Existing law, the Dental Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of dentists and dental assistants by the Dental Board of California. The act, prior to January 1, 2020, required the board to approve foreign dental schools based on specified standards, and required a foreign dental school seeking approval to submit an application to the board, including, among other things, a finding that the educational program of the foreign dental school is equivalent to that of similar accredited institutions in the United States and adequately prepares its students for the practice of dentistry. Existing law required the foreign dental school to submit a specified registration fee and to pay the board's reasonable costs and expenses to conduct an approval survey. Existing law also required an approved institution to submit a renewal application every 7 years and to pay a specified renewal fee. Existing law, beginning January 1, 2020, prohibits the board from accepting new applications for approval of foreign dental schools and instead requires foreign dental schools seeking approval to complete the international consultative and accreditation process with the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association (CODA) or a comparable accrediting body approved by the board. Existing law requires previously approved foreign dental schools to complete the CODA accreditation by January 1, 2024, to remain approved. This bill would repeal the provisions that, beginning January 1, 2020, prohibit the board from accepting new applications for the approval of foreign dental schools, and would instead require the board to approve foreign dental schools in the same manner as prior to January 1, 2020.
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes the California Farmland Conservancy Program Act, to be administered generally by the Department of Conservation, and provides that it is the intent of the act to, among other things, encourage voluntary, long-term private stewardship of agricultural lands by offering landowners financial incentives, encourage local land use planning for orderly and efficient urban growth and conservation of agricultural land, and encourage improvements to enhance long-term sustainable agricultural uses. The act establishes the California Farmland Conservancy Program Fund and requires, except as provided, moneys in the fund, upon appropriation, to be used for the purposes of the California Farmland Conservancy Program, which include, among other things, the purchase of agricultural conservation easements, fee title acquisition grants, and land improvement and planning grants. This bill would establish the California Conservation Ranching Incentive Program as a separate component of the California Farmland Conservancy Program. The bill would authorize the Director of Conservation to, subject to appropriation, enter into contracts for an initial term of 3 years with nonpublic entities that are owners of record or lessees of productive rangelands, grazing lands, or grasslands that are determined by the director to be important for the conservation of grassland birds, soil health, and biodiversity. The bill would require these contracts to include an agreement by the owner and any lessee to restore, enhance, and protect the grassland habitat character of the land subject to the contract and to require the Department of Conservation to pay a specified amount to the owner or lessee for undertaking conservation obligations under the contract. The bill would create the California Conservation Ranching Incentive Program Account in the California Farmland Conservancy Program Fund and would make funds deposited in the account available for expenditure, upon appropriation, to the department for purposes of the program.
Existing law requires the Department of Parks and Recreation to develop, operate, and maintain units of the state park system. This bill would require the Director of Parks and Recreation, on or before an unspecified date, to establish the California Historic Barrio State Historic Park Advisory Committee, which would be responsible for assisting the department, in an advisory capacity, to plan for interim and permanent land uses and facilities through the general planning process for a state historic park at the historic barrio site in ______. The bill would also require the department to take specified actions with respect to the development of a state historic park at the historic barrio site. The bill would make the implementation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for these purposes.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, and authorizes them to provide instruction to students at the campuses they operate. Existing law authorizes community colleges to grant associate in arts and associate in science degrees. Existing law authorizes the governing boards of community college districts maintaining adult schools to prescribe requirements for the granting of adult school diplomas. Existing law also authorizes community college districts to provide adult education in conjunction with school districts as part of regional consortia. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding the provisions referenced above or any other law, a community college district may establish and offer to students a course of study leading to the concurrent award of an associate degree and a high school diploma.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law establishes, among other funds related to telecommunications, the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) in the State Treasury. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the CASF to encourage the deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians that will promote economic growth, job creation, and the substantial social benefits of advanced information and communications technologies. Existing law requires the commission to approve infrastructure projects supported by expenditures from the fund that provide last-mile broadband access to households that are unserved by an existing facilities-based broadband provider. This bill would establish the Rural Broadband and Emergency Infrastructure Grant Act of 2020 to ensure that all California fairgrounds are equipped with adequate broadband and telecommunications infrastructure to support local, regional, and state emergency and disaster response personnel and systems. The bill would, upon appropriation, require the Department of Technology, Department of Food and Agriculture, Public Utilities Commission, California Broadband Council, and Office of Emergency Services to jointly develop the Rural Broadband and Emergency Infrastructure Grant Program to provide each California fairground with grant moneys to support broadband and telecommunications infrastructure deployment.
This measure would designate the week of February 24, 2020, to March 1, 2020, as Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
Existing law, notwithstanding the requirement that each person between 6 and 18 years of age who is not otherwise exempted is subject to compulsory full-time education, requires a pupil to be excused from school for specified types of absences, including, among others, if the absence was due to the pupil's illness. This bill would include as another type of required excused absence an absence that is for the benefit of the mental or behavioral health of the pupil. To the extent that this bill would impose additional duties on local educational entities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law requires the Governor to proclaim various days as holidays and days of remembrance. This bill would require the Governor to annually proclaim the month of January as Youth Development and Engagement Month.
Existing law requires the State Department of Education to award grants for the establishment of Family Empowerment Centers on Disability in 32 regions in the state to provide training and services to children and young adults with disabilities and their families. Existing law establishes a minimum base rate of $150,000 for each center awarded a grant and requires a center that receives a grant to complete specified actions related to providing that training and those services. Existing law establishes a Family Empowerment and Disability Council composed of the executive directors of the centers and certain other members, establishes a base amount of $150,000 to be made available annually to the council, and requires the council to, among other actions, develop a uniform tracking and data collection system to be used by each center. This bill would revise and recast the provisions related to Family Empowerment Centers on Disability, including requiring the department to give priority to grant applicants in those of the 32 regions in the state that do not have a center, increasing the minimum base rate for each center awarded a grant from $150,000 to $237,000 commencing with the start of the fiscal year after a center has been established in each of the 32 regions, and, commencing with the 2023–24 fiscal year, providing for an annual cost-of-living adjustment of the grant amount, as specified. The bill would also increase the base amount to be made available annually to the council from $150,000 to $237,000. The bill would impose additional requirements on centers as a condition of receiving a grant and would require the department, among other actions, to, on or before June 30, 2022, develop a data collection template for use by centers and provide guidance to centers on how to define and report data. The bill would make implementation of the bill's provisions contingent upon an appropriation being made in the annual Budget Act or another statute for its purposes.
Existing law requires a school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining a kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to provide a needy pupil with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday, and authorizes the school district or county superintendent of schools to use funds available from any federal or state program to comply with that requirement, as provided. Existing law generally requires a school district or a county superintendent of schools to provide breakfast and lunch free of charge to all pupils at a very high poverty school, as defined. This bill would require a school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining a kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to provide a pupil, eligible to receive a reduced-priced meal, that meal free of charge. By creating a new duty on a school district or a county superintendent of schools, the bill would create a state-mandated program. To comply with the above, the bill would authorize a school district or county office of education to use funds made available through any federal, to the extent allowed, or state program relating to the provision of meals to pupils, as provided. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.