Bill Text: NY S01468 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes the nurse loan repayment program; authorizes the commissioner to award loan repayment awards to nurses serving in underserved areas or nursing homes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-31 - PRINT NUMBER 1468A [S01468 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-S01468-Amended.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 1468--A 2013-2014 Regular Sessions I N S E N A T E (PREFILED) January 9, 2013 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health -- recommitted to the Committee on Health in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing the nurse loan repayment program THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Section 2807-m of the public health law is amended by 2 adding a new subdivision 5-c to read as follows: 3 5-C. REGISTERED NURSE LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM. (A) BEGINNING JANUARY 4 FIRST, TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN, THE COMMISSIONER IS AUTHORIZED, WITHIN 5 AMOUNTS AVAILABLE PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION FIVE-A OF THIS SECTION, TO 6 MAKE LOAN REPAYMENT AWARDS: 7 (I) TO REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL NURSES OR OTHER LICENSED PRACTICAL 8 NURSES SPECIALITIES DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSIONER TO BE IN SHORT 9 SUPPLY, LICENSED TO PRACTICE NURSING PURSUANT TO ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED 10 THIRTY-NINE OF THE EDUCATION LAW, WHO AGREE TO PRACTICE FOR AT LEAST 11 FIVE YEARS IN AN UNDERSERVED AREA OR NURSING HOME, AS DETERMINED BY THE 12 COMMISSIONER. SUCH REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL NURSE OR LICENSED PRACTICAL 13 NURSE SHALL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A LOAN REPAYMENT AWARD OF UP TO ONE HUNDRED 14 FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD DISTRIBUTED AS FOLLOWS: 15 FIFTEEN PERCENT OF TOTAL LOAN DEBT NOT TO EXCEED TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS 16 FOR THE FIRST YEAR; FIFTEEN PERCENT OF TOTAL LOAN DEBT NOT TO EXCEED 17 TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE SECOND YEAR; TWENTY PERCENT OF 18 TOTAL LOAN DEBT NOT TO EXCEED THIRTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE THIRD 19 YEAR; AND TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF TOTAL LOAN DEBT NOT TO EXCEED 20 THIRTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS PER YEAR FOR THE FOURTH AND FIFTH YEARS OF 21 PRACTICE IN SUCH AREA; AND EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02843-02-4 S. 1468--A 2 1 (II) TO GENERAL HOSPITALS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS TO ADMINIS- 2 TER AS PART OF THEIR RECRUITMENT PACKAGES; PROVIDED THE LOAN REPAYMENT 3 AWARDS SHALL BE ADMINISTERED CONSISTENT WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS 4 SUBDIVISION. 5 (B) LOAN REPAYMENT AWARDS MADE TO A REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL NURSE OR 6 LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION 7 SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL QUALIFYING OUTSTANDING DEBT OF THE REGISTERED 8 PROFESSIONAL NURSE OR LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE FROM STUDENT LOANS TO 9 COVER TUITION AND OTHER RELATED EDUCATIONAL EXPENSES, MADE BY OR GUARAN- 10 TEED BY THE FEDERAL OR STATE GOVERNMENT, OR MADE BY A LENDING OR EDUCA- 11 TIONAL INSTITUTION APPROVED UNDER TITLE IV OF THE FEDERAL HIGHER EDUCA- 12 TION ACT. LOAN REPAYMENT AWARDS SHALL BE USED SOLELY TO REPAY SUCH 13 OUTSTANDING DEBT. 14 (C) ANY RECIPIENT OF FUNDS PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION WHO PRACTICES 15 LESS THAN TWO YEARS IN AN UNDERSERVED AREA OR NURSING HOME, AS DETER- 16 MINED BY THE COMMISSIONER, SHALL REPAY ALL FUNDS PAID IN AMOUNTS TO BE 17 DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSIONER PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION, AND SHALL 18 NO LONGER BE ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE PAYMENTS UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION. THE 19 RATE OF INTEREST APPLIED SHALL BE DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSIONER, BUT 20 WILL NOT BE LESS THAN THE RATE OF INTEREST SET BY THE COMMISSIONER OF 21 TAXATION AND FINANCE WITH RESPECT TO UNDERPAYMENTS OF PERSONAL INCOME 22 TAX PURSUANT TO SECTION SIX HUNDRED EIGHTY-FOUR OF THE TAX LAW. 23 (D) THE COMMISSIONER IS AUTHORIZED TO APPLY ANY FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR 24 PURPOSES OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION FOR USE AS MATCHING FUNDS 25 FOR FEDERAL GRANTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ASSISTING STATES IN OPERATING LOAN 26 REPAYMENT PROGRAMS PURSUANT TO SECTION THREE HUNDRED THIRTY-EIGHT I OF 27 THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT. 28 (E) THE COMMISSIONER MAY, IN HIS OR HER SOLE DISCRETION, POSTPONE, 29 CHANGE OR WAIVE THE SERVICE OBLIGATION SET FORTH IN SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF 30 PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION. 31 S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.