SB 702

This bill specifies that the Joint Committee on Finance may provide up to

$20,000,000 in funding in the 2023-25 fiscal biennium, from the JCF supplemental

appropriation, for technical college programs to expand the state's oral health care

workforce. The Technical College System Board, in coordination with the technical

colleges, may submit a request to JCF for this funding with a plan that identifies each

technical college that requests funding, the amount of funding requested, and a

detailed description of the eligible expenditures for which the funding would be used.

The bill defines “eligible expenditures” as 1) capital expenditures, such as

expenditures for equipment or facility improvements or expansion; 2) expenditures

for instructional supplies, teaching materials and resources, consumables, or clinic

fees; and 3) hiring bonuses of up to $5,000 for oral health care instructors if certain

requirements are satisfied. The plan must also include requests for 1) up to

$2,000,000 for Northcentral Technical College to expand current dental hygienist

and dental assistant programs and for development of a dental therapy program if

dental therapy becomes an authorized dental practice; 2) up to $1,430,000 for any

other technical college that offers a dental hygienist program; and 3) up to $1,000,000

for any technical college that offers no dental program or only a dental assistant

program, to create a new program or expand an existing program. However, the plan

may also include, for these technical colleges, requests for additional funding for

purposes consistent with the bill. The plan must include sufficient information for

JCF to determine that 1) the requested funding will be used only for eligible

expenditures to expand a technical college's existing oral health care program that

has a capacity limit and a current waiting list or to create a new oral health care

program after a finding of demonstrated community interest in and need for the

program; and 2) the technical college will provide 20 percent matching funding,

except that the technical college must provide no less than 50 percent matching

funding for instructor hiring bonuses.

Under the bill, if JCF approves the plan (as proposed or as modified), JCF

provides funding to the TCS Board. The TCS Board then reimburses each technical

college for its eligible expenditures under the approved plan if the TCS Board finds

the technical college complied with the requirements in the bill. If a technical college

has not requested reimbursement from the TCS Board within 12 months after JCF

approves the plan or if the technical college informs the TCS Board that it will not

implement the program changes described in the approved plan, the TCS Board may

submit a request to JCF to redistribute the funds allocated for that technical college

to another technical college to be used for a purpose consistent with the bill. The

request must include certain information and is submitted to JCF for approval under

a 14-day passive review process.

The bill also requires a report to the legislature that includes the amount of

funding each technical college received, a detailed description of all expenditures for