Dental Board-backed AB 1760 advances as staff outline consolidation of dental-assistant duties and infection-control rulemaking

The Dental Assisting Council of the Dental Board of California discussed a package of legislative and regulatory changes on infection control and allowable dental-assistant duties at its May meeting. Brent Nelson, the board's legislative and regulatory specialist, outlined the status of several measures including AB 873, the board-sponsored AB 1760 and the Senate committee omnibus bill SB 1445.

Nelson said AB 873, which would expand approved infection-control course formats and adjust certain duty and licensing pathways, "did pass the Assembly with urgency and is amended in the Senate," but was not advancing at the time of the meeting. He summarized AB 1760 as a broader vehicle that consolidates many of the board's proposed technical and substantive updates to the Dental Practice Act, and said the bill "resolves training implementation delays, rectifies inadvertent technical errors from this last sunset bill, modernizes licensure and permits, and increases administrative efficiency and transparency." Nelson added that some code sections included in AB 1760 will be moved into SB 1445, the committee bill, and struck from AB 1760 so the substantive changes are preserved in the omnibus vehicle.

Bryce Derty, the board's executive officer, told the Council that AB 1760 had been kept on the consent calendar in Assembly committees and "passed off the Assembly floor on consent," and that the board and staff were working with the Senate Business and Professions Committee to reconcile overlapping language with SB 1445. Derty described the committee bill as a typical end-of-session vehicle for technical, non‑controversial cleanups across multiple boards and said the board is coordinating to avoid duplication between the two bills.

Nelson also described ongoing rulemaking to amend California Code of Regulations, title 16, §105 (minimum infection-control standards). He said the board-approved text was submitted for departmental review and that the 45‑day public-comment period had not yet opened; staff advised the public to sign up for board updates to receive notice when the comment period begins.

Board staff emphasized the procedural next steps: continued departmental review of the rulemaking package, interagency review with the Department of Consumer Affairs budget office and the Office of Administrative Law, and continued legislative outreach as AB 1760 and SB 1445 move through the Senate. Council materials indicate staff plan to incorporate additional, board‑approved duty clarifications into the board's 2028 sunset bill if needed.

The Council did not take a formal vote on these bills at the meeting; staff characterized the updates as informational and summarized which code sections are expected to transfer between bill vehicles as the Legislature proceeds. The meeting packet lists multiple affected Business and Professions Code sections (e.g., 1675.5, 1741, 1750, 1750.1, 1752.4, 1750.3, 1753.5, 1753.51, 1753.55, 1753.6) and staff recommended following the bills’ progress in the Senate.