Medical Board of California.

Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California for the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons and requires the board to have 7 public members. This bill would increase the number of public members of the board from 7 to 8, would require the first vacant position held by a physician and surgeon occurring on or after January 1, 2023, to become a public member position for that purpose, and would make other conforming changes. Existing law requires board members to be citizens of this state for the 5 years preceding their appointment to the board and requires at least 4 physician members to hold faculty appointments in a clinical department of an approved medical school in the state. This bill would instead require board members to be residents of this state for the 5 years preceding their appointment and would decrease the number of physician members that are required to hold specified faculty appointments from 4 to 3 members. Existing law authorizes the board to carry out disciplinary actions against licensees, authorizes the board to appoint panels of at least 4 members for this purpose, and prohibits a panel from being comprised of more public members than licensed physicians and surgeons. This bill would delete the prohibition against a panel being comprised of more public members than licensed physicians and surgeons.