(a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury the Managed Care Administrative Fines and Penalties Fund.

(b) The fines and administrative penalties collected pursuant to this chapter, on and after September 30, 2008, shall be deposited into the Managed Care Administrative Fines and Penalties Fund.

(c) The fines and administrative penalties deposited into the Managed Care Administrative Fines and Penalties Fund shall be transferred by the department, beginning September 1, 2009, and annually thereafter, as follows:

(1) The first one million dollars ($1,000,000) shall be transferred to the Medically Underserved Account for Physicians within the Health Professions Education Fund and shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used for the purposes of the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program, as specified in Article 5 (commencing with Section 128550) or Chapter 5 of Part 3 of Division 107 and, notwithstanding Section 128555, shall not be used to provide funding for the Physician Volunteer Program.

(2) Any amount over the first one million dollars ($1,000,000), including accrued interest, in the fund shall be transferred to the Health Care Services Plan Fines and Penalties Fund created pursuant to Section 15893 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, shall be continuously appropriated for the purposes specified in Section 15894 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 1356 and Section 1356.1, the fines and administrative penalties authorized pursuant to this chapter shall not be used to reduce the assessments imposed on health care service plans pursuant to Section 1356.

(e) The amendments made to this section by the act adding this subdivision shall become operative on July 1, 2014.

(f) The amendments made to this section by the act adding this subdivision shall become operative on July 1, 2017.

(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 52, Sec. 4. (SB 97) Effective July 10, 2017. Amended version operative from July 1, 2017, by subdivision (f).)