On behalf of the Board of Directors of CalABA, we wanted you to be among the first to know that we have decided not to move forward this year with our legislation to license behavior analysts, Assembly Bill 1715 authored by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena). 

We have made this difficult decision despite our great success earlier this year moving the legislation through the Assembly. AB 1715 won approval from the Business & Professions Committee (14-0), the Assembly Appropriations Committee (15-1), and the full Assembly (74-1). These votes were major steps toward ensuring that consumers of ABA services benefit from the work of qualified individuals. Despite our best efforts, it appeared the legislation would be amended to include language that would hurt – rather than help – our profession and consumers. As a result, after consulting with multiple stakeholders and the bill author, we have decided to withdraw the bill from further consideration by the legislature this year.

Like you, we are saddened and disappointed by this action. It was necessary, however, to ensure the integrity of our profession and to protect consumers.

But all is not lost. In the coming months, we will be meeting with our opponents to educate them further on the purpose and scope of the legislation in the hope they will withdraw their opposition. We are confident that we will ultimately win support for a licensure bill if key players are made fully aware that it would license only professional practitioners of ABA, not providers of other types of behavioral health services.

Passing legislation of this nature in California is typically a difficult and drawn-out process. Our bill is no different.

Thank you for your support of our efforts during this legislative session. We look forward to working closely together in the near future on this critical issue for our profession. We welcome your questions, thoughts, and feedback at [email protected]

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