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Committee moves AB 667 to watch list after amendments exempt healing‑arts boards
Summary
AB 667, a bill to allow applicants with limited English proficiency to use interpreters for licensing exams, was updated with amendments that exempt healing‑arts boards including the Board of Psychology; staff recommended moving the bill to the watch list for further monitoring.
The committee reviewed Assembly Bill 667, which would require boards and the Department of Public Health to allow applicants who cannot read, write or speak English to use an interpreter during the oral and/or verbal portions of licensure or certification examinations. Earlier versions proposed the interpreter at no cost to the applicant.
Staff reported the bill was amended March–April to change scope and cost provisions. On April 9 the bill’s language was again amended to place boards in Division 2 (healing‑arts boards) under a separate jurisdictional arrangement, effectively exempting those boards from the interpreter requirement as drafted that day. Because the bill has changed repeatedly and could be amended again, staff recommended the Board of Psychology move the item to its watch list and continue to monitor future amendments.
Board members asked whether the bill would affect the board’s TOEFL and other regulatory requirements used for applicants who earned degrees overseas; staff explained that if the bill ultimately imposed an interpreter requirement at board expense, it could trigger regulatory and contract changes with test vendors, but under the April 9 amendment the board is currently exempt.
The committee accepted the staff recommendation to keep AB 667 on the watch list and to return if the bill’s language changes in ways that would affect the board’s licensing process.
