BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 589 (Perea)
Hearing Date: 8/15/2011 Amended: 7/12/2011
Consultant: Katie Johnson Policy Vote: Health 9-0
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 589 would establish the Steven M. Thompson
Medical School Scholarship Program. The program would award up
to $105,000 per awardee to eligible medical or osteopathic
school students over the course of their medical school
curricula. The awardee would agree to practice for three years
in either a clinic or a medical practice located in a medically
underserved area.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Scholarships and at least $1,000 annually
Federal/*
program administration Private
*See Staff Comments
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
This bill would establish the Steven M. Thompson Medical School
Scholarship Program (Program) within the Health Professions
Education Foundation (Foundation).
A selection committee would be required to develop awardee
selection guidelines that meet specified criteria: 1) provide
priority consideration to applicants who would be best suited to
meet the cultural and linguistic needs and demands of patients
from a medically underserved area, 2) give preference to
applicants who have committed to practicing in family practice,
internal medicine, pediatrics, or obstetrics/gynecology, 3) give
preference to applicants who would serve in a super-medically
underserved area, and 4) include a factor ensuring geographic
AB 589 (Perea)
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distribution of placements.
Scholarship recipients would be required to be students who
agree in writing, prior to entering an accredited medical or
osteopathic school, to serve for at least three years in either
a clinic or a medical practice located in a medically
underserved area, as specified. The maximum award would be
$105,000 and would be distributed over the course of a standard
medical school curriculum. This bill would provide that in the
event that an awardee does not complete the minimum of three
years of service, the Program would recover the funds awarded
and any related interest.
This bill would create the Steven M. Thompson Medical School
Scholarship Account (Account) within the Health Professions
Education Fund for the purposes of receiving federal or private
funds. Monies in the account would be used for only the
following, upon appropriation by the Legislature: 1)
scholarships, 2) program administrative expenses, not to exceed
5 percent of the total appropriation for the program. This bill
would provide that the Program would only be implemented to the
extent that the Account contains sufficient funds as determined
by the Foundation. Funds in the Health Professions Education
Fund are continuously appropriated; it is unclear whether or not
the monies in the Account would be continuously appropriated or
would need to be appropriated by the Legislature, as this bill
suggests. Staff recommends that this bill be amended to
establish the Account within the State Treasury and that monies
contained in the Account be made available upon appropriation by
the Legislature.
Fiscal Impact
In order to establish regulations and guidelines and to
administer such a Program, the Foundation would need at least
half a personnel year, approximately $50,000 annually. Since
administrative funds are limited to 5 percent of the total
Program appropriation, the Program would require an account
balance of at least $1,000,000 annually. Although this bill
would specify that monies in the Account would consist of
federal and private funds, no specific funding sources have been
identified. Thus, there would be General Fund cost pressure to
fund this program if federal and private monies do not
materialize. Program costs could increase depending on the
number of scholarships it chose to award.
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