BILL NUMBER: AB 982 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 29, 2002
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 5, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Firebaugh
FEBRUARY 23, 2001
An act to add and repeal Sections 6061.5 and 6061.7 to
the Business and Professions Code, relating to law schools.
An act to add Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 1970) to
Chapter 4 of, and Article 7.75 (commencing with Section 2155) to
Chapter 5 of, Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, and to
add Article 5 (commencing with Section 128050) to Chapter 2 of Part
3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to health
care.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 982, as amended, Firebaugh. Law Schools
Health care .
Existing law, the Dental Practice Act and the Medical Practice
Act, regulate the practice of medicine and dentistry in this state.
This bill would establish the California Dental Corps Loan
Assumption Program and the California Physician Corps Loan Assumption
Program which would be administered by the Office of Statewide
Health Planning and Development. The bill would authorize loan
repayments, up to a specified amount, to participating, qualified,
and licensed physicians and dentists who practice in underserved
areas of the state. The bill would require the office to administer
financial or other incentives to experienced dentists and physicians
in an effort to market the programs at medical and dental schools in
the state.
This bill would create the Community Healthcare Service Expansion
Fund containing the Dentally Underserved Account and the Medically
Underserved Account. The bill would authorize the Dentally
Underserved Account to be funded by a $3,000,000 transfer from the
State Dentistry Fund. The bill would authorize the Medically
Underserved Account to be funded by a $3,000,000 transfer from the
Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California.
This bill would require both programs to report to the Legislature
on an annual basis regarding the number of program participants,
practice locations, and the costs of the programs.
Under existing law, law schools are required to meet specified
requirements in order to be accredited. To be licensed to practice
law, a person must have passed a law students' examination after
completion of his or her first year in law school. Existing law
provides exceptions to the first-year law student examination
requirement for students of accredited law schools and out-of-state
attorneys who meet specified criteria.
This bill would require the State Bar examining committee to
report to the Legislature on or before July 31, 2002, regarding the
committee's efforts to develop standards for accreditation of law
schools that offer their entire educational program via the Internet
and its efforts to review the library content requirement for law
school accreditation. The bill would also require the committee to
report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2004, regarding the
effectiveness and scope of the first-year law student examination.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:
no yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 6061.5 is added to the Business and
SECTION 1. This act shall be known as the Community Healthcare
Service Expansion Act.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) According to the 2000 Census and its Supplementary Survey,
communities of color represent a majority, 53 percent, of the state's
population. In addition, almost 40 percent of Californians speak a
language other than English at home.
(b) To improve the health care of diverse populations and to
eliminate health disparities, culturally and linguistically
appropriate services are critical. For example, the provision of
language assistance services results in improved quality of health
care, increased access to health services, reduced medical errors,
and greater provider-patient trust and satisfaction for
limited-English proficient populations.
(c) The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority
Health published standards for culturally and linguistically
appropriate services (CLAS) on December 22, 2000. These CLAS
standards outlined requirements, guidelines and recommendations on
how health care organizations can make their practices more
culturally and linguistically accessible, with the ultimate goal of
eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities.
(d) The cost of receiving medical and dental education and
training results in many new physicians and dentists being unable to
afford to work in underserved communities, including those that face
cultural and linguistic barriers to care, because of the need to
repay student loans.
(e) Despite some existing programs to repay student loans for
physicians who commit to work in underserved areas, there are still
inadequate numbers of physicians that are culturally or
linguistically competent to serve these areas. The same holds true
for dentists, for whom few subsidized loan repayment programs or
options exist.
(f) It is in the interest of the state and its residents that
medical and dental services be provided throughout California in a
manner that can be effectively accessed by the residents of all
communities.
SEC. 3. Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 1970) is added to
Chapter 4 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, to
read:
Article 9.5. California Dental Corps Loan Repayment Program
1970. This program shall be known and may be cited as the
California Dental Corps Loan Repayment Program of 2002.
1970.05. It is the intent of the Legislature to create a
voluntary Advisory Committee to provide input and development of the
California Dental Corps Loan Repayment Program. The advisory
Committee shall be a group formed by the Division of Licensing, the
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, and the Dental
Board of California, consisting of, at a minimum, the medical and
dental community including ethnic representatives, medical and dental
schools, health advocates representing ethnic communities, primary
care clinics, statewide agencies administering state and federally
funded programs targeting under-served communities and members of the
public with health care issue-area expertise.
1971. For the purposes of this article, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(a) "Board" means the Dental Board of California.
(b) "Office" means Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development.
(c) "Program" means the California Dental Corps Loan Repayment
Program.
(d) "Dentally underserved area" means a geographic area eligible
to be designated as having a shortage of dental professionals
pursuant to Part I of Appendix B to Part 5 of Chapter 1 of Title 42
of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(e) "Dentally underserved population" means uninsured persons and
persons eligible for the Denti-Cal and Healthy Families Programs who
are population groups described as having a shortage of dental care
professionals in Part I of Appendix B to Part 5 of Chapter 1 of Title
42 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(f) "Practice setting" means:
(1) A community clinic, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section
1204 and subdivision (c) of Section 1206 of the Health and Safety
Code, which is located in a dentally underserved area and at least 75
percent of whose patients are from a dentally underserved
population; or
(2) A dental practice or dental corporation, as defined in Section
1800 of this code, located in a dentally underserved area and at
least 75 percent of whose patients are from a dentally underserved
population.
(g) "Medi-Cal threshold languages" means primary languages spoken
by limited-English proficient (LEP) population groups meeting a
numeric threshold of 3,000, eligible LEP Medi-Cal beneficiaries
residing in a county, 1,000 Medi-Cal eligible LEP beneficiaries
residing in a single zip code, or 1,500 LEP Medi-Cal beneficiaries
residing in two contiguous zip codes. The current Medi-Cal threshold
languages are Spanish, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong, Armenian,
Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Russian, Farsi, Khmer, and Lao.
(h) "Fund" means the Community Healthcare Service Expansion Fund.
(i) "Account" means the Dentally Underserved Account which is
contained within the fund.
1972. (a) Program applicants shall possess a current valid
license to practice dentistry in this state issued by the board
pursuant to Section 1626.
(b) The board, in collaboration with the office and the advisory
committee, shall develop the guidelines for selection and placement
of applicants.
(1) Guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, ensuring loan
repayment to applicants who have received a warrant pursuant to
Article 5 (commencing with Section 128050) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of
Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code and meet the following
conditions:
(A) Applicants shall be working in a dentally underserved area.
(B) Applicants shall work in an eligible practice setting as
defined in this article.
(2) Guidelines shall provide priority consideration to applicants
who are best suited to meet the cultural and linguistic needs and
demands of medically underserved populations and that meet one or
more of the following criteria:
(A) Speak a Medi-Cal threshold language.
(B) Come from an economically disadvantaged background.
(C) Have received significant training in cultural and
linguistically appropriate service delivery.
(D) Have worked with dentally underserved communities for at least
three years.
(E) Recently received a license to practice dentistry.
(3) The guidelines shall include a process for determining the
needs for dentist services identified by the practice setting.
(4) Guidelines shall seek to place the most qualified applicants
under this section in the areas with the greatest need.
(5) Guidelines shall include a factor ensuring geographic
distribution of placements.
(c) The board may fill up to 20 percent of the available positions
with program applicants from specialties outside of the primary care
specialties.
(d) Program applicants shall be working in or have a signed
agreement with an eligible practice setting. The program participant
shall have full-time status.
(e) Program participants shall commit to a minimum of three years
of service in a dentally underserved area. The board, in
collaboration with the advisory committee, shall develop the process
for determining the maximum length of an absence and the process for
reinstatement. Loan repayment shall be deferred until the dentist is
back to full-time status.
(f) The board, in collaboration with the advisory committee, shall
develop the process if a dentist is not able to complete his or her
three-year obligation.
(g) The board, in collaboration with the office and the advisory
committee, shall develop a process for outreach to potentially
eligible applicants. The process shall include outreach to
undergraduate students and medical magnet high schools.
(h) The board may adopt any other standards of eligibility,
placement and termination appropriate to achieve the aim of providing
competent dental services in these approved practice settings.
1973. (a) The Dentally Underserved Account is hereby created in
the Community Healthcare Service Expansion Fund.
(b) The sum of three million dollars ($3,000,000) is hereby
transferred from the State Dentistry Fund to the Dentally Underserved
Account in the Community Healthcare Service Expansion Fund. Moneys
in the account may be expended for the purposes of this article when
appropriated by the Legislature.
(c) The board is authorized to seek matching funds from
foundations and private sources for the purposes of this article.
1975. The terms of loan repayment granted under this article
shall be as follows:
(a) After a program participant has completed one year of
providing services as a dentist in a dentally underserved area, the
division shall provide up to twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000)
for loan repayment.
(b) After a program participant has completed two consecutive
years of providing services as a dentist in a dentally underserved
area, the division shall provide up to an additional thirty-five
thousand dollars ($35,000) of loan repayment, for a total loan
repayment of up to sixty thousand dollars ($60,000).
(c) After a program participant has completed three consecutive
years of providing services as a dentist in a dentally underserved
area, the division shall provide up to a maximum of an additional
forty-five thousand dollars ($45,000) of loan repayment, for a total
loan repayment of up to one hundred five thousand dollars ($105,000).
1976. The board shall report to the Legislature annually on the
following:
(a) Number of the program participants.
(b) Practice locations.
(c) Amount expended for the program.
(d) Information on annual performance reviews by the practice
settings and program participants.
1977. (a) On January 1, 2003, applications from dentists for
program participation may be submitted until January 30, 2003.
(b) The board shall report to the Legislature, no later than
October 1, 2004, the experience of the program since its inception,
an evaluation of its effectiveness in improving access to dental care
for underserved populations, and recommendations for maintaining or
expanding its operation.
(c) The board may promulgate emergency regulations to implement
the program.
1978. It is the intent of the Legislature that the program
created under this article be developed into a continuous program
administered by the office.
SEC. 4. Article 7.7 (commencing with Section 2155) is added to
Chapter 5 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, to
read:
Article 7.7. California Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program
2155. This program shall be known and may be cited as the
California Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program of 2002.
2155.05. It is the intent of the Legislature to create a
voluntary Advisory Committee to provide input and development of the
California Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program. The Advisory
Committee shall be a group formed by the Division of Licensing, the
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, and the Medical
Board of California, consisting of, at a minimum, the medical and
dental community including ethnic representatives, medical and dental
schools, health advocates representing ethnic communities, primary
care clinics, statewide agencies administering state and federally
funded programs targeting under-served communities and members of the
public with health care issue-area expertise.
2155.1. For the purposes of this article, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(a) "Division" means the Division of Licensing.
(b) "Office" means Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development (OSHPD).
(c) "Program" means the California Physician Corps Loan Repayment
Program.
(d) "Medically underserved area" means an area as defined in Part
5 of Chapter 1 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations or an
area of the state where unmet priority needs for physicians exist as
determined by the Health Manpower Policy Commission pursuant to
Section 128225 of the Health and Safety Code.
(e) "Medically underserved population" means the Medi-Cal, Healthy
Families, and uninsured populations.
(f) "Practice setting" means:
(1) A community clinic as defined in subdivision (a) of Section
1204 and subdivision (c) of Section 1206 of the Health and Safety
Code, which is located in a medically underserved area and at least
75 percent of whose patients are from a medically underserved
population.
(2) A medical practice or medical corporation, as defined in
Section 2406 of this code located in a medically underserved area and
at least 75 percent of whose patients are from a medically
underserved population.
(g) "Primary specialty" means family practice, internal medicine,
pediatrics, or obstetrics/gynecology.
(h) "Medi-Cal threshold languages" means primary languages spoken
by limited English proficient (LEP) population groups meeting a
numeric threshold of 3,000, eligible LEP Medi-Cal beneficiaries
residing in a county, 1,000 Medi-Cal eligible LEP beneficiaries
residing in a single zip code, or 1,500 LEP Medi-Cal beneficiaries
residing in two contiguous zip codes. The current Medi-Cal threshold
languages are Spanish, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong, Armenian,
Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Russian, Farsi, Khmer, and Lao.
(i) "Fund" means the Community Healthcare Services Expansion Fund.
(j) "Account" means the Medically Underserved Account which is
contained within the fund.
2155.2. (a) Program applicants shall possess a current valid
license to practice medicine in this state issued by the board
pursuant to Section 2050.
(b) The division, in collaboration with the office and the
advisory committee, shall develop the guidelines for selection and
placement of applicants.
(1) Guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, ensuring loan
repayment to applicants, who have received a warrant, pursuant to
Article 5 (commencing with Section 128050) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of
Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code and who meet the following
conditions:
(A) Be working in a medically underserved area.
(B) Work in an eligible practice setting as defined in this
article.
(2) Guidelines shall provide priority consideration to applicants
that are best suited to meet the cultural and linguistic needs and
demands of patients from medically underserved populations and shall
meet one or more of the following criteria:
(A) Speak a Medi-Cal threshold language.
(B) Come from an economically disadvantaged background.
(C) Have received significant training in cultural and
linguistically appropriate service delivery.
(D) Have three years of experience working in medically
underserved areas or with medically underserved populations.
(E) Have recently obtained their license to practice medicine.
(3) The guidelines shall include a process for determining the
needs for physician services identified by the practice setting. At
a minimum, the practice setting shall meet the following criteria:
(A) The practice setting shall be located in a medically
underserved area.
(B) The practice setting shall ensure that the program participant
serves a patient population that consists of at least 75 percent
medically underserved populations.
(4) The guidelines shall give preference to applicants who have
completed a three-year residency in a primary specialty.
(5) Guidelines shall seek to place the most qualified applicants
under this section in the areas with the greatest need.
(6) Guidelines shall include a factor ensuring geographic
distribution of placements.
(c) The division may fill up to 20 percent of the available
positions with program applicants from specialties outside of the
primary care specialties.
(d) Program applicants shall be working in or have a signed
agreement with an eligible practice setting. The program participant
shall have full-time status.
(e) Program participants shall commit to a minimum of three years
of service in a medically underserved area. Leaves of absences will
be permitted for serious illnesses, pregnancy, or other natural
causes. The division, in collaboration with the advisory committee,
shall develop the process for determining the maximum permissible
length of an absence and the process for reinstatement. Loan
repayment shall be deferred until the physician is back to full-time
status.
(f) The division, in collaboration with the advisory committee,
shall develop the process should a physician be unable to complete
his or her three-year obligation.
(g) The division, in collaboration with the office and the
advisory committee, shall develop a process for outreach to
potentially eligible applicants. The process shall include outreach
to undergraduate students and medical magnet high schools.
(h) The division may adopt any other standards of eligibility,
placement, and termination appropriate to achieve the aim of
providing competent health care services in these approved practice
settings.
2155.3. (a) The Medically Underserved Account is hereby created
in the Community Healthcare Service Expansion Fund.
(b) The sum of three million dollars ($3,000,000) is hereby
transferred from the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of
California to the Medically Underserved Account in the Community
Healthcare Service Expansion Fund. Moneys in the account may be
expended for the purposes of this article when appropriated by the
Legislature.
(c) The division has the authority to seek matching funds from
foundations and private sources for the purposes of this article.
2155.4. The terms of loan repayment granted under this article
shall be as follows:
(a) After a program participant has completed one year of
providing services as a physician in a medically underserved area,
the division shall provide up to twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000) for loan repayment.
(b) After a program participant has completed two consecutive
years of providing services as a physician in a medically underserved
area, the division shall provide up to an additional thirty-five
thousand dollars ($35,000) of loan repayment, for a total loan
repayment of up to sixty thousand dollars ($60,000).
(c) After a program participant has completed three consecutive
years of providing services as a physician in a medically underserved
area, the division shall provide up to a maximum of an additional
forty-five thousand dollars ($45,000) of loan repayment, for a total
loan repayment of up to one hundred five thousand dollars ($105,000).
2155.6. Pursuant to Section 2313, the division shall also include
the following in its annual report:
(a) Number of the program participants.
(b) Practice locations.
(c) Amount expended for the program.
(d) Information on annual performance reviews by the practice
settings and program participants.
2155.7. (a) On January 1, 2003, applications from physicians for
program participation may be submitted until January 30, 2003.
(b) The division shall report to the Legislature, no later than
October 1, 2004, the experience of the program since the inception,
an evaluation of its effectiveness in improving access to health care
for underserved populations, and recommendations for maintaining or
expanding its operation.
(c) The division may promulgate emergency regulations to implement
the program.
2155.8. It is the intent of the Legislature that the program
created under this article be developed into a continuous program
administered by the office.
SEC. 5. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) An overwhelming number of California preclinical medical
students plan to complete their residency training in California and
eventually practice in California. Over half of clinical medical
students in their final years of medical school similarly plan to
complete their residency training in California in hopes of
practicing in the state and a significant number of medical students
plan to practice in an underserved community at any salary. Many
California dental students plan to practice in California upon
graduation and more would do so if loan forgiveness or repayment
financial incentives existed to offset the higher cost of living in
California.
(b) In response to linguistic barriers in underserved communities
a significant number of California medical and dental students will
be able to communicate in Spanish in a clinical environment before
entering practice. In addition, California medical and dental
students speak over 40 different languages, ranging from Arabic to
Tagalog.
(c) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to develop
ongoing, retrospective and concurrent methods and strategies to
increase the supply of physicians and dentists in California and to
strengthen existing programs aimed at medical and dental students
that could eliminate maldistribution and ease the current access to
care crisis in California.
SEC. 6. Article 5 (commencing with Section 128050) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
Article 5. California Physician and Dentist Corps Loan
Assumption Program
128050. (a) There is hereby established in the Office of
Statewide Health Planning and Development the California Physician
and Dentist Corps Loan Assumption Program.
(b) The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development shall
operate the California Physician and Dentist Corps Loan Assumption
Program in accordance with, but not limited to, the following:
(1) Increased efforts in educating medical and dental students and
medical residents of the need for physicians and dentists in
underserved communities, and of programs that are available that
provide incentives, financial and otherwise, to practice in settings
and areas in need.
(2) Strategic collaboration with California medical and dental
schools and postgraduate programs to better prepare physicians and
dentists to meet the distinctive cultural and medical needs of
underserved populations.
(3) Encourage the University of California and other medical and
dental schools to increase the number of medical and dental students
and medical residency program positions.
(4) Establish, encourage, and expand programs for medical and
dental students and medical residents for mentoring at primary and
secondary schools, and college levels to increase the number of
students entering the medical and dental sciences.
(5) Administer financial or other incentives to encourage new or
experienced physicians and dentists to practice in underserved areas.
128051. For purposes of this part, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Program" means the California Physician and Dentist Corps
Loan Assumption Program.
(b) (1) "Medically underserved area" means an area as defined in
Part 5 of Chapter 1 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations or
an area of the state where unmet priority
needs for physicians exists as determined by the
Health Manpower Policy Commission pursuant to Section 128225 of the
Health and Safety Code.
(2) "Dentally underserved area" means a geographic area eligible
to be designated as having a shortage of dental professionals
pursuant to Part I of Appendix B to Part 5 of Chapter 1 of Title 42
of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(c) (1) "Medically underserved population" means the Medi-Cal,
Healthy Families and uninsured population.
(2) "Dentally underserved population" means uninsured persons and
persons eligible for the Denti-Cal and Healthy Families Programs who
are population groups described as having a shortage of dental care
professionals in Part I of Appendix B to Part 5 of Chapter 1 of Title
42 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(d) "Medi-Cal threshold languages" means primary languages spoken
by limited-English proficient (LEP) population groups meeting a
numeric threshold of 3,000 eligible LEP Medi-Cal beneficiaries
residing in a county, 1,000 Medi-Cal eligible LEP beneficiaries
residing in a single ZIP Code, or 1,500 LEP Medi-Cal beneficiaries
residing in two contiguous ZIP Codes. The current Medi-Cal threshold
languages are Spanish, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong, Armenian,
Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Russian, Farsi, Khmer, and Lao.
(e) "Office" means the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development.
(f) "Advisory committee" means a group formed by the Division of
Licensing, Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development and
the Dental Board of California consisting of, at a minimum, the
ethnic medical and dental community, medical and dental schools,
health advocates representing ethnic communities, primary care
clinics, statewide agencies administering state and federally funded
programs targeting underserved communities, and members of the public
with health care issue-area expertise.
128052. (a) The office shall administer the California Physician
and Dentist Corps Loan Assumption Program. Any individual enrolled
in an institution of postsecondary education participating in the
loan assumption set forth in this article may be eligible to receive
a conditional warrant for loan assumption, to be redeemed pursuant to
Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 1970) of Chapter 4 or Article
7.7 (commencing with Section 2155) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of the
Business and Professions Code, upon becoming employed as a physician
or dentist. In order to be eligible to receive a conditional loan
assumption warrant, an applicant shall satisfy all of the following
conditions:
(1) The applicant has been judged by his or her postsecondary
institution to have outstanding ability on the basis of criteria that
may include, but not be limited to, any of the following:
(A) Grade point average.
(B) Test scores.
(C) Faculty evaluations.
(D) Interviews.
(E) Other recommendations.
(2) In order to meet the costs associated with obtaining a medical
or dental degree, the applicant has received, or is approved to
receive, a loan under one or more of the following designated loan
programs:
(A) The Federal Family Education Loan Program (10 U.S.C. Sec. 1071
et seq.).
(B) Any loan program approved by the Student Aid Commission.
(3) The applicant has agreed to provide services as a licensed
physician for up to three consecutive years, after obtaining a
license from the Medical Board of California in a medically
underserved area, or the applicant has agreed to provide services as
a licensed dentist for up to three consecutive years, after obtaining
a license from the Dental Board of California in a dentally
underserved area.
(4) The applicant has agreed to work in an eligible practice
setting as defined in Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 1970) of
Chapter 4 of or Article 7.7 (commencing with Section 2155) of Chapter
5 Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.
(b) The office shall ensure that priority consideration be given
to applicants who are best suited to meet the cultural and linguistic
needs and demands of medically and dentally underserved populations
and who meet one or more of the following criteria:
(1) Speak a Medi-Cal threshold language.
(2) Come from an economically disadvantaged background.
(3) Have received training in cultural and linguistically
appropriate service delivery.
(4) Have done a medical rotation serving medically underserved
populations or provided dental services to members of a dentally
underserved population.
(c) A person participating in the program pursuant to this section
shall not receive more than one warrant.
(d) The office shall adopt rules and regulations regarding the
reallocation of warrants if a participating institution is unable to
utilize its allocated warrants or is unable to distribute them within
a reasonable time period.
128053. (a) The office, in collaboration with the Medical Board
of California, Division of Licensing and the Dental Board of
California, shall redeem an applicant's warrant, and commence loan
assumption payments, pursuant to Article 9.5 (commencing with Section
1970) of Chapter 4 or Article 7.7 (commencing with Section 2155) of
Chapter 5 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.
128054.5. (a) The office shall distribute student applications to
participate in the loan assumption program to postsecondary
institutions eligible to participate in the state and federal
financial aid programs and that have a program of professional
preparation that has been approved by the Medical Board of California
or the Dental Board of California. Each eligible institution shall
receive at least one application.
(b) Each participating institution shall sign an institutional
agreement with the office, certifying its intent to administer the
loan assumption program according to all applicable published rules,
regulations, and guidelines, and shall make special efforts to notify
students regarding the availability of the program, particularly to
economically disadvantaged students.
(c) To the extent feasible, the office and each participating
institution shall coordinate the loan assumption program with other
existing programs designed to recruit or encourage students to enter
the medical profession. These programs shall include, but not be
limited to, the following:
(1) The Song-Brown Family Physician Training Act.
(2) The Health Education and Academic Loan Act.
(3) The National Health Service Corp.
128055. (a) The office shall administer this article, and shall
adopt rules and regulations for that purpose. The rules and
regulations shall include, but not be limited to, provisions
regarding the period of time for which a warrant shall remain valid,
the reallocation of warrants that are not utilized, and the
development of projections for funding purposes. The office shall
solicit the advice of representatives from postsecondary education
institutions, the Medical Board of California, the Dental Board of
California, and public and nonprofit agencies providing the services
of physicians or dentists regarding the proposed rules and
regulations.
(b) The office shall work in conjunction with lenders
participating in federal or similar loan programs to develop a
streamlined application process for participation in the program set
forth in this article. Professions Code, to read:
6061.5. (a) The committee shall, on or before July 31, 2002,
report to the Legislature regarding the committee's efforts to
develop standards for the accreditation of law schools that offer
their entire educational program via the Internet.
(b) The committee shall, on or before July 31, 2002, report to the
Legislature regarding the committee's efforts to review the Library
Content requirement for accreditation to reflect advances in
technology and in legal research techniques.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2003, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted on or before January 1, 2003, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 2. Section 6061.7 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
6061.7. (a) The committee shall study and issue a report to the
Legislature on or before January 1, 2004, on the effectiveness and
scope of the law students' examination established pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 6060. The study shall include, but shall
not be limited to, consideration of whether there are classes of
students who have demonstrated sufficient educational achievement or
sophistication to warrant exemption from the examination.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2004,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted on or before July 1, 2004, deletes or extends that date.