Senate File 2350 - Introduced SENATE FILE 2350 BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3168) A BILL FOR An Act relating to educational assistance programs administered 1 by the college student aid commission for certain 2 nurses, physician assistants, advanced registered nurse 3 practitioners, doctors of nursing practice, and nurse 4 educators. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 6156SV (2) 87 kh/jh
S.F. 2350 Section 1. Section 261.114, subsection 3, unnumbered 1 paragraph 1, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows: 2 A program agreement shall be entered into by an eligible 3 student and the commission when the eligible student begins 4 the final year of study in an academic program leading to 5 eligibility for licensure as a nurse practitioner or physician 6 assistant. The commission shall not enter into any new 7 program agreement under this section on or after July 1, 2018. 8 Under the agreement, to receive loan repayments pursuant to 9 subsection 5 , an eligible student shall agree to and shall 10 fulfill all of the following requirements: 11 Sec. 2. Section 261.114, subsection 8, Code 2018, is amended 12 by striking the subsection. 13 Sec. 3. Section 261.114, subsection 10, Code 2018, is 14 amended to read as follows: 15 10. Trust fund established. A rural Iowa advanced 16 registered nurse practitioner and physician assistant trust 17 fund is created in the state treasury as a separate fund under 18 the control of the commission. The commission shall remit all 19 repayments made pursuant to this section to the rural Iowa 20 advanced registered nurse practitioner and physician assistant 21 trust fund. All moneys deposited or paid into the trust fund 22 are appropriated and made available to the commission to be 23 used for meeting the requirements of this section . Moneys in 24 the fund up to the total amount that an eligible student may 25 receive for an eligible loan in accordance with this section 26 and upon fulfilling the requirements of subsection 3 shall be 27 considered encumbered for the duration of the agreement entered 28 into pursuant to subsection 3 . Notwithstanding section 8.33 , 29 any balance in the fund on June 30 of each fiscal year shall not 30 revert to the general fund of the state, but shall be available 31 for purposes of this section in subsequent fiscal years. 32 Notwithstanding section 8.33, any balance in the fund on June 33 30, 2023, shall not revert to the general fund of the state but 34 shall be transferred to the health care loan repayment fund 35 -1- LSB 6156SV (2) 87 kh/jh 1/ 7
S.F. 2350 established pursuant to section 261.116 to be used for purposes 1 of the health care loan repayment program. 2 Sec. 4. Section 261.114, Code 2018, is amended by adding the 3 following new subsection: 4 NEW SUBSECTION . 10A. This section is repealed July 1, 2023. 5 Sec. 5. Section 261.116, Code 2018, is amended to read as 6 follows: 7 261.116 Registered nurse and nurse educator Health care loan 8 forgiveness repayment program. 9 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section, unless the 10 context otherwise requires: 11 a. “Advanced registered nurse practitioner” means a person 12 licensed as a registered nurse under chapter 152 or 152E who 13 is licensed by the board of nursing as an advanced registered 14 nurse practitioner. 15 b. “Nurse educator” means a registered nurse who holds 16 a master’s degree or doctorate degree and is employed by a 17 community college, an accredited private institution, or an 18 institution of higher education governed by the state board 19 of regents as a faculty member to teach nursing at a nursing 20 education program approved by the board of nursing pursuant to 21 section 152.5. 22 c. “Physician assistant” means a person licensed as a 23 physician assistant under chapter 148C. 24 d. “Qualified student loan” means a loan that was made, 25 insured, or guaranteed under Tit. IV of the federal Higher 26 Education Act of 1965, as amended, or under Tit. VII or VIII 27 of the federal Public Health Service Act, as amended, directly 28 to the borrower for attendance at an approved postsecondary 29 educational institution. 30 e. “Service commitment area” means a city in Iowa with a 31 population of less than twenty-six thousand that is located 32 more than fifty miles from a city with a population of fifty 33 thousand or more. 34 2. Program established. A registered nurse and nurse 35 -2- LSB 6156SV (2) 87 kh/jh 2/ 7
S.F. 2350 educator health care loan forgiveness repayment program 1 is established to be administered by the commission . The 2 program shall consist of loan forgiveness for eligible 3 federally guaranteed for purposes of repaying the qualified 4 student loans for of registered nurses , advanced registered 5 nurse practitioners, doctors of nursing practice, physician 6 assistants, and nurse educators who practice full-time in a 7 service commitment area or teach in this state , as appropriate, 8 and who are selected for the program in accordance with this 9 section . For purposes of this section , unless the context 10 otherwise requires, “nurse educator” means a registered nurse 11 who holds a master’s degree or doctorate degree and is employed 12 as a faculty member who teaches nursing as provided in 655 13 IAC 2.6 (152) at a community college, an accredited private 14 institution, or an institution of higher education governed by 15 the state board of regents. An applicant who is a member of 16 the Iowa national guard is exempt from the service commitment 17 area requirement, but shall submit an affidavit verifying the 18 applicant is practicing full-time in this state. 19 2. 3. Application requirements. Each applicant for loan 20 forgiveness repayment shall, in accordance with the rules of 21 the commission, do the following: 22 a. Complete and file an application for registered nurse 23 or nurse educator loan forgiveness repayment . The individual 24 shall be responsible for the prompt submission of any 25 information required by the commission. 26 b. File a new application and submit information as 27 required by the commission annually on the basis of which 28 the applicant’s eligibility for the renewed loan forgiveness 29 repayment will be evaluated and determined. 30 c. Complete and return, on a form approved by the 31 commission, an affidavit of practice verifying that the 32 applicant is a registered nurse , an advanced registered nurse 33 practitioner, a doctor of nursing practice, or a physician 34 assistant who is practicing full-time in a service commitment 35 -3- LSB 6156SV (2) 87 kh/jh 3/ 7
S.F. 2350 area in this state or is a nurse educator teaching at a 1 community college, an accredited private institution, or an 2 institution of higher learning governed by the state board of 3 regents who teaches full-time in this state . If practice in a 4 service commitment area is required as a condition of receiving 5 loan repayment, the affidavit shall specify the service 6 commitment area in which the applicant is practicing full-time. 7 3. 4. Loan repayment amounts. 8 a. The annual amount of registered nurse loan forgiveness 9 for a registered nurse who completes a course of study, which 10 leads to a baccalaureate or associate degree of nursing, 11 diploma in nursing, or a graduate or equivalent degree in 12 nursing, and who practices in this state, repayment provided to 13 a recipient under this section shall not exceed the resident 14 tuition rate established for institutions of higher learning 15 governed by the state board of regents for the first year 16 following the registered nurse’s graduation from a nursing 17 education program approved by the board of nursing pursuant to 18 section 152.5 six thousand dollars , or twenty percent of the 19 registered nurse’s total federally guaranteed Stafford loan 20 amount under the federal family education loan program or the 21 federal direct loan program, including principal and interest 22 recipient’s total qualified student loan , whichever amount is 23 less. A registered nurse shall be recipient is eligible for 24 the loan forgiveness repayment program for not more than five 25 consecutive years. 26 b. The annual amount of nurse educator loan forgiveness 27 shall not exceed the resident tuition rate established for 28 institutions of higher learning governed by the state board 29 of regents for the first year following the nurse educator’s 30 graduation from an advanced formal academic nursing education 31 program approved by the board of nursing pursuant to section 32 152.5 , or twenty percent of the nurse educator’s total 33 federally guaranteed Stafford loan amount under the federal 34 family education loan program or the federal direct loan 35 -4- LSB 6156SV (2) 87 kh/jh 4/ 7
S.F. 2350 program, including principal and interest, whichever amount 1 is less. A nurse educator shall be eligible for the loan 2 forgiveness program for not more than five consecutive years. 3 4. 5. Selection criteria. The commission shall establish 4 by rule the evaluation criteria to be used in evaluating 5 applications submitted under this section. Priority shall be 6 given to applicants who are residents of Iowa and, if requested 7 by the adjutant general, to applicants who are members of the 8 Iowa national guard. 9 6. Health care loan repayment fund. A registered nurse and 10 nurse educator health care loan forgiveness repayment fund is 11 created for deposit of moneys appropriated to or received by 12 the commission for use under the program. Notwithstanding 13 section 8.33 , moneys deposited in the health care loan 14 repayment fund shall not revert to any fund of the state 15 at the end of any fiscal year but shall remain in the loan 16 forgiveness repayment fund and be continuously available for 17 loan forgiveness repayment under the program. Notwithstanding 18 section 12C.7, subsection 2 , interest or earnings on moneys 19 deposited in the health care loan fund shall be credited to the 20 fund. 21 5. 7. Report. The commission shall submit in a report 22 to the general assembly by January 1, annually, the number of 23 individuals who received loan forgiveness repayment pursuant to 24 this section , where the participants practiced or taught, the 25 amount paid to each program participant, and other information 26 identified by the commission as indicators of outcomes from of 27 the program. 28 6. 8. Rules. The commission shall adopt rules pursuant to 29 chapter 17A to administer this section . 30 EXPLANATION 31 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 32 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 33 This bill combines and repeals certain educational 34 assistance programs administered by the college student aid 35 -5- LSB 6156SV (2) 87 kh/jh 5/ 7
S.F. 2350 commission for the benefit of registered nurses, physician 1 assistants, advanced registered nurse practitioners, doctors of 2 nursing practice, and nurse educators. 3 RURAL IOWA ADVANCED REGISTERED NURSE PRACTITIONER AND 4 PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM —— FUNDS. The bill 5 modifies the rural Iowa advanced registered nurse practitioner 6 and physician assistant loan repayment program by prohibiting 7 the commission from entering into any new program agreements on 8 or after July 1, 2018; striking a provision to allow a person 9 who entered into a program agreement to practice part-time; 10 repealing the program July 1, 2023; and providing for the 11 transfer of any balance in the rural Iowa advanced registered 12 nurse practitioner and physician assistant trust fund on June 13 30, 2023, to the health care loan repayment fund established 14 for purposes of the health care loan repayment program. 15 COMBINED LOAN PROGRAM. The bill expands the current 16 registered nurse and nurse educator program by adding advanced 17 registered nurse practitioners, doctors of nursing practice, 18 and physician assistants to the program. The bill changes the 19 name of the program, and of the program fund, to the health 20 care loan repayment program and the health care loan repayment 21 fund. 22 To qualify for the program, applicants who are registered 23 nurses, advanced registered nurse practitioners, doctors of 24 nursing practice, or physician assistants must complete and 25 return an affidavit of practice verifying that the applicant is 26 or will be practicing full-time in a service commitment area 27 in this state or is a nurse educator teaching full-time in 28 this state. The affidavit must specify the service commitment 29 area in which the applicant will practice as a condition of 30 receiving loan repayment. Nurse educators are not required 31 to teach in service commitment areas. An applicant who is a 32 member of the Iowa national guard is exempt from the service 33 commitment area requirement, but must submit an affidavit 34 verifying the applicant is practicing in this state. The bill 35 -6- LSB 6156SV (2) 87 kh/jh 6/ 7
S.F. 2350 defines a service commitment area as a city in Iowa with a 1 population of less than 26,000 that is located more than 50 2 miles from a city with a population of 50,000 or more. 3 Currently, the annual amount of loan repayment for a 4 registered nurse or nurse educator shall not exceed the 5 resident tuition rate established for regents universities or 6 20 percent of the registered nurse’s total federally determined 7 loan amount, including principal and interest, whichever 8 amount is less. The bill limits the annual amount of loan 9 repayment to a program applicant to $6,000 or 20 percent of 10 the recipient’s total qualified student loan, whichever amount 11 is less. The bill defines qualified student loan as a loan 12 that was made, insured, or guaranteed under Tit. IV of the 13 federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, or under 14 Tit. VII or VIII of the federal Public Health Service Act, as 15 amended, directly to the borrower for attendance at an approved 16 postsecondary educational institution. 17 The commission is required to establish by rule the criteria 18 to be used in evaluating applications, and to give highest 19 priority to applicants who are residents of Iowa, then, if 20 requested by the adjutant general, to applicants who are 21 members of the Iowa national guard. 22 -7- LSB 6156SV (2) 87 kh/jh 7/ 7