Board of Psychology and Board of Behavioral Sciences.

Senator Ashby’s measure would keep the Board of Psychology in operation through the end of the decade and align a broad set of licensing and cross‑border practice provisions with that extended term, creating a framework that continues oversight while expanding training, reporting, and professional standards across psychology and related healing arts.

A centerpiece of the bill is to allow out‑of‑state doctoral‑level psychologists to offer psychological services in California for up to 30 consecutive days per calendar year, provided several conditions are met: the license is current and unrestricted, the client is located in California and has an established ongoing relationship, the client is informed about the limited timeframe and that the practitioner is not California‑licensed, the practitioner provides the board’s jurisdiction and license information, and the client is given the board’s website address. The measure also requires foreign credentials for applicants trained outside the United States or Canada to be evaluated by credential services recognized by national associations, establishing equivalence to U.S./Canadian degrees for licensure pathways. In addition, the board would broaden the allowable fields of study for registration as a psychological testing technician to include neuroscience, cognitive science, or behavioral science, with the board retaining final authority to determine educational sufficiency. A new $25 fee would apply to add or change a supervisor for a psychological testing technician.

The proposal extends several regulatory and educational requirements, including making supervision via videoconferencing permanent for certain supervisory arrangements, and maintaining a requirement that direct supervision occur regularly, with specific structures for how supervision is conducted and documented. It also expands disciplinary and posting requirements: the board would be authorized to post on its internet site information about current and former licensees and related enforcement actions, including disciplinary actions and accusations. The bill requires newly added or revised education and training for professionals, including mandatory human sexuality training for psychologists and research psychoanalysts, child abuse assessment and reporting training for licensure or renewal, and aging/long‑term care coursework as part of ongoing professional development. It also introduces continuing education requirements for research psychoanalysts, including categories of continuing professional development and minimum hour thresholds, and clarifies the board’s authority to fund these activities through associated fees. In addition, the measure revises processes for retired licenses and the restoration of licensure, requiring penalty‑of‑perjury statements and defined conditions for reactivation.

The bill situates these changes within a broader policy context the authors frame as enhancing public protection and professional competence. The authors’ findings discuss the need for consistent training in child, elder, and dependent‑adult abuse, the importance of ethical practice aligned with APA or APsaA standards, and the goal of ensuring timely reporting and appropriate interventions in abuse scenarios. The proposal also contemplates ongoing legislative oversight, including a provision that the board would be subject to legislative review, and it coordinates with related reform efforts that would depend on enactment of other bills. The measure states that certain fiscal and administrative provisions do not require reimbursement by local agencies. Overall, the package seeks to preserve and modernize California’s healing‑arts regulatory structure while expanding cross‑border practice, training mandates, and consumer transparency.