AB 224: California Housing Finance Agency: financing agreements: affordable rental housing for school employees.

Session Year: 2017-2018
House: Assembly
Latest Version Date: 2018-08-22

Version:

Existing law establishes the California Housing Finance Agency, within the Department of Housing and Community Development, with the primary purpose of meeting the housing needs of persons and families of low or moderate income. Existing law authorizes the agency to make, or undertake commitments to make, loans to housing sponsors to finance certain types of housing developments and residential structures, as provided, and requires the agency to enter into regulatory contracts and other agreements with housing sponsors receiving these loans. Existing law, the Teacher Housing Act of 2016, authorizes school districts to establish and implement programs that address the housing needs of teachers and school district employees who face challenges in securing affordable housing.

This bill would specifically authorize the agency to enter into financing agreements with school districts, and developers that have partnered with school districts, for the creation of affordable rental housing, as defined, for school district employees, including teachers. The bill would require that payment on a loan provided pursuant to these provisions be deferred until the affordable rental housing financed by that loan is put into service and the school district begins collecting rent from the occupants of that affordable rental housing.

Existing law establishes the California Housing Finance Fund and continuously appropriates all money in the fund to the agency for purposes of financing the various programs that it administers. Existing law requires that all moneys accruing to the agency pursuant to specified provisions, including proceeds from revenue bonds and taxable securities issued by the agency, be deposited in the fund.

This bill, notwithstanding these provisions, would make funds available for its purposes only upon appropriation by the Legislature.

The Dental Practice Act provides for the licensure and regulation of dentists by the Dental Board of California, which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The act governs the use of general anesthesia, conscious sedation, and oral conscious sedation for pediatric and adult patients. The act makes it unprofessional conduct for a dentist to engage in certain conduct, including failing to obtain written consent prior to administering general anesthesia or conscious sedation. The act also makes a willful violation of its provisions, including practicing without a valid certificate or license, a crime, and defines various terms relating to anesthesia and sedation. This bill, on or before January 1, 2019, would require the board to contract with a nonprofit research organization for the purpose of obtaining high-quality pediatric sedation and anesthesia-related data.This bill, on and after January 1, 2019, would redefine general anesthesia for these purposes. The bill would define deep sedation to mean a drug-induced depression of consciousness during which patients cannot be easily aroused but respond purposefully following repeated or painful stimulation, as specified.The Dental Practice Act prohibits a dentist from administering or ordering the administration of general anesthesia on an outpatient basis for dental patients unless the dentist meets certain licensing criteria.This bill would extend that licensing criteria to dentists administering deep sedation. The bill would require dentists to have a pediatric endorsement of their general anesthesia permit and have completed a Commission on Dental Accreditation accredited or equivalent residency training program providing competency in the administration of deep sedation or general anesthesia to be eligible to administer these drugs to patients under 13 years of age. The bill also would require dentists to have completed at least 20 cases to establish competency for patients under 7 years of age, and would require dentists to perform a physical evaluation and a medical history before administering deep sedation or general anesthesia. The bill would further require that, for any procedure involving deep sedation or general anesthesia for patients between 7 and 13 years of age, the dentist and at least 2 support staff be present, except as specified, and would require the dentist and at least one support staff to have certain advanced life support and airway management training, as specified. The bill also would require an operating dentist, an assistant, and a dedicated monitor, as defined, to be present during procedures on children under 7 years of age, and would require the dedicated monitor to have certain advanced life support and airway management training, as specified. The bill would make these provisions operative on January 1, 2019.The Dental Practice Act prohibits a dentist from administering or ordering the administration of conscious sedation, as defined, on an outpatient basis unless the dentist meets certain licensing criteria.This bill would replace the term conscious sedation with moderate sedation and, on and after January 1, 2020, would define moderate sedation as a drug-induced depression of consciousness during which a patient responds purposefully to verbal commands and meets other criteria. The bill would prohibit a dentist from administering or ordering the administration of moderate sedation on an outpatient basis to a dental patient unless the dentist meets specified licensing criteria and has applied to the board, submitted an application fee, and shown successful completion of training in moderate sedation. The bill would require a dentist who orders the administration of moderate sedation to be physically present in the treatment facility while the patient is sedated. The bill would specify that training in the administration of moderate sedation for patients 13 years of age or older is acceptable if it consists of a certain number of instructional hours and completion of cases and complies with certain guidelines for teaching pain control and sedation. The bill would require a dentist, prior to performing any procedure involving moderate sedation of a patient under 13 years of age, to obtain a pediatric endorsement, requiring a specified number of didactic instruction and clinical cases as well as advanced life support and airway management training. The bill also would require for a child under 7 years of age that there be at least 2 support staff persons in addition to the practicing dentist present at all times during the procedure, with one staff person member serving as a dedicated patient monitor. The bill would make these provisions operative on January 1, 2020.This bill also would establish new requirements for dentists administering or ordering the administration of minimal sedation, defined as a drug-induced state during which patients respond normally to verbal commands, as specified, for pediatric patients under 13 years of age. These new requirements would include that the dentist possess specified licensing credentials, and would require any dentist who desires to administer or order the administration of minimal sedation to apply to the board, as specified, and to submit an application fee. The bill would make a violation of these provisions governing minimal sedation unprofessional conduct, constituting grounds for the revocation or suspension of the dentists permit or other forms of reprimand. The bill would make these provisions operative on January 1, 2020.By placing new requirements on dentists and other practitioners, this bill would expand the scope of an existing crime for violations of the Dental Practice Act, and would, therefore, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Discussed in Hearing