May 27, 2005

Senate Bill 233 "Dead"!

Today marks the official deadline for bills to move from the Senate Appropriations Committee to the Senate Floor for a full vote of the Senate. With the passage of this deadline, Senator Figueroa's Senate Bill 233 can be considered "dead" for the balance of this year. SB 233 would have eliminated the California Acupuncture Board and would have severely restricted the authority of Licensed Acupuncturists to assess, diagnose, and communicate with patients.

AIMS extends a hearty "Thank you!" to everyone--practitioners and consumers--who took time to send opposition messages and encourage others to join in this fight. The defeat of SB 233 would not have been possible without the overwhelming participation of everyone involved. We have been informed that Sacramento was deluged with faxes, emails, and phone calls in opposition. The AIMS Online Advocacy system alone generated more than 1,000 opposition messages, and this does not even begin to account for the thousands of other messages sent directly to legislative members.

While SB 233 may be defeated, our work is not done yet.

The California Acupuncture Board is scheduled to automatically "sunset" in 2006 unless the legislature acts to extend it. AIMS is currently working with our legislative allies to make this happen. Once a bill is introduced, we will again need the full support of both the profession and consumers to ensure its passage.

The "diagnostic authority" of Licensed Acupuncturists has yet to be settled by the legislature and will continue to be an issue until resolved in statute. AIMS believes that solutions to the many challenging issues facing our profession are best achieved through an exchange of ideas among all major stakeholders. AIMS will be facilitating forums for debate and discussion on these issues. Authentic and quality communication within the profession will increase our opportunities for legislative success.