall not prohibit a person from administering acupuncture treatment as part of the person’s educational training if the person is either of the following:

(1)Engaged in a course or tutorial program in acupuncture, as provided in this chapter.

(2)A graduate of an approved educational and training program and participating in a postgraduate review course that does not exceed one year in duration at an approved educational and training program.

SEC. 2.

 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.

SEC. 3.

 The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code.