BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 27
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Date of Hearing: May 1, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 27 (Medina) - As Amended: March 21, 2013
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:12-0
Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill annually appropriates $15 million from the General
Fund (GF) to the University of California Riverside (UCR) School
of Medicine.
FISCAL EFFECT
Annual $15 million GF appropriation for the medical school,
which would become part of UC's base budget.
COMMENTS
1)Background . The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services'
Council on Graduate Medical Education recommends that a given
region have 60 to 80 primary care physicians and 85 to 105
specialists per 100,000 residents. The Inland Empire has about
40 primary care doctors and 70 specialists per 100,000
residents-the largest deficiencies in California.
In 2008, the UC Regents approved establishment of a School of
Medicine at UCR-the state's first new public medical school in
more than four decades. The 2010-11 Budget Act included a
provision requiring UC to redirect $10 million from existing
resources, on a one-time basis, for start-up costs associated
with the medical school. In the summer of 2011, the school
failed to gain accreditation from the Liaison Committee on
Medical Education (LCME), the US and Canadian accrediting body
for educational programs leading to the Medical Doctor degree.
LCME withheld accreditation due to a lack of recurring state
funding support for the school.
AB 27
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In October 2012, after securing substantial new funding from a
variety of non-state sources, UCR received notification of
"preliminary accreditation," which enables prospective
students to begin applying to potentially enroll in the
inaugural class of 50 in August 2013. UCR is planning a number
of policies to encourage its graduates to remain in the Inland
Empire and practice primary care medicine.
2)Purpose . In each of its budget requests since 2009-10, UC has
proposed $15 million from the GF for the UCR School of
Medicine to provide a "secure base of recurring resources to
open, operate, grow and maintain the medical school on an
ongoing basis?" UC asserts this permanent core support is
essential for the school to move forward in developing the
educational, research, and clinical service aspects of the
medical school program. This funding has never been included
in the governor's budget proposal nor in the enacted budgets.
3)Budget Issue. The relative merits of providing state GF for
this medical school would best be considered in the context of
the budget process, wherein the Legislature's overall budget
priorities are established.
4)Related Legislation . An identical bill, SB 21 (Roth), is
pending in the Senate Education Committee.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081