Senate Study Bill 1024 - Introduced SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COLLEGE STUDENT AID COMMISSION BILL) 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 1166DP (9) 90 jda/jh

S.F. _____ H.F. _____ 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, 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 is 32 in compliance with obligations under the agreement, shall be 33 eight thousand dollars for an eligible loan. 34 b. After the completion of a year of part-time practice, the 35 -1- LSB 1166DP (9) 90 jda/jh 1/ 3

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

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