SB 1139, Lara. Health professionals: medical degree programs: healing arts residency training programs: undocumented immigrants: nonimmigrant aliens: scholarships, loans, and loan repayment.
(1) Existing law, known as the Medical Practice Act, provides for licensing and regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California and imposes various requirements in that regard. Existing law requires an applicant for a license as a physician and surgeon to successfully complete a specified medical curriculum, a clinical instruction program, and a training program. Existing law provides that nothing in the Medical Practice Act shall be construed to prohibit a foreign medical graduate from engaging in the practice of medicine whenever and wherever required as part of a clinical service program, subject to certain conditions.
This bill would prohibit a student, including a person without lawful immigration status, a person who is exempt from nonresident tuition pursuant to a specified statute, or a person who fits into both of those categories, who meets the requirements for admission to a medical degree program at any public or private postsecondary educational institution that offers such a program from being denied admission to that program based on his or her citizenship status or immigration status. The bill would also prohibit such a student from being denied admission, based on his or her citizenship status or immigration status, to a healing arts residency training program whose participants are not paid. These provisions would not apply, except as provided, to a nonimmigrant alien, as defined in a specified provision of federal law.
(2) Existing law establishes the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development and makes the office responsible for administering various programs with respect to the health care professions.
This bill would prohibit specified programs administered by the office from denying an application based on the citizenship status or immigration status of the applicant.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 2064.3 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, except as specified in subdivision (b), no student, including a person without lawful immigration status, a person who is exempt from nonresident tuition pursuant to Section 68130.5 of the Education Code, or a person who is both without lawful immigration status and exempt from nonresident tuition pursuant to Section 68130.5 of the Education Code, who meets the requirements for admission to a medical degree program at any public or private postsecondary educational institution that offers that program shall be denied admission to that program based on his or her citizenship status or immigration status.
(b) Except for students granted status pursuant to Section 1101(a)(15)(T) or (U) of Title 8 of the United States Code, this section shall not apply to a nonimmigrant alien within the meaning of paragraph (15) of subdivision (a) of Section 1101 of Title 8 of the United States Code, as that paragraph exists on January 1, 2017.
Section 2064.4 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, except as specified in subdivision (b), no student, including a person without lawful immigration status, a person who is exempt from nonresident tuition pursuant to Section 68130.5 of the Education Code, or a person who is both without lawful immigration status and exempt from nonresident tuition pursuant to Section 68130.5 of the Education Code, who meets the requirements for admission to a healing arts residency training program whose participants are not paid shall be denied admission to that program based on his or her citizenship status or immigration status.
(b) Except for students granted status pursuant to Section 1101(a)(15)(T) or (U) of Title 8 of the United States Code, this section shall not apply to a nonimmigrant alien within the meaning of paragraph (15) of subdivision (a) of Section 1101 of Title 8 of the United States Code, as that paragraph exists on January 1, 2017.
Section 128371 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is in the best interest of the State of California to provide persons who are not lawfully present in the United States with the state benefits provided by those programs listed in subdivision (d), and therefore, enacts this section pursuant to Section 1621(d) of Title 8 of the United States Code.
(b) A program listed in subdivision (d) shall not deny an application based on the citizenship status or immigration status of the applicant.
(c) For any program listed in subdivision (d), when mandatory disclosure of a social security number is required, an applicant shall provide his or her social security number, if one has been issued, or an individual tax identification number that has been or will be submitted.
(d) This section shall apply to all of the following:
(1) Programs supported through the Health Professions Education Fund pursuant to Section 128355.
(2) The Registered Nurse Education Fund created pursuant to Section 128400.
(3) The Mental Health Practitioner Education Fund created pursuant to Section 128458.
(4) The Vocational Nurse Education Fund created pursuant to Section 128500.
(5) The Medically Underserved Account for Physicians created pursuant to Section 128555.
(6) Loan forgiveness and scholarship programs created pursuant to Section 5820 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(7) The Song-Brown Health Care Workforce Training Act created pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 128200) of Chapter 4.
(8) To the extent permitted under federal law, the program administered by the office pursuant to the federal National Health Service Corps State Loan Repayment Program (42 U.S.C. Sec. 254q-1), commonly known as the California State Loan Repayment Program.
(9) The programs administered by the office pursuant to the Health Professions Career Opportunity Program (Section 127885), commonly known as the Mini Grants Program, and California’s Student/Resident Experiences and Rotations in Community Health, commonly known as the Cal-SEARCH program.
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