BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1139
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 3, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 1139
(Lara) - As Amended August 1, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill prohibits denying admission to several types of health
professions programs based on an applicants' citizenship or
immigration status. Specifically, this bill:
1)Prohibits specified health care workforce grant, loan
forgiveness, and scholarship programs administered by the
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD)
from denying an application based on an applicants'
citizenship or immigration status.
2)Specifies applicants to medical programs at any public or
private postsecondary educational institution may not be
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denied admission on the basis of citizenship status or
immigrant status.
3)Specifies healing arts residency training program applicant
may not be denied admission on the basis of citizenship status
or immigrant status, if the program's participants are unpaid.
4)Provides that (2) and (3) do not apply to certain nonimmigrant
individuals.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Administrative costs to OSHPD to modify regulations for health
care workforce grant, loan forgiveness, and scholarship programs
in the range of $60,000 (Health Professions Education Fund,
funded by various fees, grants, and private donations), as well
as potential minor costs to review additional applications.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. This bill intends to reduce barriers to undocumented
individuals to access health care workforce programs, while
also addressing service gaps that are desperately needed in
immigrant communities. The author also explains that
undocumented students face challenges when applying to medical
schools and medical residency training programs due to their
citizenship or immigration status. This bill would clarify
the eligibility of undocumented individuals who meet the
requirements to apply to medical schools and certain
healthcare residency training programs.
2)Background. OSHPD administers several healthcare workforce
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programs, which generally provide a financial benefit to
practitioners who agree to practice in federally designated
medically underserved areas. These programs can help offset
the large expense incurred while pursuing a medical education,
while enhancing access to care in disadvantaged communities.
According to the Immigrant Policy Center, there are roughly
1.4 million immigrants who may qualify for "deferred action"
on immigration enforcement for youth and young adults who were
brought to the United States as children, including 412,000 in
California. For these young people, a career in the medical
profession can prove difficult based on various barriers to
entry, which this bill attempts to address.
3)Recent Amendments. A prior version of this bill prohibited
denial of admission to medical residency programs based on
citizenship or immigration status. Because residency programs
are generally administered as employment relationships and
persons without satisfactory immigration status are not
legally authorized to work pursuant to federal law, this
provision was recently removed from the bill. The bill
currently prohibits denying admission to such programs on the
basis of citizenship status or immigrant status if the
program's participants are unpaid.
Analysis Prepared by:Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
SB 1139
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