SB 679

SB679:v97#DOCUMENT

Bill Start

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 679

An act to add Section 805.3 to the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 679, as amended, Weber Pierson. Health care facilities: physicians and surgeons: terminations and revocation of staff privileges: data reporting by race and gender.

Existing law establishes a peer review process for certain healing arts licensees and requires peer review bodies to review licensee conduct under specified circumstances. If a licentiate’s membership, staff privileges, or employment is terminated or revoked for a medical disciplinary cause or reason, existing law requires the chief executive officer or administrator of a licensed health care facility, among others, to file an “805 report” with the relevant state licensing agency having regulatory jurisdiction over the licentiate.

This bill would require a health care facility or peer review body, on or before March 1 of each year, to submit a report to the Civil Rights Department and the Medical Board of California that includes, among other data, the number of physicians and surgeons and medical residents at the health care facility who were terminated, the number of physicians and surgeons who applied completed an application for staff privileges, were granted staff privileges, or for whom staff privileges were suspended or revoked, and the number of physicians and surgeons or medical residents in those categories, stratified by race and gender. The bill would require the Civil Rights Department, on or before September 1 of each year, to publish the data information on the department’s internet website without disclosing website, would require the information to be aggregated and deidentified, and would prohibit disclosure of the names of the health care facilities or any personally identifiable information.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 805.3 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:

805.3.

(a) On or before March 1 of each year, a health care facility or peer review body shall submit a report to the Civil Rights Department and the Medical Board of California that includes, for the prior calendar year, the following:

(1) The number of physicians and surgeons and medical residents at the health care facility who were terminated.

(2) The number of physicians and surgeons who applied completed an application for staff privileges at the health care facility.

(3) The number of physicians and surgeons who were granted staff privileges at the health care facility.

(4) The number of physicians and surgeons whose staff privileges were revoked at the health care facility.

(5) The number of physicians and surgeons and medical residents at the health care facility whose staff privileges were suspended.

(5)

(6) The percentage of physicians and surgeons in each of the categories specified in paragraphs (1) to (4), (5), inclusive, who identified their race or gender.

(6)

(7) The percentage of medical residents at the health care facilities who were terminated and who identified their race or gender.

(7)

(8) The number of physicians and surgeons in each of the categories specified in paragraphs (1) to (4), (5), inclusive, and who identified their race or gender, stratified by race and gender.

(8)

(9) The number of medical residents at the health care facilities who were terminated and who identified their race or gender, stratified by race and gender.

(b) A health care facility or peer review body may submit a single report containing all of the information required to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a).

(b)

(c) (1)On or before September 1 of each year, the Civil Rights Department shall publish on its internet website and make available to the public the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (a). The department published information shall be aggregated and deidentified, shall not disclose the names of the health care facilities facilities, and shall remove any personally identifying information.

(2) Except as specified in paragraph (1), the information submitted to the department pursuant to subdivision (a) is confidential and shall not be disclosed pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).

SEC. 2.

The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act, which adds Section 805.3 to the Business and Professions Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:

This act strikes a balance between disclosing relevant information to the public while protecting the privacy of individuals and health care facilities subject to the act.