00                            SENATE BILL NO. 174                                                                         
01 "An Act relating to professional student exchange program availability and conditions                                   
02 for loan forgiveness."                                                                                                  
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1. AS 14.44.025 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                           
05            (b)  Notwithstanding the funding priorities established under (a) of this section,                           
06       the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education shall provide adequate funding                                   
07       for not fewer than five students to attend four-year programs in each of the following                            
08       fields:                                                                                                           
09                 (1)  dentistry;                                                                                         
10                 (2)  occupational therapy;                                                                              
11                 (3)  optometry;                                                                                         
12                 (4)  physician assistance;                                                                              
13                 (5)  podiatry; and                                                                                      
14                 (6)  pharmacy.                                                                                          

01    * Sec. 2. AS 14.44.040(a) is amended to read:                                                                      
02            (a)  As a condition of eligibility for receiving financial support from the state                            
03       under the Professional Student Exchange Program of the Western Interstate                                         
04       Commission on Higher Education, a program participant shall agree to repay to the                                 
05       state the support provided by the state on behalf of that person. In addition to the                          
06       principal owed, a participant shall pay interest at an annual rate of 7.5 percent                             
07       on the outstanding principal of the loan. Interest may not accrue on a loan until                             
08       the participant completes the degree program according to the terms and                                       
09       conditions under which the loan was made or discontinues participation in the                                 
10       program [, PLUS INTEREST].                                                                                    
11    * Sec. 3. AS 14.44 is amended by adding new sections to article 1 to read:                                         
12            Sec. 14.44.041. Residency loan forgiveness for program participants. The                                   
13       Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education shall annually, for not more than five                               
14       years, forgive five percent of the outstanding principal on a loan made under the                                 
15       Professional Student Exchange Program of the Western Interstate Commission on                                     
16       Higher Education if the participant                                                                               
17                 (1)  is a resident of the state;                                                                        
18                 (2)  practices in the state in a field of study listed in AS 14.44.025(b)                               
19       for not less than 750 hours during the year; and                                                                  
20                 (3)  maintains the participant's license in good standing in the state.                                 
21            Sec. 14.44.042. Underserved care loan forgiveness for program                                              
22       participants. The Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education shall annually, for                              
23       not more than five years, forgive five percent of the outstanding principal on a loan                             
24       made under the Professional Student Exchange Program of the Western Interstate                                    
25       Commission on Higher Education if the participant                                                                 
26                 (1)  is a resident of the state;                                                                        
27                 (2)  is in a practice that serves an underserved population                                             
28                      (A)  in a geographical area the commissioner of health and                                         
29            social services has designated as underserved; or                                                            
30                      (B)  by serving patients who are covered under the medical                                         
31            assistance program in the state, if billings for services provided to those                                  

01            patients are not less than five percent of the participant's average gross billings                          
02            for the year; and                                                                                            
03                 (3)  maintains the participant's professional license in good standing in                               
04       the state.