SB 235: "An Act relating to forgiveness of student loans of certain health care professionals and to student financial assistance; and providing for an effective date."
00SENATE BILL NO. 235 01 "An Act relating to forgiveness of student loans of certain health care 02 professionals and to student financial assistance; and providing for an effective 03 date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 14.43.120 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 06 (v) A borrower who meets the conditions provided in this section and is 07 employed as a health care professional in a geographical area of the state determined 08 to have a health care professional shortage for the borrower's profession by the 09 Department of Health and Social Services under AS 44.29.020(b) shall, subject to 10 appropriation by the legislature, have a portion of the loan paid by the state equal to 11 the following percentages of the total loan received plus interest up to a total of 70 12 percent of the total loan plus interest: (1) one year employment, 10 percent; (2) two 13 years employment, an additional 12 percent; (3) three years employment, an additional 14 14 percent; (4) four years employment, an additional 16 percent; (5) five years
01 employment, an additional 18 percent. In this subsection, "health care professional" 02 means a person who is licensed as a physician or osteopath under AS 08.64.230, as 03 a physical therapist or occupational therapist under AS 08.84, as a registered nurse 04 under AS 08.68.190 or 08.68.200, or a person practicing medicine as a physician's 05 assistant who is registered under AS 08.64.107. 06 (w) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, while a person's loan is being 07 paid by the state under (v) of this section, that person may not receive forgiveness of 08 a loan under another provision of this chapter. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 14.43 is amended by adding a new section to read: 10 Sec. 14.43.950. EMPLOYMENT CONDITION FOR PARTICIPANTS IN 11 CERTAIN EDUCATION PROGRAMS. As a condition of eligibility for receiving a 12 tuition differential subsidy under a program offered by the Western Interstate 13 Commission for Higher Education or the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary 14 Education under AS 14.42.030(d), a program participant shall agree to be employed 15 in the state for a period of at least six months for each school year of participation in 16 the program for which there is a tuition differential subsidy. Except for a person who 17 is completing a medical residency program, a person who does not meet the 18 employment requirements of this section within four years after completing the 19 person's subsidized education shall pay to the state 50 percent of the tuition differential 20 subsidy received by the person plus interest as required for scholarship loans under 21 AS 14.43.120(f). Interest under this section begins to accrue one year after the person 22 completes the subsidized education program. 23 * Sec. 3. AS 44.29.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 24 (b) The department shall, by September 30 of each year, prepare a report that 25 (1) lists by profession those geographic areas of the state that have a health care 26 professional shortage; (2) identifies the number of health care professionals employed 27 in each area of shortage; and (3) recommends changes to the health care professional 28 loan forgiveness program under AS 14.43.120(v). The report prepared under this 29 subsection shall be provided to the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education. 30 The commissioner of health and social services shall adopt regulations regarding the 31 determination of geographic areas with a health care professional shortage. In this
01 subsection, "health care professional" has the meaning given in AS 14.43.120(v). 02 * Sec. 4. APPLICABILITY. (a) AS 14.43.120(v), added by sec. 1 of this Act, applies to 03 a person's employment as a health care professional that occurs after July 1, 1994. 04 (b) AS 14.43.950, added by sec. 2 of this Act, applies to a person who begins an 05 education program and who receives a tuition differential subsidy on or after January 1, 1995. 06 (c) AS 14.43.120(v), enacted in sec. 1 of this Act, does not apply to a loan received 07 before July 1, 1993. 08 * Sec. 5. This Act takes effect July 1, 1994.