AB 1279: Music therapy.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various healing arts practitioners by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Existing law defines unfair competition to mean and include any unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice and unfair, deceptive, untrue, or misleading advertising. Under existing law, a person who engages in unfair competition is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $2,500 for each violation.

Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and sets forth its powers and duties over the regulation of health facilities and adult day health care centers, including, but not limited to, adopting regulations setting forth applicable staffing standards. Existing regulations of the department applicable to intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled and for adult day health care centers define music therapist as a person who has a bachelors degree in music therapy and who is registered or eligible for registration by the National Association for Music Therapy, now known as the American Music Therapy Association.

This bill would prohibit a person who provides music therapy, as defined, from using the title of Board Certified Music Therapist unless the person has completed specified education and clinical training requirements. The bill would also establish that it is an unfair business practice for a person to use the title Board Certified Music Therapist if he or she does not meet those requirements. The bill would prohibit its provisions from being construed to authorize a person engaged in music therapy to state or imply that he or she provides mental health counseling, psychotherapy, or occupational therapy for which a license is required and provide that use of music therapy shall not imply or suggest that the person is a Board Certified Music Therapist, if he or she does not meet specified criteria.