2435-2448
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE
SECTION 2435-2448
2435. The following fees apply to the licensure of physicians and surgeons: (a) Each applicant for a certificate based upon a national board diplomate certificate, each applicant for a certificate based on reciprocity, and each applicant for a certificate based upon written examination, shall pay a nonrefundable application and processing fee, as set forth in subdivision (b), at the time the application is filed. (b) The application and processing fee shall be fixed by the board by May 1 of each year, to become effective on July 1 of that year. The fee shall be fixed at an amount necessary to recover the actual costs of the licensing program as projected for the fiscal year commencing on the date the fees become effective. (c) Each applicant who qualifies for a certificate, as a condition precedent to its issuance, in addition to other fees required herein, shall pay an initial license fee, if any, in an amount fixed by the board consistent with this section. The initial license fee shall not exceed seven hundred ninety dollars ($790). An applicant enrolled in an approved postgraduate training program shall be required to pay only 50 percent of the initial license fee. (d) The biennial renewal fee shall be fixed by the board consistent with this section and shall not exceed seven hundred ninety dollars ($790). (e) Notwithstanding subdivisions (c) and (d), and to ensure that subdivision (k) of Section 125.3 is revenue neutral with regard to the board, the board may, by regulation, increase the amount of the initial license fee and the biennial renewal fee by an amount required to recover both of the following: (1) The average amount received by the board during the three fiscal years immediately preceding July 1, 2006, as reimbursement for the reasonable costs of investigation and enforcement proceedings pursuant to Section 125.3. (2) Any increase in the amount of investigation and enforcement costs incurred by the board after January 1, 2006, that exceeds the average costs expended for investigation and enforcement costs during the three fiscal years immediately preceding July 1, 2006. When calculating the amount of costs for services for which the board paid an hourly rate, the board shall use the average number of hours for which the board paid for those costs over these prior three fiscal years, multiplied by the hourly rate paid by the board for those costs as of July 1, 2005. Beginning January 1, 2009, the board shall instead use the average number of hours for which it paid for those costs over the three-year period of fiscal years 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08, multiplied by the hourly rate paid by the board for those costs as of July 1, 2005. In calculating the increase in the amount of investigation and enforcement costs, the board shall include only those costs for which it was eligible to obtain reimbursement under Section 125.3 and shall not include probation monitoring costs and disciplinary costs, including those associated with the citation and fine process and those required to implement subdivision (b) of Section 12529 of the Government Code. (f) Notwithstanding Section 163.5, the delinquency fee shall be 10 percent of the biennial renewal fee. (g) The duplicate certificate and endorsement fees shall each be fifty dollars ($50), and the certification and letter of good standing fees shall each be ten dollars ($10). (h) It is the intent of the Legislature that, in setting fees pursuant to this section, the board shall seek to maintain a reserve in the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California in an amount not less than two nor more than four months' operating expenditures. (i) Not later than January 1, 2012, the Office of State Audits and Evaluations within the Department of Finance shall commence a preliminary review of the board's financial status, including, but not limited to, its projections related to expenses, revenues, and reserves, and the impact of the loan from the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California to the General Fund made pursuant to the Budget Act of 2008. The office shall make the results of this review available upon request by June 1, 2012. This review shall be funded from the existing resources of the office during the 2011-12 fiscal year. 2435.1. (a) In addition to the fees charged for the initial issuance or biennial renewal of a physician and surgeon's certificate pursuant to Section 2435, and at the time those fees are charged, the board shall charge each applicant or renewing licensee an additional twenty-five dollar ($25) fee for the purposes of this section. (b) Payment of this twenty-five dollar ($25) fee shall be voluntary, paid at the time of application for initial licensure or biennial renewal, and due and payable along with the fee for the initial certificate or biennial renewal. (c) The board shall transfer all funds collected pursuant to this section, on a monthly basis, to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to augment the local assistance line item of the annual Budget Act in support of the Song-Brown Family Physician Training Act (Article 1 (commencing with Section 128200) of Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code). 2435.2. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if Article 14 (commencing with Section 2340) becomes inoperative or the diversion program described in that article is discontinued, the board shall reduce the amount of the following fees: (1) The initial license fee, as described in subdivision (c) of Section 2435. (2) The biennial renewal fee, as described in subdivision (d) of Section 2435. (3) An increase in the fees established pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 2435. (b) The amount of the reductions made pursuant to subdivision (a) shall equal the board's cost of operating the diversion program. (c) The board shall not make the reductions described in subdivision (a) if a diversion program is established by statute and requires the board to fund it in whole or in part from licensure fees. 2435.3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if Section 12529.6 of the Government Code remains operative on or after July 1, 2008, and is not repealed, the board may, by regulation, beginning January 1, 2009, increase the amount of the initial licensure fee and the biennial licensure renewal fee by a maximum of twenty dollars ($20) each, if an increase is required for the cost of transferring those employees. 2436. The fees in this article fixed by the board shall be set forth as emergency regulations duly adopted by the Division of Licensing. 2436.5. (a) In addition to the fees charged for the initial issuance or biennial renewal of a physician and surgeon's certificate pursuant to Section 2435, and at the time those fees are charged, the board shall charge each applicant or renewing licensee an additional twenty-five-dollar ($25) fee for the purposes of this section. The twenty-five-dollar ($25) fee shall be paid at the time of application for initial licensure or biennial renewal and shall be due and payable along with the fee for the initial certificate or biennial renewal. (b) The board shall transfer all funds collected pursuant to this section, on a monthly basis, to the Medically Underserved Account for Physicians created by Section 128555 of the Health and Safety Code for the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program. Notwithstanding Section 128555 of the Health and Safety Code, these funds shall not be used to provide funding for the Physician Volunteer Program. (c) Up to 15 percent of the funds collected pursuant to this section shall be dedicated to loan assistance for physicians and surgeons who agree to practice in geriatric care settings or settings that primarily serve adults over the age of 65 years or adults with disabilities. Priority consideration shall be given to those physicians and surgeons who are trained in, and practice, geriatrics and who can meet the cultural and linguistic needs and demands of diverse populations of older Californians. 2437. The board may fix a fee for the approval of postgraduate training for clinical service programs approved by the Division of Licensing at an amount equal to the cost to the division in reviewing applications for approval of those programs, but in no event shall the fee exceed four hundred dollars ($400). 2439. (a) Every licensee is exempt from the payment of the renewal fee and requirement for continuing medical education if the licensee has applied to the Division of Licensing for a retired license. The holder of a retired license may not engage in the practice of medicine or the practice of podiatric medicine. (b) If a physician and surgeon has applied to convert from retired status to active status on or after January 1, 2004, but prior to January 1, 2005, the fee to change license status shall be waived, unless the change in status coincides with the physician and surgeon' s license renewal date. The board shall refund any fees paid by a physician and surgeon to change from retired to active status after January 1, 2004, and before January 1, 2005, unless the change in status coincides with the physician and surgeon's license renewal date. 2440. (a) Every licensee is exempt from the payment of the renewal fee while engaged in full-time training or active service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines, or in the United States Public Health Service. (b) Every person exempted from the payment of the renewal fee by this section shall not engage in any private practice and shall become liable for payment of such fee for the current renewal period upon his or her discharge from full-time active service and shall have a period of 60 days after becoming liable within which to pay the renewal fee before the delinquency fee is required. Any person who is discharged from active service within 60 days of the end of a renewal period is exempt from the payment of the renewal fee for that period. (c) The time spent in full-time active service or training shall not be included in the computation of the five-year period for renewal and reinstatement of licensure provided in Sections 2427 and 2428. (d) Nothing in this section shall exempt a person, exempt from renewal fees under this section, from meeting the requirements of Article 10 (commencing with Section 2190). 2441. Any licensee who demonstrates to the satisfaction of the board that he or she is unable to practice medicine due to a disability may request a waiver of the license renewal fee. The granting of a waiver shall be at the discretion of the board and may be terminated at any time. Waivers shall be based on the inability of a licensee to practice medicine. A licensee whose renewal fee has been waived pursuant to this section shall not engage in the practice of medicine unless and until the licensee pays the current renewal fee and does either of the following: (a) Establishes to the satisfaction of the board, on a form prescribed by the board and signed under penalty of perjury, that the licensee's disability either no longer exists or does not affect his or her ability to practice medicine safely. (b) Signs an agreement on a form prescribed by the board, signed under penalty of perjury, in which the licensee agrees to limit his or her practice in the manner prescribed by the reviewing physician. 2442. The renewal fee shall be waived for a physician and surgeon residing in California who certifies to the Medical Board of California that license renewal is for the sole purpose of providing voluntary, unpaid service. 2443. The following fees apply to fictitious-name permits issued under Section 2415: (a) The initial permit fee shall be fifty dollars ($50). If the permit will expire less than one year after its issuance, then the initial permit fee is an amount equal to 50 percent of the fee in effect at the beginning of the current renewal cycle. (b) The biennial renewal fee shall be forty dollars ($40). (c) The delinquency fee is twenty dollars ($20). (d) The duplicate permit fee shall not exceed the cost of processing up to a maximum of fifty dollars ($50). 2445. All moneys paid to and received by the board shall be paid into the State Treasury and shall be credited to the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California. Those moneys shall be reported at the beginning of each month, for the month preceding, to the Controller. The contingent fund shall be for the use of the board and from it shall be paid all salaries and all other expenses necessarily incurred in carrying into effect the provisions of this chapter. If there is any surplus in these receipts after the board's salaries and expenses are paid, such surplus shall be applied solely to expenses incured under the provisions of this chapter. No surplus in these receipts shall be deposited in or transferred to the General Fund. 2446. Unless otherwise expressly provided in this chapter, all fines imposed or forfeitures of bail collected by any court in connection with any violation of the provisions of this chapter shall, as soon as practicable after receipt thereof, be deposited with the county treasurer of the county in which such court is situated. Amounts so deposited shall be paid at least once a month as follows: (a) Seventy-five percent to the State Treasurer by warrant of the county auditor drawn upon the requisition of the clerk or judge of the court for deposit as provided in Section 2445. (b) Twenty-five percent to the county where the case is pending. 2447. The board shall refund any fees, fines, or forfeitures in accordance with the provisions of Section 158. The board may expend from its contingent fund whatever sums may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. The State Treasurer and all other officials having custody of the funds of the board shall upon request or direction of the board pay out the refunds or approve such payments from the contingent fund. 2448. Notwithstanding the possession by a licensee of a renewal receipt or other acknowledgement of renewal of licensure, a license issued and renewed may, at any time, be suspended, revoked, or forfeited as provided in this chapter without refund of any fees.