Last Thursday, a San Francisco Superior Court handed a setback to the California Medical Association in their bid to eliminate furloughs for staff at the Medical Board of California. The court ruled that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was within his rights to mandate furlough days for Medical Board staff.

The Court also upheld the transfer of $6 million in physicians' fees to other agencies.

This lawsuit was filed last fall by CMA, which has consistently argued that the fee transfer is unconstitutional and that the furloughs are affecting patient care and physician licensing in California. As an example, CMA claims that physician licensing should take approximately 60 business days (about three months). At present, it is taking more than five months.

The Association is considering an appeal.

In an attempt to answer this ruling, this week, the State Assembly and Senate approved a bill that would exempt employees “in positions funded at least 95% by sources other than the General Fund,” from furloughs implemented by any state agency, board, or commission.

However, a spokesman for the Governor said he was “likely to veto” SBX8 29.