BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair


          SB 841 (Cannella) - UC Merced San Joaquin Valley Program in  
          Medical Education
          
          Amended: March 27, 2014         Policy Vote: Education 7-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: No
          Hearing Date: April 7, 2014                                  
          Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez                       
          
          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. 

          
          Bill Summary: SB 841 makes an annual General Fund appropriation  
          of $1,855,000 to the University of California (UC) to support  
          the expansion of UC Merced's San Joaquin Valley Program in  
          Medical Education (PRIME). This bill makes legislative findings  
          and declarations relative to health care needs in the San  
          Joaquin Valley.

          Fiscal Impact: 
              $1.86 million (General Fund) annually, beginning in  
              2015-16. 
              Potentially significant cost pressure to expand PRIME  
              programs at other UC campuses. 

          Background: UC PRIME is a training program focused on meeting  
          the needs of California's underserved populations by combining  
          specialized coursework, structured clinical experiences,  
          advanced independent study, and mentoring, to prepare highly  
          motivated, socially conscious students as future clinicians,  
          leaders and policymakers. Each PRIME program has an area of  
          focus that is selected based upon faculty expertise, the  
          populations served by each school and its medical center, and  
          other local considerations. Each PRIME program is designed to  
          educate and train future physician leaders, researchers, and  
          advocates for the communities they will serve.

          Proposed Law: This bill would annually appropriate $1,855,000  
          General Fund to the UC to support the expansion of UC Merced's  
          PRIME program.

          Staff Comments: This bill appropriates $1.86 million (General  
          Fund) annually to the UC to operate an expanded UC Merced PRIME  








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          program, with no program sunset date and no specific conditions  
          placed on the expansion funding. Other PRIME programs may also  
          wish to expand, creating cost pressure on both UC funds and  
          General Fund money not allocated to the UC in the annual Budget  
          Act.