CA AB 2386

in committee

License to practice medicine: Licensed Physicians from Mexico Program and California Physician Expansion Act.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower

Description

Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California to license and regulate the practice of medicine. Former law, repealed as of January 1, 2025, established the Licensed Physicians and Dentists from Mexico Pilot Program, which allowed up to 30 licensed physicians and up to 30 licensed dentists from Mexico to practice medicine or dentistry in California for a period not to exceed 3 years, in accordance with certain requirements. Existing law, operative January 1, 2025, instead, establishes within the act the Licensed Physicians from Mexico Program, which authorizes the board to issue a limited number of nonrenewable 3-year physician's and surgeon's licenses to licensed physicians from Mexico who meet specified criteria. This bill would require the board to issue a full and unrestricted physician's and surgeon's license to a person who has completed 2 3-year terms of the Licensed Physicians from Mexico Program or the former Licensed Physicians and Dentists from Mexico Pilot Program in good standing upon satisfaction of specified requirements, including having an offer of continued employment from a health care facility or practice in California. This bill would establish the California Physician Expansion Act, which would require the board to issue a provisional license to an applicant who holds a full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in another country who meets specified requirements, including that the applicant has not committed any acts or crimes constituting grounds for denial of a certificate, as specified. In this regard, the bill would require the board to submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information required by the department of all applicants for a provisional license to determine whether the applicant has a criminal conviction record, as specified, and would require the department to provide a state- and federal-level response pursuant to specified provisions for the board to determine whether the applicant is subject to denial of licensure, as specified. The bill would make the provisional license valid for 3 years and would authorize the board to grant a one-time renewal for an additional period of up to 3 years, as specified. The bill would require a provisional licensee to, among other things, be employed by, and practice medicine only within, a sponsoring entity, as specified. The bill would authorize the board to revoke a provisional license or take any other disciplinary action deemed appropriate by the board, as specified. The bill would deem a provisional licensee applicant who meets specified requirements, including having completed at least 36 months of practice under the provisional license without any disciplinary actions, to meet the professional instruction, preliminary education, and postgraduate training requirements for a certificate under the Medical Practice Act. The bill would require the board to establish application, initial licensure, renewal, and conversion fees for the provisional license, as specified. The bill would make findings and declarations relating to its provisions.

Introduced: 2026-04-13
Status date: —
Latest action: 2026-06-22 — From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 2.) (June 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Subjects

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

2026-02-20
Read first time. To print.
reading-1
2026-02-21
From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.
2026-03-09
Referred to Com. on B. & P.
referral-committee
2026-04-13
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on B. & P. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-04-14
Re-referred to Com. on B. & P.
referral-committee
2026-04-21
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 12. Noes 2.) (April 21).
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee
2026-04-22
Read second time and amended.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2026-04-23
Measure version as amended on April 22 corrected.
amendment-passage
2026-04-23
Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
referral-committee
2026-05-06
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
referral-committee
2026-05-14
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 2.) (May 14).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-05-18
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2026-05-26
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 54. Noes 9.)
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2026-05-27
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
reading-1,referral-committee
2026-06-10
Referred to Com. on B. P. & E.D.
referral-committee
2026-06-16
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on B. P. & E.D.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-06-22
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 2.) (June 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

Versions

02/20/26 - Introduced — 2026-02-20Compare
04/13/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-04-13Compare
04/22/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-04-22Compare
06/16/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-06-16Compare
AB2386Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2026-04-21 · pass · 12-2
Member-level votes (19)
- Lowenthal: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Berman: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Haney: yes
- Hart: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Addis: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Alanis: no
- Bains: no
- Chen: other
- Hadwick: other
- Macedo: other
- Caloza: other
- Johnson: other
Do pass.
2026-05-14 · pass · 11-2
Member-level votes (15)
- Krell: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Fong: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Solache: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Tangipa: no
- Hoover: no
- Ta: other
- Dixon: other
AB 2386 Alvarez Assembly Third Reading
2026-05-26 · pass · 54-9
Member-level votes (80)
- Ward: yes
- Patel: yes
- Hart: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Lee: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Haney: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Soria: yes
- Papan: yes
- Solache: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Krell: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Berman: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Davies: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Fong: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Addis: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Lackey: no
- Bains: no
- Hoover: no
- Ellis: no
- Tangipa: no
- DeMaio: no
- Wallis: no
- Sanchez: no
- Patterson: no
- Flora: other
- Hadwick: other
- Dixon: other
- Macedo: other
- Sharp-Collins: other
- Gallagher: other
- Castillo: other
- Chen: other
- Jeff Gonzalez: other
- Arambula: other
- Johnson: other
- Wilson: other
- Zbur: other
- Celeste Rodriguez: other
- Muratsuchi: other
- Alanis: other
- Ta: other
Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2026-06-22 · pass · 7-2
Member-level votes (11)
- Niello: no
- Choi: no
- Smallwood-Cuevas: other
- Strickland: other
- Wahab: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Richardson: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2386

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z

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