Plain English Breakdown
The effective date is not provided in the official source material; only the chaptering date (2025-10-01) and board extension end date are known.
Changes to Rules for Physician Assistants and Podiatrists
This law extends the life of two medical boards, changes how many physician assistants a doctor can supervise, updates fees for licenses, clarifies rules about job titles, removes exam time limits for out-of-state podiatrist applicants, and requires electronic renewal forms with perjury penalties.
What This Bill Does
- Extends the operation of the Podiatric Medical Board and Physician Assistant Board until January 1, 2030.
- Removes the board's power to regulate physician assistant training programs.
- Increases the limit on how many physician assistants one doctor can supervise from four to eight at any time.
- Makes it a crime for unlicensed people to use the title 'podiatric surgeon' and states that podiatrists are not ancillary providers.
- Removes the rule requiring out-of-state podiatrist applicants to pass exams within the last 10 years.
- Changes license fees, including raising the biennial renewal fee for podiatrists to $1,900 and increasing application fees for physician assistants.
Who It Names or Affects
- Physician assistants in California
- Podiatrists (doctors of podiatric medicine) in California
- Doctors who supervise physician assistants
- The Podiatric Medical Board and the Physician Assistant Board
Terms To Know
- Biennial renewal fee
- A payment required every two years to keep a professional license active.
- Ancillary provider
- A health worker who supports doctors but is not the primary medical decision-maker; this law says podiatrists should not be treated as ancillary providers.
- Perjury
- The crime of lying under oath or on a legal document, which now applies to false information on license renewal forms.
Limits and Unknowns
- The official text does not list the specific effective date for these changes.
- While fees are listed, the law allows boards to raise some application and renewal fees up to certain maximum amounts without further legislative action.