CA AB 1811: new version, 09/27/26 - Chaptered

California AB 1811, chaptered September 27, 2026, as Chapter 549, Statutes of 2026, addresses health professional shortage area (HPSA) designations and health workforce data collection requirements under California law. For HPSA designations, the bill creates a state-level definition operative until January 1, 2035. Under that definition, an area qualifies as a health professional shortage area if: (1) the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) determines it has a shortage of health professionals; (2) it holds a current federal HPSA designation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; or (3) it held a federal HPSA designation as of January 1, 2025, regardless of whether federal recognition has since been withdrawn. HCAI retains authority to revoke state designations. The bill modifies workforce data collection obligations for healing arts boards, including the Board of Registered Nursing and the Respiratory Care Board of California. Boards must now collect or request workforce data at the time a license or registration is issued, not solely at renewal. Required data elements are expanded to include hours worked in inpatient care, hours worked in outpatient care, and whether the licensee or registrant offers a formal sliding fee scale. The reporting cadence from boards to HCAI is changed from quarterly to monthly. Existing protections are preserved: licensees and registrants cannot be required to provide workforce data as a condition of renewal and cannot be disciplined for declining to provide it. Confidentiality requirements remain, and data may be released only in aggregate form.