No General Fund revenues shall be expended to carry out this article. The implementation of the pilot program and, if applicable, the permanent program established by this article shall be contingent upon the availability of federal funds, which do not divert or detract from funds currently utilized to underwrite existing physician assistant training programs or to fund existing functions of the board. The new funding shall be sufficient to cover the full additional cost to the educational institution or institutions that establish the program or programs, the cost of tuition and attendance for the students in the program or programs, and any additional costs, including enforcement costs, that the department or the board incurs as a result of implementing this article. This article does not impose any obligations upon the department, the board, or any physician assistant training program in the absence of adequate funding as described in this section. This article does not preclude applicants for the program established by this article from seeking state or federal scholarship funds, or state and federal loan repayment funds available to physician assistant students, or require any applicants be granted preference in the award of those funds. This article does not impair the autonomy of any institution that offers a physician assistant training program.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 511, Sec. 23. (SB 1495) Effective January 1, 2023.)