Report 2009-043 Recommendation 1 Responses

Report 2009-043: Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun: It Needs to Develop Procedures and Controls Over Its Operations and Finances to Ensure That It Complies With Legal Requirements (Release Date: November 2009)

Recommendation #1 To: Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun, Board of

To ensure that it consistently adheres to requirements in state law when licensing pilots, the board should establish and implement a procedure for approving and monitoring board-appointed physicians.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From May 2014

The Board entered into an interagency agreement with the University of California, San Francisco Campus that sets forth, among other things, the following: the requirements to be a Board-appointed physician; a requirement for the BOPC Executive Directors pre-approval of all physicians; the duties of physicians to implement recently enacted medical assessment and fitness determination regulations found in 7 CCR, 217; and, a requirement that the BOPCs Executive Director meet annually with physicians to review processes and analyze experiences as part of a performance monitoring process.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

The board's contract with the University of California, San Francisco campus includes a procedure for the university to provide names and resumes of physicians to the board and for the board's executive director to approve those physicians to perform the functions outlined in the contract.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2013

A 101-page study entitled, "Pilot Fitness Study for the Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun," prepared by Dr. Robert Kosnik, MD of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, was delivered to the Board on May 26, 2011. The Board formally accepted the study on that day. The study provides 20 recommendations, most of which were adopted by the Board. These recommendations, once put into regulation, make substantial changes to Board procedures for pilot fitness determinations, including establishment of a two-physician fitness determination in a clinic setting.

The Board directed its Pilot Fitness Committee and Rules and Regulations Committee jointly to begin a series of public workshops that addressed the full range of recommendations from the study. The first workshop was held on July 19, 2011.

The Board had planned to commence administrative rulemaking to facilitate establishment and implementation of a procedure for approving and monitoring Board-appointed physicians in November 2012, followed by a competitive procurement for Board physician services. The public workshops took longer than anticipated and a draft of the proposed regulation entered formal public comment period on July 26, 2013. The 45- day public comment period ended on September 9, 2013, with one comment received and responded to in the "Final Statement of Reasons".

The final regulation is expected to be submitted to the Office of Administrative Law by the end of October 2013 (currently clearing the Department of Finance). An additional appropriation may be required in order for the Board to implement these changes by contracting with a clinic or medical group. Please see attached draft regulation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented

The Board of Pilot Commissioners (board) has drafted regulations which outline the qualification standards for board-appointed physicians and describes the duties of those physicians. As the board states in its response, the draft regulations are not yet final.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From September 2012

A 101-page study entitled, “Pilot Fitness Study for the Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun,” prepared by Dr. Robert Kosnik, MD of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, was delivered to the Board on May 26, 2011. The Board formally accepted the study on that day. The study provides 20 recommendations that, if adopted by the Board, will make substantial changes to Board procedures for pilot fitness determinations, including recommendations that would establish a two-physician fitness determination in a clinic setting. The Board also directed staff to initiate the preliminary stages by contracting with a consultant to prepare a market survey of costs and other matters necessary. The Board has also directed its Pilot Fitness Committee and Rules and Regulations Committee jointly to begin a series of public workshops that will address the full range of recommendations from the study. The first workshop was held on July 19, 2011. The Board plans to commence administrative rulemaking to facilitate establishment and implementation of a procedure for approving and monitoring Board-appointed physicians in November 2012, followed by a competitive procurement for Board physician services. An additional appropriation may be required in order for the Board to implement these changes.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented

All Recommendations in 2009-043

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.