California SB 1311

(1) The Dental Practice Act establishes the Dental Board of California to license and regulate the practice of dentistry. Existing law requires the board to license and regulate dental auxiliaries, including, among others, dental assistants, as defined, and sets forth duties and functions that those dental auxiliaries are authorized to perform. Existing law requires an unlicensed dental assistant not enrolled in a board-approved program for registered dental assisting or an alternative dental assisting program to complete an infection control certification course, as specified. In this regard, existing law allows the unlicensed dental assistant to complete a board-approved 8-hour course, with 6 hours being didactic instruction and 2 hours being laboratory instruction, as specified. This bill would allow an unlicensed dental assistant to complete the Dental Assisting National Board's Infection Control examination instead of completing an infection control course. The bill would also revise the requirements for those infection control courses to allow an unlicensed dental assistant to complete one of specified courses approved by the board or a course with at least 4 hours of didactic instruction and at least 2 hours of laboratory instruction using video or a series of video training tools, as specified. Existing law makes the employer of a dental assistant responsible for ensuring that the dental assistant has successfully completed a board-approved 8-hour course in infection control before performing any basic supportive dental procedures involving potential exposure to blood, saliva, or other potentially infectious material. This bill would instead require the employer to ensure the dental assistant has successfully completed a course or examination in infection control, as described above, before performing those procedures. (2) Existing law establishes the Licensed Physicians from Mexico Program under which the Medical Board of California is required to issue a physician and surgeon's license to a licensed physician from Mexico who meets specific education, language, experience, and other requirements. Existing law limits the number of program applicants and the dates they may apply. This bill would make changes to those application deadlines, requiring applicants for the program to submit an application to the board between October 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026, and authorizing the board to accept up to 15 applications after July 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2028. (3) The Veterinary Medicine Practice Act establishes the California Veterinary Medical Board to license and regulate veterinarians, veterinarian technicians, and the practice of veterinary medicine. Under existing law, the board is composed of 9 members, of which 4 are licensed veterinarians, 2 are registered veterinary technicians, and 3 are public members. Existing law requires the Governor to appoint the 4 veterinarian members, one registered veterinary technician member, and one public member to the board. Under existing law, the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly each appoint a public member. The act also specifies the educational requirements, among other requirements, to become a registered veterinary technician. This bill would require the Governor to appoint the additional registered veterinary technician member to the board and would make nonsubstantive changes to provisions relating to the board. The bill would modify the educational requirements to become a registered veterinary technician to include education accredited by a California public school, as specified. (4) The Private Investigator Act provides for the licensure and regulation of private investigators by the Director of Consumer Affairs and requires an agreement to provide a service under the act to be in writing and contain, among other things, the approximate start and completion dates of the work to be provided. Under this bill, a master agreement for frequently contracted services over a specified period of time would be exempt from the above-described requirement to include the approximate start and completion dates of the work, if the agreement includes the beginning and termination dates. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.