BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                           657 (Hernandez)
          
          Hearing Date:  8/27/2009        Amended: 8/17/2009
          Consultant: Katie Johnson       Policy Vote: Health 10-1
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          ____
          BILL SUMMARY:  AB 657 would establish the Health Professions  
          Workforce Task Force to assist in the development of a health  
          professions workforce master plan for California.
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          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2009-10      2010-11       2011-12     Fund
                                                                  
          OSHPD staff              $100       $200     $200      Special/*
                                                                 Federal/
                                                                 Private
                                    2012-2013    2013-2014
                                   
                                   $200       $100               Special/*
                                                                 Federal/
                                                                 Private
          *California Health Data and Planning Fund  
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          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. 
          
          This bill would require the Office of Statewide Health Planning  
          and Development (OSHPD) to establish the Health Professions  
          Workforce Task Force (task force) to assist in the development  
          of a health professions workforce master plan for the state. The  
          task force would consist of not more than 21 members, as  
          specified, who would serve voluntary and would not be  
          compensated.

          This bill would require that the task force hold its first  
          meeting no later than October 31, 2010, and meet no less than  
          three times each year.

          This bill would require the task force to submit a complete  
          statewide health professions workforce master plan to OSHPD and  










          the Legislature no later than October 31, 2013.

          This bill would require the task force to seek and OSHPD to  
          accept funds from the federal government and private entities to  
          support the task force's activities, which would include:

             1)   Report, assess impact, and review capacity and  
               effectiveness of existing state and private workforce  
               training programs to leverage funding resources, form new  
               partnerships, foster shared learning, identify best  
               practices, and minimize duplication efforts;
             2)   Review local workforce investment plans;
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          AB 657 (Hernandez)

             3)   Identify education and employment trends in the health  
               professions;
             4)   Identify the 10 health professions with the highest  
               demand and develop a plan to meet that demand;
             5)   Recommend state policies needed to address workforce  
               shortages;
             6)   Compile, assess, and align with other strategic plans  
               for developing California's health workforce.

          It would take an estimated two staff persons at a cost of about  
          $200,000 annually to support the committee's work until the  
          submission of the master plan.

          This bill is similar to AB 2375 (Hernandez) of 2008, except that  
          it also required OSHPD to determine gaps in the health  
          professions workforce data collection. The "gap analysis"  
          provision is not included in this bill. AB 2375 was held on the  
          Senate Appropriations suspense file and subsequently referred to  
          the Senate Rules committee where it died at the end of session.