BILL NUMBER: AB 1428 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 507
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 4, 2001
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 4, 2001
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 14, 2001
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 14, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 13, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 27, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 22, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 3, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 22, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 18, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Aanestad
(Principal coauthor: Senator Chesbro)
FEBRUARY 23, 2001
An act to add Section 1635.5 to the Business and Professions Code,
relating to dentistry, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1428, Aanestad. Dentistry: licensure.
Existing law, the Dental Practice Act, provides for the licensure
and regulation of dentists by the Dental Board of California. The
act specifies requirements for licensure to practice dentistry in
this state, including successfully passing an examination before the
board. Under the act, licensees are required to pay fees, including
a fee for the initial issuance and renewal of their licenses, that
are deposited into the State Dentistry Fund which is continuously
appropriated. This act makes it a crime, among other matters, to
engage in specified conduct relating to the practice of dentistry.
This bill would authorize the board to issue a license to a person
who is currently licensed to practice dentistry in another state and
who satisfies other specified requirements, without requiring that
person to take the board examination and would require the board to
supply out-of-state dentists with certain information in its
application packet. The bill would also require the board to report
to the Legislature by January 1, 2005, regarding the impact of these
provisions on the availability of dentists in this state. The bill
would provide that these provisions would become operative on July 1,
2002. Because the bill would increase the number of dentists paying
license issuance and renewal fees and fines and forfeitures for
violations, it would make an appropriation by adding revenue that
would be deposited in a continuously appropriated fund.
Because the bill would increase the number of persons subject to
criminal prosecution for engaging in conduct prohibited by the Dental
Practice Act, it would expand the scope of existing crimes, thereby
imposing a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Appropriation: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature to increase access
to dental care for children and adults in California, particularly in
those areas of the state that have few or no practicing dentists.
According to a January 2000, report entitled "Geographic Distribution
of Dentists in California" by the Center for California Health
Workforce Studies at the University of California, San Francisco,
areas with few or no practicing dentists are more likely to be rural
or to have higher minority populations, lower median incomes, and a
higher percentage of children, compared to areas without a shortage
of practicing dentists.
SEC. 2. Section 1635.5 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
1635.5. (a) Notwithstanding Section 1634, the board may grant a
license to practice dentistry to an applicant who has not taken an
examination before the board, if the applicant submits all of the
following to the board:
(1) A completed application form and all fees required by the
board.
(2) Proof of a current license issued by another state to practice
dentistry that is not revoked or suspended or otherwise restricted.
(3) Proof that the applicant has been in clinical practice, or has
been a full-time faculty member in an accredited dental education
program, for a minimum of 1,000 hours per year for at least five
years preceding the date of his or her application under this
section. The clinical practice requirement shall be deemed met if
documentation of any of the following is submitted:
(A) The applicant may receive credit for two of the five years of
clinical practice by demonstrating completion of a residency training
program accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on
Dental Accreditation, including, but not limited to, a general
practice residency, an advanced education in general dentistry
program, or a training program in a specialty recognized by the
American Dental Association.
(B) If an applicant provides proof of at least two years of
clinical practice or receives two years of credit as defined in
subparagraph (A), he or she may commit to completing the remainder of
the five-year requirement by filing with the board a copy of a
pending contract to practice dentistry full time in a primary care
clinic licensed under subdivision (a) of Section 1204 of the Health
and Safety Code or in a primary care clinic exempt from licensure
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1206 of the Health and Safety
Code, or in a clinic owned or operated by a public hospital or health
system, or a clinic owned and operated by a hospital that maintains
the primary contract with a county government to fill the county's
role under Section 17000 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The
board may periodically request verification of compliance with these
requirements, and may revoke the license upon a finding that the
employment requirement, or any other requirement of this
subparagraph, has not been met.
(C) If an applicant provides proof of at least two years of
clinical practice or receives two years of credit as defined in
subparagraph (A), he or she may commit to completing the remainder of
the five-year requirement by filing with the board a copy of a
pending contract to teach or practice dentistry full time in an
accredited dental education program as approved by the Dental Board
of California. The board may periodically request verification of
compliance with these requirements, and may revoke the license upon a
finding that the employment requirement, or any other requirement of
this subparagraph, has not been met.
(4) Proof that the applicant has not been subject to disciplinary
action by any state in which he or she is or has been previously
licensed to practice dentistry. If the applicant has been subject to
disciplinary action, the board shall review that action to determine
if it warrants refusal to issue a license to the applicant.
(5) A signed release allowing the disclosure of information from
the National Practitioner Data Bank and the verification of
registration status with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
The board shall review this information to determine if it warrants
refusal to issue a license to the applicant.
(6) Proof that the applicant has not failed the examination for
licensure to practice dentistry under this chapter within five years
prior to the date of his or her application for a license under this
section.
(7) Documentation of 50 units of continuing education completed
within two years of the date of his or her application under this
section. The continuing education shall include the mandatory
coursework prescribed by the board pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 1645.
(8) Any other information as specified by the board to the extent
it is required of applicants for licensure by examination under this
article.
(b) The board shall provide in the application packet to each
out-of-state dentist pursuant to this section the following
information:
(1) The location of dental manpower shortage areas that exist in
the state.
(2) Those not-for-profit clinics and public hospitals seeking to
contract with licensees for dental services.
(c) (1) The board shall review the impact of this section on the
availability of dentists in California and report to the appropriate
policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by January 1, 2005.
The report shall include a separate section providing data specific
to those dentists who intend to fulfill the alternative clinical
practice requirements of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a). The report shall include, but not be limited to,
all of the following:
(A) The total number of applicants from other states who have
sought licensure.
(B) The number of dentists from other states licensed pursuant to
this section, as well as the number of licenses not granted and the
reasons why each license was not granted.
(C) The location of the practice of dentists licensed pursuant to
this section.
(D) The number of dentists licensed pursuant to this section who
establish a practice in a rural area or in an area designated as
having a shortage of practicing dentists or no dentists at all.
(E) The length of time dentists licensed pursuant to this section
maintained their practice in the reported location. This information
shall be reported separately for dentists described in subparagraphs
(C) and (D).
(2) In identifying a dentist's location of practice, the board
shall use Medical Service Study Areas or other appropriate geographic
descriptions for regions of the state.
(3) If appropriate, the board may report the information required
by paragraph (1) separately for primary care dentists and
specialists.
(d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2002.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.