BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2485
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
2485 (Santiago)
As Amended May 27, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Business & |16-0 |Salas, Brough, Baker, | |
|Professions | |Bloom, Campos, | |
| | |Chávez, Dahle, Dodd, | |
| | |Eggman, Gatto, Gomez, | |
| | |Holden, Jones, | |
| | |Mullin, Ting, Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
AB 2485
Page 2
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SUMMARY: Streamlines the California Dental Corps Loan Repayment
Program (DCLRP), under the jurisdiction of the Dental Board of
California (DBC), within the Department of Consumer Affairs
(DCA), expands eligibility of applicants to the program, and
reschedules the timeline that loan repayments may be disbursed.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Declares the Legislature's intent to streamline the
administration of the DCLRP such that the DBC does not need to
promulgate regulations to implement changes to the DCLRP.
2)Establishes the DCLRP, under the jurisdiction of the DBC,
within the DCA, and authorizes the DBC to implement the DCLRP.
3)Defines and reorders several terms for the purpose of
administering the DCLRP.
4)Provides that a program applicant must possess a current valid
license to practice dentistry in this state issued by the DBC
within the last five years, or be eligible for graduation from
an approved pre or post-doctoral dental education program, as
specified, and meet all criteria for licensure, subject to
successful completion of applicable requirements.
5)Requires a program applicant to submit documentation detailing
current loan obligations, the current balance owing, and
monthly installment plan, as applicable.
6)Requires an application to disclose any and all obligations
for which the applicant has defaulted or has been subjected to
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a lien within the last 10 years.
7)Requires the applicant to sign, under penalty of perjury, an
agreement with the DBC to maintain qualified employment, as
specified, and provide an annual progress report, as
specified.
8)Specifies that the DBC give priority consideration to
applicants that are best suited to meet the cultural and
linguistic needs and demands of dentally underserved
populations and who also speak a Medi-Cal language; come from
an economically disadvantaged background; have received
significant training in cultural and linguistically
appropriate service delivery; have worked in a health field in
an underserved area or with an underserved population; and,
have recently received a license to practice dentistry, or has
received an offer of unemployment in an underserved area.
9)Specifies that practice setting must be located in a dentally
underserved area or ensures that the program participant
serves a patient population that consists of at least 50%
dentally underserved populations.
10)Requires a program applicant to be working in, or have a
signed agreement with, an eligible practice setting and be
employed on a full-time basis, as specified, unless the DBC
determines on a case-by-case basis that a participant should
be exempted from the minimum requirements.
11)Provides that a program participant is required to commit to
a minimum of three years of service in a qualified practice
setting, but may be eligible for leave of absence as
determined by the DBC; provides that loan repayment will be
deferred until the dentist is employed on a full-time basis.
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12)Provides that the DBC may terminate an applicant's
participation in the program for cause, as specified, and
require a recipient to repay the total amount of loans or
grants disbursed plus 10% interest within no more than seven
years.
13)Provides that the DBC may coordinate with local and statewide
trade and professional dental organizations, as well as
educational institutions, for outreach to potentially eligible
applicants.
14)Provides that funds paid out for loan repayment may have a
funding match from foundations or other private sources.
15)Provides that after a participant has completed six months of
service, the DBC may award up to $35,000 for repayment; upon
completion of a 18 months of service, a participant is
eligible for up to an additional $35,000; and upon completion
of 30 months of service, would earn an additional $35,000 in
loan repayment; and, specifies that loan repayments may not
exceed $105,000 or the total amount of the loan, whichever is
lesser.
16)Codifies existing regulations for the selection and placement
of applicants and the timeline for the disbursement of funds
to a recipient.
17)Requires the DBC to submit a report to the Legislature during
its sunset review period detailing the experience of the
program, an evaluation of its effectiveness in improving
access to dental care for underserved populations, and
recommendations for maintaining or expanding its operation, as
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specified.
18)Makes other technical, non-substantive changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill will result in minor and absorbable costs
to the DBC.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the California Dental
Association (CDA). The bill would streamline the California
DCLRP under the jurisdiction of the DCA, within the DCA, and
remove some of the statutory requirements, which have been
identified as deterrents to potential applicants.
According to the author, ""The [DCLRP] was created to be a first
step in a long-term effort to improve access to dental care by
increasing the number of providers in underserved communities in
California, yet it never realized its full potential due to
administrative and statutory limits on its effectiveness. The
funding is still available for this program, and many
Californians still face barriers accessing dental care. The
[L]egislature should act to remove the deterrents that keep away
potential applicants to the [DCLRP] and encourage participation
so that the state can better serve those individuals with the
most critical oral health needs."
Background. The Legislature passed the DCLRP in 2002 with an
initial investment of $3 million from the State Dentistry fund,
to be disbursed to eligible candidates over the course of three
years. Fourteen years later, a little more than half of those
funds are still sitting in the grant program account, yet to be
AB 2485
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awarded. The lack of program participants stems from extensive
and burdensome qualification requirements, and a general lack of
awareness of the program's existence. There is approximately
$1.6 million left in the account with very few or no applicants
to the DCLRP in almost 10 years.
When the DBC was reviewed in 2015, as part of the joint Senate
Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development and
the Assembly Committee on Business and Professions (Committees)
Sunset Review process, the DBC stated that it had promoted the
program on its website, included information about the program
in its presentation to senior students in California dental
schools, and distributed information through their stakeholder
and professional association publications. At the time, DBC
staff and its Access to Care Committee was researching other
loan repayment programs offered by the California Dental
Association, the Medical Board of California, and the Office of
Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD). During the
2015 Sunset Review hearings, the Committees recommended that the
DBC consider transferring the DCLRP to Health Professions
Education Foundation, housed within the OSHPD in order to
increase participation in the program and more effectively
administer the funds.
Instead, this bill will codify existing regulations for the
implementation of the program; expand the pool of applicants
eligible for the DCLRP; revise the timeline for loan
disbursements; remove deterrents that keep away potential
applicants; and, require the DBC to report on the effectiveness
of the DCLRP at the time of its sunset review.
Prior Related Legislation. AB 982 (Firebaugh), Chapter 1131,
Statutes of 2002, created the DCLRP to be administered by the
DBC.
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SB 599 (Negrete-McLeod), Chapter 642, Statutes of 2009, extended
the sunset date of the DCLRP to 2012.
SB 540 (Price), Chapter 385, Statutes of 2011, extended the
DCLRP until all monies are expended.
Analysis Prepared by:
Gabby Nepomuceno / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301 FN:
0003331