Senate File 253 - Introduced SENATE FILE 253 BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 1024) A BILL FOR An Act relating to loan repayments made by the college student 1 aid commission under the mental health professional loan 2 repayment program and including applicability provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1166SV (2) 90 jda/jh

S.F. 253 Section 1. Section 261.117, subsection 2, Code 2023, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 2. Program established. A mental health professional loan 3 repayment program is established to be administered by the 4 commission for purposes of providing annual loan repayments 5 for mental health professionals who agree to practice in an 6 eligible practice area and meet the requirements of this 7 section . 8 Sec. 2. Section 261.117, subsection 3, paragraph a, 9 unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2023, is amended to read as 10 follows: 11 The mental health professional and the commission shall 12 enter into a program agreement. Under the agreement, to 13 receive annual loan repayments pursuant to subsection 5 , a 14 mental health professional shall agree to and shall engage in 15 either of the following: 16 Sec. 3. Section 261.117, subsection 4, paragraph b, Code 17 2023, is amended to read as follows: 18 b. If a mental health professional fails to fulfill the 19 obligation to engage in practice in accordance with subsection 20 3 , the mental health professional shall be subject to repayment 21 to the commission of loan repayment amounts the commission paid 22 to the mental health professional pursuant to subsection 5 plus 23 interest as specified by rule shall not make additional loan 24 repayments to the mental health professional . 25 Sec. 4. Section 261.117, subsection 5, Code 2023, is amended 26 to read as follows: 27 5. Loan repayment amounts. The 28 a. After the completion of a year of full-time practice, the 29 annual amount of loan repayment the commission may make to a 30 mental health professional who enters into a program agreement 31 pursuant to subsection 3 , if the mental health professional 32 is in compliance with obligations under the agreement, shall 33 be the lesser of eight thousand dollars for an eligible loan 34 or the remaining balance of the mental health professional’s 35 -1- LSB 1166SV (2) 90 jda/jh 1/ 3

S.F. 253 eligible loan . 1 b. After the completion of a year of part-time practice, the 2 annual amount of loan repayment the commission may make to a 3 mental health professional who enters into a program agreement 4 pursuant to subsection 3, if the mental health professional is 5 in compliance with obligations under the agreement, shall be 6 the lesser of the same amount of loan repayment the commission 7 may make pursuant to paragraph “a” prorated based on the number 8 of hours of practice in the mental health professional’s 9 workweek or the remaining balance of the mental health 10 professional’s eligible loan. 11 c. The total amount of loan repayments from the commission 12 to a mental health professional under this subsection shall not 13 exceed forty thousand dollars. 14 Sec. 5. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to individuals who 15 receive loan repayments under the mental health professional 16 loan repayment program on or after the effective date of this 17 Act. 18 EXPLANATION 19 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 20 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 21 This bill relates to loan repayments made by the college 22 student aid commission under the mental health professional 23 loan repayment program (program). 24 The program provides loan repayments for mental health 25 professionals who agree to practice in an eligible practice 26 area, as defined in Code section 261.117, for five years if the 27 individual engages in full-time practice or for seven years 28 if the individual engages in part-time practice. The bill 29 provides that the college student aid commission is to make 30 loan repayments annually after the completion of each year of 31 practice. 32 Current law requires an individual who receives loan 33 repayments under the program to repay the commission the 34 total amount of the loan repayments if the individual fails 35 -2- LSB 1166SV (2) 90 jda/jh 2/ 3

S.F. 253 to fulfill the obligation to practice as a mental health 1 professional in a service area for the applicable amount of 2 time. The bill strikes this requirement. The bill provides 3 that if the individual fails to fulfill the obligation to 4 practice as a mental health professional in a service area for 5 the applicable amount of time, the commission is prohibited 6 from making additional loan repayments to the individual. 7 Current law provides that the annual amount of loan 8 repayment the commission may make to an individual under 9 the program is $8,000. The bill provides that, after the 10 completion of a year of full-time practice, the annual amount 11 of loan repayment the commission may make to an individual 12 under the program is the lesser of $8,000 or the remaining 13 balance of the individual’s eligible loan. Additionally, the 14 bill provides that, after the completion of a year of part-time 15 practice, the annual amount of loan repayment the commission 16 may make to an individual under the program shall be the 17 lesser of the same amount of loan repayment the commission may 18 make to an individual who has completed a year of full-time 19 practice prorated based on the number of hours of practice 20 in the individual’s workweek or the remaining balance of the 21 individual’s eligible loan. 22 The bill applies to individuals who receive loan repayments 23 under the program on or after the effective date of the bill. 24 -3- LSB 1166SV (2) 90 jda/jh 3/ 3