Bill Text: CA AB2202 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Bill 2202 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: University of California: school of medicine: San Joaquin Valley Regional Medical Education Endowment Fund.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-09-26 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 756, Statutes of 2018. [AB2202 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB2202-Chaptered.html

Assembly Bill No. 2202

CHAPTER 756

An act to add Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 92162) to Chapter 2 of Part 57 of Division 9 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to the University of California.

[ Approved by Governor September 26, 2018. Filed with Secretary of State September 26, 2018. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2202, Gray. University of California: school of medicine: San Joaquin Valley Regional Medical Education Endowment Fund.

The California Constitution provides that the University of California constitutes a public trust administered by the Regents of the University of California, a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes.

This bill would create the University of California San Francisco San Joaquin Valley Regional Medical Education Endowment Fund for the purpose of supporting the annual operating costs for the development, operation, and maintenance of a branch campus of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine in the San Joaquin Valley, as specified. The bill also provides that moneys in the fund shall not be expended on the development, operation, or maintenance of the branch campus until the Controller determines a sufficient balance of $500 million is achieved and maintained in the fund. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, earnings on the investment of the principal of the fund would be used to cover the annual costs for the development, operation, and maintenance of a branch campus supporting 50 students per class in the San Joaquin Valley over the 10 years following the accrual of the funds, as well as the estimated costs of obtaining approval and accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, among other expenses. The bill would require the University of California to seek approval and accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education for an expanded branch campus, upon the above determination by the Controller of sufficient funds in the endowment fund.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) In 2008, the Regents of the University of California endorsed continued planning efforts leading to the development of a proposed new school of medicine at the University of California, Merced, campus.

(b) The Budget Act of 2015 provided that the University of California shall continue planning for a school of medicine at the Merced campus and allocated $1 million for this purpose.

(c) The University of California completed and issued a report in 2018 entitled “Improving Health Care Access in the San Joaquin Valley.” The study provides findings and recommendations related to workforce planning, healthcare delivery, and health professions education and training in the region. It also describes the resource requirements for the establishment of a branch campus of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, which provides a future pathway to establishing an independent medical school in the region.

(d) In 2014, the University of California, Merced, launched the undergraduate public health major, which began with 19 students and quickly grew to encompass approximately 300 majors and 50 minors.

(e) The University of California, Merced, has also launched a new stand-alone doctor of philosophy degree program in public health, further establishing the university’s commitment to the education of the next generation of scholars who are addressing the unique health concerns in the San Joaquin Valley.

(f) The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and the UCSF Fresno partners are committed to working with the University of California, Merced, to enhance learning opportunities and educational experiences for the medical students in the San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education (PRIME).

(g) The UCSF and University of California, Merced, collaboration could lead to research opportunities for the San Joaquin Valley PRIME students, particularly in areas such as community health and health disparities, thus exposing learners to research that addresses health disparities in the region.

(h) The UCSF Fresno and University of California, Merced, collaboration has already begun to foster faculty exchange in medical education. Currently, the University of California, Merced, faculty provide lectures in foundational sciences for UCSF students rotating at the UCSF Fresno, and their role in supporting foundational science and public health instruction can expand.

SEC. 2.

Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 92162) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 57 of Division 9 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:

Article 6.5. The University of California, San Francisco, San Joaquin Valley Regional Campus Medical Education Endowment Fund

92162.

(a) The University of California, San Francisco, San Joaquin Valley Regional Campus Medical Education Endowment Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury. Funds received by the University of California or the Controller, for the purposes set forth in subdivision (b) shall be deposited into the University of California, San Francisco, San Joaquin Valley Regional Campus Medical Education Endowment Fund. For purposes of this article, “endowment fund” means the University of California, San Francisco, San Joaquin Valley Regional Campus Medical Education Endowment Fund.

(b) Moneys in the endowment fund shall be allocated to the University of California, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to support the annual operating costs for the development, operation, and maintenance of a branch campus of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine in the San Joaquin Valley, and to generate funding through investment earnings for the support of medical education in the San Joaquin Valley.

(c) (1) Moneys in the endowment fund shall initially be invested with the goal of achieving capital appreciation to create a balance sufficient to generate ongoing earnings to cover the estimated annual operating costs associated with the development, operation, and maintenance of a branch campus of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine in the San Joaquin Valley. The balance of the endowment fund shall not be deemed sufficient until a balance of five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) is achieved and maintained in the endowment fund.

(2) Upon the determination of the Controller, in consultation with the University of California, that the endowment fund balance has attained the goal established in paragraph (1), moneys in the endowment fund shall be invested to generate earnings to fund annual operating costs associated with the development, operation, and maintenance of a branch campus of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine in the San Joaquin Valley. Moneys shall be invested in a manner that best meets the goals of the endowment fund.

(d) The endowment fund may receive donations and contributions from public and private entities, partnerships between public and private entities, fees, cash advances, and transfers from the General Fund as may be specified by law.

(e) Earnings generated by the endowment fund shall be retained by the endowment fund.

(f) Moneys deposited in the endowment fund are exempt from the requirements of Sections 11270 to 11275, inclusive, of the Government Code.

92164.

(a) (1) Upon the determination of the Controller, in consultation with the University of California, that the endowment fund has adequate principal to annually yield sufficient investment earnings, from the date of determination, to cover the annual costs for the development, operation, and maintenance of a branch campus of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, supporting 50 students per class, or 200 students total, in the San Joaquin Valley over the next 10 years and to fund the estimated costs of obtaining approval and accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the University of California shall seek approval and accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education for an expanded branch campus of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine in the San Joaquin Valley.

(2) The Controller, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall transfer moneys from the endowment fund to the University of California, in an amount equal to the estimated costs of applying for and obtaining approval and accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education for a branch campus of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine in the San Joaquin Valley.

(b) Any funds, public or private, allocated from the endowment fund, shall supplement, not supplant, the University of California budget allocations for any fiscal year.

92166.

Nothing in this article shall require the University of California to take any action towards developing a branch campus of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine in the San Joaquin Valley region unless the endowment fund has a balance of five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) and the Controller, after consultation with the University of California, has determined that the funds to be allocated are sufficient to support annual operating expenses for a San Joaquin Valley branch campus of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine supporting 50 students per class.