Senate Assistant Majority Leader Aisha Wahab’s Smile Act Advances to Senate Floor

Sacramento, CA — SB 980, The Smile Act—authored by California Senate Assistant Majority Leader Aisha Wahab (D-Silicon Valley)—expands coverage for dental implant benefits for Medi-Cal recipients, and was moved off the Senate Appropriations suspense file to the Senate Floor.

“Dental care is medical care. Coverage for comprehensive dental services, like implants, is beneficial to a person’s overall health and wellness, and can mitigate other—more costly—health issues,” said Senator Wahab.

A total of 9 bills from Senator Wahab were released from the suspense file in Senate Appropriations:

SB 926 (Non-Consensual Explicit Deepfakes) – Expands current revenge porn law to prohibit the unauthorized distribution of artificially created sexually explicit images with the intention of causing serious emotional distress of the person depicted in the image.

SB 980 (The Smile Act) - Aligns law with regulations regarding lab-processed crowns, and ensures dental implants are a covered benefit under Medi-Cal.

SB 982 (Organized Retail Theft Sunset Removal) – Eliminates the January 1, 2026 sunset to sustain the crime of organized theft. (part of Senate’s bipartisan legislative package,  Working Together for a Safer CA)

SB 983 (Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Taskforce) – Establishes the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Task Force to determine best practices for the implementation of alternative fuels infrastructure at existing retail gasoline fueling stations.

SB 984 (Project Labor Agreements) – Requires the Department of General Services, Department of Toxic Substances Control, California State University, and California Courts to each identify 3 major state construction projects that will be governed by a project labor agreement.

SB 1318 (Child Suicide Prevention) – Requires local education agencies to modify their youth suicide prevention policies to prioritize mental health professionals as first responders to a pupil suicide crisis on campus.
 
SB 1319 (Streamline SNF to BH Facility) – Streamlines the process for expanding and converting whole or part of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to behavioral health facilities by reducing the amount of time needed for facilities to obtain the necessary approvals from state agencies to be a licensed and operating Medi-Cal provider. Part of the Senate’s bipartisan legislative package, Working Together for a Safer California.

SB 1321 (Employment Training Panel) – Updates labor standards on Employment Training Panel (ETP) funds, prioritizing high-quality training programs, requiring plans for targeted recruitment and hiring plans, and increasing transparency.

SB 1322 (Chafee Education and Training Vouchers Program) – Expands eligibility for the Chafee Education and Training Voucher grant for youth who were in foster care at some point between the ages of 14 and 18, instead of 16 and 18.   

These bills will now head to the Senate Floor, and need to pass the Senate by the end of session on May 24, 2024 in order to advance to the Assembly.