Court Rules State Can Use Doc Licensing Fees to Help Bridge Budget Gap

Many other state agencies that are entirely funded with licensing fees also struggle with worker furloughs. They include boards that license and discipline acupuncturists, barbers and cosmetologists, behavioral scientists, dentists and dental hygienists, hearing aid dispensers, doctors and osteopaths, naturopathic medicine practitioners, and nurses.

Also occupational therapists, optometrists, pharmacists, physical therapists, physicians assistants, podiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric technicians, respiratory care therapists, speech pathologists and audiologists, medical advice service bureau employees, and vocational nurses.

Workers within some divisions of the state Department of Public Health and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, which is reviewing hospital seismic compliance, are also funded with special fees and have also seen work slow.

The CMA case is only one of at least seven cases filed by state workers and others against the Schwarzenegger administration to challenge his furlough order, many of which are in appeal stages. The CMA said that its case could ultimately be decided by the state Supreme Court, if all the cases are consolidated.

The CMA's lawsuit also takes issue with a move by the governor last year to appropriate $6 million of those fees from the Medical Board fund into the state's general fund for general state use.