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Introduced Version Senate Bill 530 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 530

(By Senators Unger, Stollings, Minard, Foster, Prezioso, Hunter and Deem)

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[Introduced January 31, 2008; referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §18C-3-1a, relating to providing a loan forgiveness program for nurses.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §18C-3-1a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. HEALTH PROFESSIONALS STUDENT LOAN PROGRAMS.
§18C-3-1a. Nursing education loan program; administration; eligibility and loan cancellation; required report.

(a) For the purposes of this section, "vice chancellor of administration" means the person employed pursuant to section two, article four, chapter eighteen-b of this code.
(b) There is hereby created a Special Revolving Fund account under the commission in the State Treasury to be known as the Nursing Education Student Loan Fund which shall be used to carry out the purposes of this section. The fund consists of:
(1) Appropriations provided by the Legislature;
(2) Repayment of any loans made under this section;
(3) Amounts provided by nursing associations, hospitals, or other medical provider organizations in this state, or by political subdivisions of the state, under an agreement which requires the recipient to practice his or her nursing profession in this state or in the political subdivision providing the funds for a predetermined period of time and in such capacity as set forth in the agreement; and
(4) Other amounts which may be available from external sources.
Balances remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year do not expire or revert. All costs associated with administering this section shall be paid from the Nursing Education Student Loan Fund.
(c) The vice chancellor for administration may utilize any funds in the Health Education Student Loan Fund for the purposes of the nursing student loan program. The commission shall give priority for the loans to residents of this state, as defined by the commission. An individual is eligible for loan consideration if the individual:
(1) Demonstrates financial need;
(2) Meets established academic standards;
(3) Is enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an accredited institution of higher education in this state in a program leading to the degree of licensed practical nurse or registered nurse;
(4) The individual has not yet received one of the degrees provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection; and
(5) Is not in default of any previous student loan.
(d) At the end of each fiscal year, any individual who has received a nursing student loan and who has rendered services as a licensed practical nurse or registered nurse in this state in a medically underserved area or in a nursing specialty in which there is a shortage of qualified nurses, as determined by the Division of Health at the time the loan was granted, may submit to the commission a notarized, sworn statement of service on a form provided for that purpose. Upon receipt of the statement the commission shall cancel five thousand dollars of the outstanding loan or loans for every full twelve consecutive calendar months of such service.
(e) No later than thirty days following the end of each fiscal year, the vice chancellor for administration shall prepare and submit a report to the commission for inclusion in the statewide report card required under section eight, article one-b, chapter eighteen-b of this code to be submitted to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability established under section eleven, article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. At a minimum, the report shall include the following information:
(1) The number of loans awarded;
(2) The total amount of the loans awarded;
(3) The amount of any unexpended moneys in the fund; and
(4) The rate of default during the previous fiscal year on the repayment of previously awarded loans.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a loan forgiveness program for nurses similar to what currently exists for medical doctors and osteopathic physicians.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.
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