S.F. 2195 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 261.117 Mental health professional 1 loan repayment program. 2 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section, unless the 3 context otherwise requires: 4 a. “Commission” means the college student aid commission. 5 b. “Eligible institution” means an institution of higher 6 learning governed by the state board of regents or an 7 accredited private institution as defined in section 261.9. 8 c. “Eligible loan” means a mental health professional’s 9 total federally guaranteed Stafford loan amount under the 10 federal family education loan program or the federal direct 11 loan program, a mental health professional’s federal grad plus 12 loans, or a mental health professional’s federal Perkins loan, 13 including principal and interest. 14 d. “Eligible practice area” means a city in Iowa that is 15 within a federal mental health shortage area, as designated by 16 the health resources and services administration of the United 17 States department of health and human services. 18 e. “Mental health professional” means a nonprescribing 19 individual who meets all of the following qualifications: 20 (1) The individual holds at least a master’s degree from 21 an eligible institution in a mental health field, including 22 psychology, counseling and guidance, social work, marriage and 23 family therapy, or mental health counseling. 24 (2) The individual holds a current Iowa license if 25 practicing in a field covered by an Iowa licensure law. 26 (3) The individual has at least two years of post-degree 27 clinical experience, supervised by another individual in the 28 mental health field, in assessing mental health needs and 29 problems and in providing appropriate mental health services. 30 (4) The individual is not eligible for the rural Iowa 31 advanced nurse practitioner and physician assistant loan 32 repayment program established pursuant to section 261.114. 33 f. “Part-time practice” means at least seventy percent of 34 a forty-hour workweek. 35 -1- LSB 5124SV (1) 89 jda/jh 1/ 6

S.F. 2195 2. Program established. A mental health professional loan 1 repayment program is established to be administered by the 2 commission for purposes of providing loan repayments for mental 3 health professionals who agree to practice in an eligible 4 practice area and meet the requirements of this section. 5 3. Program agreements. 6 a. The mental health professional and the commission shall 7 enter into a program agreement. Under the agreement, to 8 receive loan repayments pursuant to subsection 5, a mental 9 health professional shall agree to and shall engage in either 10 of the following: 11 (1) Full-time practice as a mental health professional in an 12 eligible practice area for a period of five consecutive years 13 after entering into the agreement. 14 (2) Part-time practice as a mental health professional in an 15 eligible practice area for a period of seven consecutive years 16 after entering into the agreement. 17 b. A mental health professional who entered into a program 18 agreement pursuant to paragraph “a” may apply to the commission 19 to amend the agreement to allow the mental health professional 20 to switch to part-time practice or full-time practice, as 21 applicable. The commission and the mental health professional 22 may consent to amend the agreement under which the mental 23 health professional shall engage in part-time practice in an 24 eligible practice area for an extended period of part-time 25 practice determined by the commission to be proportional to 26 the amount of full-time practice remaining under the original 27 agreement. 28 c. The commission shall give priority to mental health 29 professionals who are residents of Iowa and, if requested by 30 the adjutant general, to mental health professionals who are 31 members of the Iowa national guard. 32 4. Satisfaction of practice obligation. 33 a. An obligation to engage in full-time or part-time 34 practice under a program agreement entered into pursuant to 35 -2- LSB 5124SV (1) 89 jda/jh 2/ 6

S.F. 2195 subsection 3 shall be considered satisfied when any of the 1 following conditions is met: 2 (1) The terms of the agreement are completed. 3 (2) The individual who entered into the agreement dies. 4 (3) The individual who entered into the agreement, due to a 5 permanent disability, is unable to practice as a mental health 6 professional. 7 b. If a mental health professional fails to fulfill the 8 obligation to engage in practice in accordance with subsection 9 3, the mental health professional shall be subject to repayment 10 to the commission of loan repayment amounts the commission paid 11 to the mental health professional pursuant to subsection 5 plus 12 interest as specified by rule. 13 5. Loan repayment amounts. The annual amount of loan 14 repayment the commission may make to a mental health 15 professional who enters into a program agreement pursuant 16 to subsection 3, if the mental health professional is in 17 compliance with obligations under the agreement, shall be 18 eight thousand dollars for an eligible loan. The total amount 19 of loan repayments from the commission to a mental health 20 professional under this subsection shall not exceed forty 21 thousand dollars. 22 6. Refinanced loans. A mental health professional who 23 receives a loan repayment pursuant to subsection 5 and who 24 refinances an eligible loan by obtaining a private educational 25 loan may continue to receive loan repayment under this section 26 if the amount of loan repayment does not exceed the lesser of 27 the amount specified in subsection 5 or the balance of the loan 28 repayment amount the mental health professional qualified to 29 receive with the eligible loan. 30 7. Mental health professional loan repayment fund. A mental 31 health professional loan repayment fund is created for deposit 32 of moneys appropriated to or received by the commission for use 33 under the mental health professional loan repayment program. 34 Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys deposited in the mental 35 -3- LSB 5124SV (1) 89 jda/jh 3/ 6

S.F. 2195 health professional loan repayment fund shall not revert to any 1 fund of the state at the end of any fiscal year but shall remain 2 in the mental health professional loan repayment fund and be 3 continuously available for loan repayment under the program. 4 Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or 5 earnings on moneys deposited in the mental health professional 6 loan repayment fund shall be credited to the fund. 7 8. Report. The commission shall submit in a report to the 8 general assembly by January 1, annually, the number of mental 9 health professionals who received loan repayment pursuant to 10 this section, where the mental health professionals practiced, 11 the amount paid to each mental health professional, and other 12 information identified by the commission as indicators of 13 outcomes of the program. 14 9. Rules. The commission shall adopt rules pursuant to 15 chapter 17A to administer this section. 16 EXPLANATION 17 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 18 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 19 This bill establishes the mental health professional loan 20 repayment program within the college student aid commission. 21 The bill defines “commission”, “eligible institution”, 22 “eligible loan”, “eligible practice area”, “mental health 23 professional”, and “part-time practice”. 24 The bill provides that the commission is to administer the 25 mental health professional loan repayment program for purposes 26 of providing loan repayments for mental health professionals 27 who agree to practice in an eligible practice area. 28 The bill requires a mental health professional and the 29 commission to enter into a program agreement. The bill 30 provides that, in order for the mental health professional to 31 receive loan repayments, the mental health professional shall 32 agree to engage in either full-time practice in an eligible 33 practice area for a period of five consecutive years or 34 part-time practice in an eligible practice area for a period of 35 -4- LSB 5124SV (1) 89 jda/jh 4/ 6

S.F. 2195 seven consecutive years. The bill authorizes the mental health 1 professional and the commission to amend the agreement to allow 2 a mental health professional to switch to full-time practice or 3 part-time practice. The bill requires the commission to give 4 priority to mental health professionals who are residents of 5 Iowa and to mental health professionals who are members of the 6 Iowa national guard. 7 The bill provides that a mental health professional’s 8 obligation to engage in full-time or part-time practice under a 9 program agreement shall be considered satisfied when the terms 10 of the agreement are completed; the individual who entered into 11 the agreement dies; or the individual who entered into the 12 agreement, due to a permanent disability, is unable to practice 13 as a mental health professional. The bill also provides that 14 if a mental health professional fails to fulfill the obligation 15 to engage in practice, the mental health professional shall 16 be subject to repayment to the commission of loan repayment 17 amounts the commission paid to the mental health professional 18 plus interest. 19 The bill limits the annual amount of loan repayment a mental 20 health professional may receive to $8,000 for an eligible 21 loan. The bill provides that the total loan repayments from 22 the commission to a mental health professional shall not exceed 23 $40,000. 24 The bill provides that a mental health professional who 25 receives a loan repayment and who refinances an eligible loan 26 by obtaining a private educational loan may continue to receive 27 loan repayment in certain specified circumstances. 28 The bill creates the mental health professional loan 29 repayment fund to support loan repayments under the mental 30 health professional loan repayment program. The bill provides 31 that, notwithstanding Code section 8.33, moneys deposited in 32 the fund shall not revert to any fund of the state at the end of 33 any fiscal year. The bill also provides that, notwithstanding 34 Code section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on 35 -5- LSB 5124SV (1) 89 jda/jh 5/ 6

S.F. 2195 moneys deposited in the fund shall be credited to the fund. 1 The bill requires the commission to submit a report to the 2 general assembly by January 1, annually, describing the number 3 of mental health professionals who received loan repayment, 4 where the mental health professionals practiced, the amount 5 paid to each mental health professional, and other information 6 identified by the commission as indicators of outcomes of the 7 program. 8 The bill requires the commission to adopt rules to 9 administer the mental health professional loan repayment 10 program. 11 -6- LSB 5124SV (1) 89 jda/jh 6/ 6