LEGISLATIVE ADVISORY: SB 786 (Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development) Chapter 456, Statutes of 2019 – Healing Arts.
OPERATIVE DATE OF LEGISLATION: JANUARY 1, 2020
Attention Board of Psychology (Board) stakeholders:
Senate Bill (SB) 786 (Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development) was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 2, 2019, and became operative January 1, 2020. This legislation makes technical and clarifying amendments to Business and Professions Code Sections 2940 and 2941 regarding initial application and examination requirements for licensure as a psychologist.
SUMMARY OF CHANGES:
This bill makes clarifying amendments to the Board’s initial application for licensure requirements in Business and Professions Code Section 2940 by making the text plain language and fixing an incorrect statutory reference regarding the application fee. These amendments fix the statutory reference to the application fee to correctly reference Business and Professions Code Section 2987. Application fees remain non-refundable under these amendments.
This bill also makes clarifying amendments to the Board’s examination requirements in Business and Professions Code Section 2941. These amendments clarify that applicants for licensure as a psychologist must take and pass any examinations required by the Board. [These requirements are specified in Title 16 California Code of Regulations (CCR) sections 1388 – 1389.1 and include passage of the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) and the California Psychology Laws and Ethics Examination (CPLEE).] The amendments also specify the subject matter on which applicants may be examined, allowing that “an applicant may be examined for knowledge in any theoretical or applied fields of psychology, as well as professional skills and judgment in the use of psychological techniques and methods and the ethical practice of psychology, as the board deems appropriate.” Lastly, the requirement that the payment of the examination fees be made 30 days prior to the date of the examination was deleted. Examination fees remain non-refundable under these amendments.
NOTE: Examination fees are still set out in Business and Professions Code Section 2987. The amount of the examination fee for the CPLEE is set in 16 CCR section 1392(b). The examination fee for the EPPP is set by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB), which develops and administers the EPPP, and all examination fees for the EPPP are paid directly to ASPPB.
In short, this bill makes no changes to the examination or initial application process for the Board of Psychology; it simply makes technical amendments to outdated references and language.
