850.  No healing arts licensing board or examining committee under
the Department of Consumer Affairs shall by regulation require an
applicant for licensure or certification to be a member of, to be
certified by, to be eligible to be certified or registered by, or
otherwise meet the standards of a specified private voluntary
association or professional society except as provided for in this
article.



851.  A healing arts licensure board or examining committee may by
regulation require an applicant for licensure or certification to
meet the standards of a specified private voluntary association or
professional society when either of the following conditions is met:

   (a) There is direct statutory authority or requirement that the
board or examining committee utilize the standards of the specified
private voluntary association or professional society; or
   (b) The board or examining committee specifies in the regulation
the amount of education, training, experience, examinations, or other
requirements of the private voluntary association or professional
society, which standards shall be consistent with the provisions of
law regulating such licensees, and the board or examining committee
adopts such standards in public hearing. The board or examining
committee may, by regulation, require an applicant to successfully
complete an examination conducted by or created by a relevant
national certification association, testing firm, private voluntary
association, or professional society.
   Nothing in this section authorizes the Medical Board of California
to limit the licensure of physicians and surgeons by specialty.



852.  (a) The Task Force on Culturally and Linguistically Competent
Physicians and Dentists is hereby created and shall consist of the
following members:
   (1) The State Director of Health Services and the Director of
Consumer Affairs, who shall serve as cochairs of the task force.
   (2) The Executive Director of the Medical Board of California.
   (3) The Executive Director of the Dental Board of California.
   (4) One member appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
   (5) One member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
   (b) Additional task force members shall be appointed by the
Director of Consumer Affairs, in consultation with the State Director
of Health Services, as follows:
   (1) Representatives of organizations that advocate on behalf of
California licensed physicians and dentists.
   (2) California licensed physicians and dentists that provide
health services to members of language and ethnic minority groups.
   (3) Representatives of organizations that advocate on behalf of,
or provide health services to, members of language and ethnic
minority groups.
   (4) Representatives of entities that offer continuing education
for physicians and dentists.
   (5) Representatives of California's medical and dental schools.
   (6) Individuals with experience in developing, implementing,
monitoring, and evaluating cultural and linguistic programs.
   (c) The duties of the task force shall include the following:
   (1) Developing recommendations for a continuing education program
that includes language proficiency standards of foreign language to
be acquired to meet linguistic competency.
   (2) Identifying the key cultural elements necessary to meet
cultural competency by physicians, dentists, and their offices.
   (3) Assessing the need for voluntary certification standards and
examinations for cultural and linguistic competency.
   (d) The task force shall hold hearings and convene meetings to
obtain input from persons belonging to language and ethnic minority
groups to determine their needs and preferences for having culturally
competent medical providers.  These hearings and meetings shall be
convened in communities that have large populations of language and
ethnic minority groups.
   (e) The task force shall report its findings to the Legislature
and appropriate licensing boards within two years after creation of
the task force.
   (f) The Medical Board of California and the Dental Board of
California shall pay the state administrative costs of implementing
this section.
   (g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require
mandatory continuing education of physicians and dentists.



853.  (a) A subcommittee of the task force established in Section
852 is hereby created to examine the feasibility of establishing a
pilot program that would allow Mexican and Caribbean licensed
physicians and dentists to practice in nonprofit community health
centers in California's medically underserved areas.
   (b) The subcommittee shall consist of the following members:
   (1) The State Director of Health Services, who shall serve as the
chair.
   (2) The Executive Director of the Medical Board of California.
   (3) The Executive Director of the Dental Board of California.
   (4) The Director of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development.
   (c) Additional subcommittee members shall be appointed by the
State Director of Health Services, including the following:
   (1) Representatives of organizations that advocate on behalf of
California licensed physicians and dentists.
   (2) A representative of a nonprofit clinic association that
advocates on behalf of members of language and ethnic minority groups
and provides health services to a patient population that meets the
following characteristics:
   (A) Over 77 percent of patients are members of ethnic groups.
   (B) Over 92 percent of patients have incomes less than 200 percent
of the poverty level.
   (C) Over 62 percent of patients do not speak English as their
primary language.
   (d) The subcommittee shall report to the task force by March 1,
2001, and the task force shall forward the report, with any
additional comments, to the Legislature by April 1, 2001.
   (e) The Medical Board of California and the Dental Board of
California shall pay the state administrative costs of implementing
this section.