BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2331| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 2331 Author: Dababneh (D) Amended: 6/16/16 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/27/16 AYES: Hill, Bates, Block, Gaines, Galgiani, Hernandez, Jackson, Mendoza, Wieckowski SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/1/16 AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 6/1/16 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Dentistry: applicants to practice SOURCE: American Board of Dental Examiners DIGEST: This bill establishes an alternative clinical and written examination for dental licensure applicants, requires a review of this exam by the Office of Professional Examination Services (OPES). ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Establishes the Dental Board of California (DBC) within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) to license and regulate the practice of dentistry. (Business and Professions Code (BPC) §§ 1601.1, 1611) AB 2331 Page 2 2)Requires the examination of applicants for a license to practice dentistry to be sufficiently thorough to test the fitness of the applicant to practice dentistry, and that both questions and answers are written in the English language. (BPC § 1630) 3)Requires the DBC to require each dental licensure applicant to: (BPC § 1632) a) Successfully complete the Part I and Part II written examinations of the National Board Dental Examination of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations. b) Successfully complete an examination in California law and ethics developed and administered by the DBC. c) Have taken and received a passing score on one of the following: i) A portfolio examination of the applicant's competence to enter the practice of dentistry, conducted while the applicant is enrolled in a dental school program at a DBC-approved school in California. ii) A clinical and written examination administered by the Western Regional Examining Board (WREB). 4)Requires all DCA boards and bureaus to ensure that every licensing examination administered by or pursuant to contract with the board is subject to periodic evaluation. The evaluation shall include (a) a description of the occupational analysis serving as the basis for the examination; (b) sufficient item analysis data to permit a psychometric evaluation of the items; (c) an assessment of the appropriateness of prerequisites for admittance to the examination; and (d) an estimate of the costs and personnel required to perform these functions. The evaluation shall be revised and a new evaluation submitted to the Director whenever, in the judgment of the board, program, or bureau, there is a substantial change in the examination or the prerequisites for admittance to the examination. (BPC § 139) 5)States that it is unlawful for a licensing board to require any examination or establish any other qualification for AB 2331 Page 3 licensing that has an adverse impact on any class by virtue of its race, creed, color, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, medical condition, genetic information, physical disability, mental disability, or sexual orientation, unless the practice can be demonstrated to be job related. If an examination or other qualification for licensing is determined to be unlawful, that determination shall not void, limit, repeal, or otherwise affect any right, privilege, status, or responsibility previously conferred upon any person by the examination or by a license issued in reliance on the examination or qualification. (Government Code § 12944) This bill: 1)Establishes an alternative clinical and written examination for dental licensure applicants developed by the American Board of Dental Examiners, Inc (ADEX). 2)Strikes the ability for the WREB to determine the passing score for its exam. 3)Authorizes the DBC to determine the testing format, as relates to patients, for the exam developed by ADEX. 4)Requires a review of the exam developed by the ADEX by OPES prior to its implementation to ensure compliance with current law and deliver this review to the DBC. 5)Prohibits implementation of the exam if the DCA determines that the examination process fails to meet specified standards, does not deliver the review to the DBC, or if ADEX fails to pay costs and expenses, as specified. 6)Requires the ADEX's examination process to be regularly reviewed by the DCA and comply with statutory requirements. 7)Requires the ADEX to pay all reasonable costs and expenses the DBC incurs for the purposes of reviewing the exam. 8)States that the ADEX examination may only be accepted for licensure by a candidate after it is determined that the examination has met the requirements of current law, and any examinations taken prior to that date may not be used for AB 2331 Page 4 licensure. 9)Authorizes the Department of Finance to accept funds for the purposes of reviewing and analyzing the examination developed by ADEX. Background California requires dental applicants to take either a portfolio examination of the applicant's competence to practice dentistry, which is offered only by California schools, or a clinical and written examination administered by WREB. This bill will allow ADEX to provide funding to the state to have its test validated and, if determined sufficient, offered as an alternative clinical and written examination. ADEX is a nonprofit corporation of the State Boards of Dentistry focused on the development of a "state of the art, high quality uniform National dental and dental hygiene clinical licensure examination for the sole use by States Board of Dentistry." In a letter to the DBC last year, ADEX wrote, "Dentistry is the only health profession that does not have a uniform national licensure examination. ADEX believes that the acceptance of the ADEX by California will set the cornerstone that will bring to fruition the goal of a Uniform National Dental Licensure examination." FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Initial costs of about $20,000 for an occupational and psychometric evaluation of the new examination to ensure that it complies with the occupational requirements for dentists and state law regarding non-discrimination (State Dentistry Fund). DBC will incur a similar cost every seven years to validate the continuing appropriateness of the examination. The costs to validate the examination will be reimbursed by ADEX. AB 2331 Page 5 One-time costs of $90,000 and ongoing costs of $82,000 per year to develop regulations and to process additional licensure applications by DBC (State Dentistry Fund). By providing an additional examination for licensure, the Board anticipates some growth in the number applicants for licensure who trained at out-of-state dental schools. SUPPORT: (Verified8/3/16) American Board of Dental Examiners (source) California Dental Association OPPOSITION: (Verified8/3/16) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: ADEX writes, "AB 2331 will allow the DBC to recognize the ADEX PC-CIF exam so that students outside of California can choose this exam for admission to the state. This provides these students with an exam option that complies with the patient-centered guidelines established by industry leaders." ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 6/1/16 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon NO VOTE RECORDED: Gordon AB 2331 Page 6 Prepared by:Sarah Huchel / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104 8/3/16 19:31:31 **** END ****