| SB 907 Amended to Exclude Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine |
| SB 907, which will license Naturopathic Doctors in California, was amended in the Assembly Business and Professions Committee, and passed on a 13-0 vote. Last minute negotiations between CAOMA, Senator Burton, and the Naturopaths resulted in the exclusion of “Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese and Oriental Medicine, including Chinese Herbal Medicine” from the scope of practice of Naturopathic Doctors. Other amendments were agreed to be made at the request of the California Naturopathic Association, which is made up of traditional naturopaths, who opposed the legislation based upon the fact that Naturopathic Doctors have diluted and altered the practice of naturopathy and are taking the title from them. Amendments assure that they can continue to call themselves naturopaths, and can practice naturopathy without a license. Both amendments were partially reflected in the “Legislative Analysis” printed prior to the hearing, but will not be formally inserted until after this hearing. |
| Background |
| On May 18, CAOMA members voted to take an “oppose unless amended” position on SB 907, because Naturopathic Doctors in other states claim that acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and Oriental medicine in their scopes of practice with only cursory training and no standards. Training for Doctor of Naturopathy only includes a total of about 120 hours of herbal medicine and about 50 hours of Chinese Medicine. CAOMA informed Senator Burtons’ staff about CAOMA’s position following our meeting, and Burton’s staff said that they would review our request set up a meeting. On June 26, after hearing nothing from Burton's staff except that the bill would be amented per our request, we contacted them again and found that they had arranged for an amendment that was not acceptable. Realizing their error, a meeting was quickly arranged with CAOMA representatives. CAOMA contacted others about the meeting and about availability to testify at the July 1 hearing, if necessary. CAOMA president Michelle Lau and Dr. Deke Kendall of the National Guild were able to attend the early morning meeting on June 30 with Burton's staff and with representatives of the California Naturopathic Association. CAOMA Executive Director Brian Fennen hammered out the draft and final amendments with Burton's staff. Brian Fennen and Neal Miller attended the Tuesday hearing, in case the amendments were not accepted. |
| On the day of the hearing - July 1 - the hearing room and hallway were packed with over one hundred people, mostly there to testify on SB 907. (there were other bills on the agenda too). Supporters argued that Naturopathic Doctors are licensed in other states, and should be allowed to practice in California. Opponents argued that the practice of naturopathy should not be regulated at all. Dozens of Mexican-Americans testified that they were concerned that their traditional healers would be arrested for practicing herbal medicine and other healing arts. Fennen testified that CAOMA accepted the amendments offered by Senator Burton. San Francisco Assemblyman Leland Yee, a member of the Committee, asked Fennen to clarify CAOMA’s position. (During negotiations, Yee had been contacted by CAOMA, informed about our concerns, and wanted assurances that the final amendments were acceptable.) The Chair of the Committee, Lou Correa, also asked if CAOMA was now supporting SB 907, and Fennen replied that CAOMA was only removing its opposition and was now “Neutral” on SB 907. Neal Miller decided to testify on behalf of the CCAA that they also withdrew their opposition, based upon CAOMA's amendments. The lobbyist for the California Medical Association stated that they continued to take an “oppose unless amended” position, but voiced their belief that Senator Burton would continue to work with them to remove some of the “minor office procedures” listed in the scope of practice bill before it passed the Assembly. Assemblyman Correa and Yee, along with the other Committee Members, voted to pass SB 907. Deke Kendall and CSOMA lobbyist Steve English also attended the hearing, in case additional testimony was required. SB 907 now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. |
| A special thanks should go to CAOMA president Michelle Lau for organizing all of the California Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine associations to lobby Senator Burton to amend SB 907. We believe that every association registered their opposition to SB 907 before the hearing. UCPCM, CSOMA, and the Guild were particularly helpful in CAOMA’s last-minute negotiations. |
| SB 582 Amended to Allow Pharmacists to Distribute Prescribed Ephedrine-Containing Products |
| SB 582, authored by Senator Jackie Speier, and which prohibits the public sale and distributions of dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids (e.g. Ma Huang - Ephedra), was amended and passed out of the Assembly Health Committee on a 13-5 vote, with the added support of CAOMA. Initially, SB 582 would have prohibited acupuncturists from prescribing Ma Huang formulas. SB 582 was amended on June 16 at the request of CAOMA, and now exempts acupuncturists and other licensed health care practitioners from its provisions. During this hearing, |
| This language was similar to language suggested by CAOMA, as we informed Senator Speier that Ephedra is not used for such purposes in traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine. Senator Speier further amended SB 582 yesterday exempt pharmacists who fill prescriptions for ephedra products. |
| (c) Dietary supplement products containing ephedrine group alkaloids that are sold or distributed directly to a licensed pharmacist for resale to a patient for whom the products have been prescribed pursuant to subdivision (a). |