Funding for technical college oral health care programs. (FE)

What it does

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

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.

Who's behind it

6 senators are its authors⁠. 4 are Republicans and 2 are Democrats.

11 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.

What it would cost

State agencies filed a cost estimate. Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

• Fiscal Estimate From WTCS