SF 2350 (LSB 6156SV (2) 87)

SENATE FILE 2350

BY  COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES

(SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3168)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to educational assistance programs administered by the college student aid commission for certain nurses, physician assistants, advanced registered nurse practitioners, doctors of nursing practice, and nurse educators.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

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