University of California: branch campus of a school of medicine in the County of Kern: feasibility study.

The bill now requires a feasibility study for a 'branch campus of an existing University of California medical school' in Kern County, rather than a new standalone UC medical school. This appears throughout the findings, operative text, and digest.

The feasibility study requirement is now conditioned on 'upon appropriation by the Legislature.' Without legislative funding, UC has no obligation to conduct the study.

The submission deadline changed from a fixed date (tied to January 1, 2027) to 'on or before two years from the date of the appropriation,' making the timeline flexible and dependent on when funding actually occurs.

Stakeholder consultation was weakened from 'in consultation with local voluntary stakeholders' to 'in consultation with local voluntary study and reasonably attempt to consult with local stakeholders,' lowering the obligation from actual consultation to a reasonable attempt.

A new feasibility study element was added requiring 'an assessment of the ability to comply with all the resource requirements of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.'

The accreditation analysis was narrowed from analyzing requirements for obtaining licensure and accreditation (as a new school) to evaluating the ability to comply with LCME accreditation requirements specifically 'as a branch campus.'

The legislative findings now include 'adequate resources' and 'clinical practice agreements' in the list of items the feasibility study must address, which were not in the prior version.