| Assembly Bill 1943 (Chu) - standardized Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Education |
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Step 1: Call now! Look in the front of your phone book under "Government Officials," or Find your Assembly Member here. Then call and ask their staff to register your support for AB 1943! Ask if they have taken a position on the bill. |
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Step 2: Write a letter of support to Judy Chu on your office letterhead. |
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Step 3: Check with your association or on our website for further information! |
| Your support is key to getting this bill passed through the Assembly Floor! |
| Sample Support Letter - April 23, 2002 |
| The Honorable Judy Chu |
| State Capitol, Room 5126 |
| Sacramento, CA 95814 |
| Re: AB 1943 (Chu) - Acupuncturist Education - Support as Amended |
| Dear Assembly Member Chu: |
| I support Assembly Bill 1943, because it will require standardized acupuncture and oriental medicine training programs. Too many of our schools are requiring hundred of extra hours of widely varying classes in order to graduate. I am very concerned that they are becoming "diploma mills," instead of preparing students to enter the real world of health care. I want to feel comfortable when I refer a patient to another acupuncturist, knowing that they will receive a similar level of care that they would receive at my office. |
| Assembly Bill 1943 will: |
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Set education standard for licensed acupuncturists to 3,000 hours for students entering after January 1, 2004. |
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State Legislative intent to raise education standard for licensed acupuncturists to 4,000 hours by 2010. |
| Please support this important legislation to help student consumers of education and patient consumer of medical care. |
| Sincerely, |
| Dr. You, OMD, LAc |
| Fax to: (800) 388-2928 - CAOMA |
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| Status of Legislation |
| AB 1943 (Chu) - Acupuncturist Education Standards - Sponsored by CAOMA |
| AB 1943 moved out of the Assembly Appropriations Committe on May 22, and to the Assembly Floor. In the committee, CAOMA lobbyist, Steve English, testified in support of AB 1943. The Council of Colleges (CCAOM) testified against the legislation, presumably because that they do not support higher educational standards. Marilyn Neilsen, Executive Officer of the Acupuncture Board, testified that the Acupuncture Board had accepted the 3000 hour curriculum recommendation from their Task Force, and was in support of AB 1943. The Appropriations Committee only heard the bill because Ms. Neilsen had informed them that it could cost the Board as much as $15,000 over the next ten years to implement, since most of the work had been done by the Task Force. Judy Chu has agreed to make amendments to the bill once it gets into committee on the Senate side. Amendments will fix typos and leave the CE hours up to the Board to decide. |
| May 29 | Assembly Floor | Next Vote |
| May 22 | Passed 16-7 | |
| April 23 | Assembly Health Committee | |
| April 16 | ||
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| SB 1705 (Burton) - Workers Compensation QME Requirements - Sponsored by CAOMA |
| SB 1705 moved off the Senate Florr and onto the Assembly in a partisan vote. In the Assembly, it is waiting for assignment to a policy committee. |
| May 16 | Assembly | |
| May 16 | Senate Floor | Passed 21-12 |
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| Medi-Cal Coverage for Acupuncture - Part of the State Budget Legislation |
| While we worked hard to get letters of support to the Chairs of both the Senate and Assembly Budget sub-committees dealing with Medi-Cal, the letters sent to Gil Cedillo, Chair of the Assembly Budget Sub-Committee 1 were not delivered to the committee because Cedillo has been on leave due to a famiily illness. Luckily, CAOMA's lobbyist, Steve English, was monitoring the situation, and the author of AB 1943, Assembly Member Judy Chu, serves on the Budget committee. At the committee meeting, Steve was informed that they had none of the letters from our profession that we knew were sent. Steve got them a copy of our letter of support, and attended the lengthy hearing until he was able to present our support letter and testimony at the end of the day on May 22. |
| June | work out differences in budget | |
| May 31 | ||
| May 23 | acupuncture restored to budget | |
| May 18 | Senate Budget Sub-Committee 3 | acupuncture restored to budget |
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| SB 573 (Burton) - Insurance Coverage for Acupuncture - Sponsored by CAOMA |
| SB 573 had been on hold for nearly a year, waiting in the Assembly for official assignment to a policy committee. |
| June ?? | Assembly Policy Committee |
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| SB 1750 (Spieir) - Ephedra Labeling and Sales Restrictions - CAOMA Opposes unless amended |
| SB 1750 sets labeling and sales restrictions for certain dietary supplements, including any that contain ephedra (ma huang). CAOMA has taken an "oppose unless amended" position to exempt acupuncturists, so we can continue to prescribe herb formulas in a traditional manner. |
| May | Assembly | |
| May 23 | Senate Floor | Passed 27-9 |
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| SB 1951 - Acupuncture Board Sunrise Renewal - CAOMA Opposes unless amended |
| SB 1951 is the bill which renews the Acupuncture Board, but also allows the Department of Consumer Affairs to spend the Board's money to hire an "independnet consultant" to duplicate the work that the Board has been working on in regards to curriculum, the exam, scope of practice, and school approval. The Department of Consumer Affairs estimates that it will cost $150,000 - $250,000 for the consultant. Licensing fees will be increased to cover the costs. |
| May 16 | Senate Floor | third reading, waiting for vote |
| May 16 | Senate Appropriations Committee | by-passed (no budget addressed) |
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| SB 1477 - Student Loan Default - CAOMA has written a letter of concern |
| SB 1477 died in committee. However, the intent of the bill will be transplanted to SB 2026 soon, and will be extensively rewritten. Senator Speier intends to take CAOMA's recommendations into consideration at that time. |
| June ?? | Senate Insurance Committee | |
| May 24 | Died |