SB 32: "An Act relating to postsecondary educational services and programs for Alaska residents; relating to a student loan repayment program for medical doctors, and amending the duties of the State Medical Board that relate to the program; relating to a student loan repayment program for registered nurses, and amending the duties of the Board of Nursing that relate to the program; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 32 01 "An Act relating to postsecondary educational services and programs for Alaska 02 residents; relating to a student loan repayment program for medical doctors, and 03 amending the duties of the State Medical Board that relate to the program; relating to a 04 student loan repayment program for registered nurses, and amending the duties of the 05 Board of Nursing that relate to the program; and providing for an effective date." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 08 to read: 09 FINDINGS; PURPOSE. (a) The legislature finds that a shortage of qualified medical 10 doctors and registered nurses exists in this state. 11 (b) The purpose of this Act is to establish the Alaska medical doctors and registered 12 nurse recruitment loan repayment programs to provide financial incentives through the 13 repayment, in whole or part, by the state of education loans for medical doctors and registered
01 nurses completing a term of employment as a medical doctor or a registered nurse in the state. 02 * Sec. 2. AS 08.64.101 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 03 (6) in consultation with the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary 04 Education, establish standards and eligibility criteria for the Alaska medical doctor 05 recruitment loan repayment program under AS 14.43.512 - 14.43.520, including the 06 adoption of necessary regulations and determinations of areas of the state that have a 07 shortage of medical doctors. 08 * Sec. 3. AS 08.68.100(a) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 09 (11) in consultation with the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary 10 Education, establish standards and eligibility criteria for the Alaska registered nurse 11 recruitment loan repayment program under AS 14.43.530 - 14.43.590, including the 12 adoption of necessary regulations and determination of areas of the state that have a 13 shortage of registered nurses. 14 * Sec. 4. AS 14.42.030(b) is amended to read: 15 (b) The commission shall 16 (1) administer the financial aid and interstate education compact 17 programs under AS 14.43.091 - 14.43.920 and 14.43.990, and AS 14.44; 18 (2) administer the provisions of AS 14.48 concerning regulation of 19 postsecondary educational institutions; 20 (3) resolve disputes under a consortium or other cooperative agreement 21 between institutions of public and private higher education in the state; [AND] 22 (4) serve as the state agency required under 20 U.S.C. 1001 - 1155; 23 and 24 (5) perform duties assigned under AS 14.43.512 - 14.43.520 25 (Alaska medical doctor recruitment loan repayment program) and AS 14.43.530 - 26 14.43.590 (Alaska registered nurse recruitment loan repayment program). 27 * Sec. 5. AS 14.42.030(d) is amended to read: 28 (d) The commission shall [MAY] enter into agreements with government or 29 postsecondary education officials of this state or other states to provide postsecondary 30 educational services and programs to at least 20 Alaska residents pursuing a medical 31 education degree. An agreement with another state must be limited to services and
01 programs that are unavailable in Alaska. The commission shall require a person 02 participating in a medical education program offered under this subsection to agree to 03 the repayment condition imposed under AS 14.43.510. 04 * Sec. 6. AS 14.42.040 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 05 (c) The executive director of the commission shall administer the Alaska 06 medical doctor recruitment loan repayment program under AS 14.43.512 - 14.43.520 07 in accordance with standards and eligibility criteria set by the State Medical Board 08 under AS 08.64.101 and the Alaska registered nurse recruitment loan repayment 09 program under AS 14.43.530 - 14.43.590 in accordance with standards and eligibility 10 criteria set by the Board of Nursing under AS 08.68.100. 11 * Sec. 7. AS 14.42.295(a) is amended to read: 12 (a) The board may elect to pay the state a return of contributed capital, or a 13 dividend, for each base fiscal year that the corporation's net income equals or exceeds 14 $2,000,000. The payment may not be less than 10 percent nor more than 35 percent, as 15 approved by the board, of the corporation's net income for the base fiscal year, and is 16 subject to the provisions of any applicable bond indentures of the corporation. If a 17 payment is authorized under this section, payment must be made available by the 18 corporation before the end of the fiscal year in which payment has been authorized. 19 The corporation shall notify the commissioner of revenue when the amount of the 20 payment authorized under this section is available for appropriation. The money 21 made available under this subsection may be appropriated for the Alaska 22 medical doctor recruitment loan repayment program under AS 14.43.512 - 23 14.43.520 and the Alaska registered nurse recruitment loan repayment program 24 under AS 14.43.530 - 14.43.590. 25 * Sec. 8. AS 14.43 is amended by adding new sections to read: 26 Article 9A. Alaska Medical Doctor Recruitment Loan Repayment Program. 27 Sec. 14.43.512. Program established. (a) There is established the Alaska 28 medical doctor recruitment loan repayment program to provide financial incentives for 29 qualified doctors to work in this state through the repayment of education loans. 30 (b) The program is not a financial obligation of the corporation. 31 Sec. 14.43.513. Alaska medical doctor recruitment loan repayment
01 program account. (a) The Alaska medical doctor recruitment loan repayment 02 program account is created in the general fund. The account shall be used to provide 03 financial awards for the repayment of education loans under the program and to pay 04 for the costs of administering the program. 05 (b) The account includes money that the legislature appropriates from the 06 corporation's dividend to the state under AS 14.42.295, the interest and earnings on 07 money that are appropriated to the account, and funds contributed from federal or 08 other sources. 09 Sec. 14.43.514. Administration. (a) The Alaska medical doctor recruitment 10 loan repayment program shall be administered by the executive director using 11 (1) the standards and eligibility criteria of the program established by 12 the State Medical Board under AS 08.64.101 and the eligibility criteria established 13 under AS 14.43.515; and 14 (2) the financial management standards for proper administration of 15 the Alaska medical doctor recruitment loan repayment program account as established 16 by the commission. 17 (b) After consultation with the State Medical Board, the commission may 18 adopt regulations to carry out its duties and the executive director's duties under the 19 program. 20 Sec. 14.43.515. Eligibility criteria. In addition to program standards and 21 eligibility criteria established under AS 08.64.101, an applicant must meet the 22 following criteria: 23 (1) the applicant was hired as a medical doctor in this state on or after 24 July 1, 2007; 25 (2) the applicant is employed as a medical doctor in this state during 26 the loan repayment period; 27 (3) the applicant has the required license to practice as a medical 28 doctor in this state; 29 (4) the applicant agrees to fulfill any requirement of the program; 30 (5) the applicant has outstanding education loans from a lending 31 institution to be repaid under the program.
01 Sec. 14.43.516. Conditions and limitations on loan payments. (a) An award 02 under this section shall be paid annually over a period of not more than 10 years. The 03 maximum annual award under this section is 10 percent of the total loan and interest 04 amount owed by the program participant. 05 (b) An award must be conditioned on the availability of money for the 06 program. The executive director shall monitor the outstanding financial awards made 07 under the program to ensure the adequacy of the balance of the account to meet 08 program needs. If the executive director finds that the balance of the account is 09 (1) insufficient to pay for existing awards, the executive director shall 10 prorate the money available in the account among all existing award recipients and 11 shall suspend the acceptance of new applications and the processing of pending 12 applications under the program; or 13 (2) sufficient for existing awards but insufficient for new or pending 14 applicants, the executive director shall pay existing awards and shall award the money 15 available for new or pending eligible applicants according to criteria established by the 16 State Medical Board. 17 (c) An educational loan or interest on a loan is not eligible for repayment 18 under the program if the loan or interest is eligible for repayment from another source, 19 including another loan repayment or forgiveness program or repayment by an 20 employer. 21 Sec. 14.43.520. Definitions. In AS 14.43.512 - 14.43.520, unless the context 22 otherwise requires, 23 (1) "account" means the Alaska medical doctor recruitment loan 24 repayment program account established in AS 14.43.512; 25 (2) "executive director" means the executive director of the 26 commission; 27 (3) "medical doctor" means a person licensed to practice medicine 28 under AS 08.64.230(a); 29 (4) "program" means the Alaska medical doctor recruitment loan 30 repayment program. 31 * Sec. 9. AS 14.43 is amended by adding new sections to read:
01 Article 9B. Alaska Registered Nurse Recruitment Loan Repayment Program. 02 Sec. 14.43.530. Program established. (a) There is established the Alaska 03 registered nurse recruitment loan repayment program to provide financial incentives 04 for qualified nurses to work in this state through the repayment of education loans. 05 (b) The program is not a financial obligation of the corporation. 06 Sec. 14.43.540. Alaska registered nurse recruitment loan repayment 07 program account. (a) The Alaska registered nurse recruitment loan repayment 08 program account is created in the general fund. The account shall be used to provide 09 financial awards for the repayment of education loans under the program and to pay 10 for the costs of administering the program. 11 (b) The account includes money that the legislature appropriates from the 12 corporation's dividend to the state under AS 14.42.295, the interest and earnings on 13 money that are appropriated to the account, and funds contributed from federal or 14 other sources. 15 Sec. 14.43.550. Administration. (a) The Alaska registered nurse recruitment 16 loan repayment program shall be administered by the executive director using 17 (1) the standards and eligibility criteria of the program established by 18 the Board of Nursing under AS 08.68.100 and the eligibility criteria established under 19 AS 14.43.560; and 20 (2) the financial management standards for proper administration of 21 the Alaska registered nurse recruitment loan repayment program account as 22 established by the commission. 23 (b) After consultation with the Board of Nursing, the commission may adopt 24 regulations to carry out its duties and the executive director's duties under the 25 program. 26 Sec. 14.43.560. Eligibility criteria. In addition to program standards and 27 eligibility criteria established under AS 08.68.100, an applicant must meet the 28 following criteria: 29 (1) the applicant was hired as a nurse in this state on or after July 1, 30 2007; 31 (2) the applicant is employed as a registered nurse in this state during
01 the loan repayment period; 02 (3) the applicant has the required license to practice as a registered 03 nurse in this state; 04 (4) the applicant agrees to fulfill any requirement of the program; 05 (5) the applicant has outstanding education loans from a lending 06 institution to be repaid under the program. 07 Sec. 14.43.570. Conditions and limitations on loan payments. (a) The total 08 amount of education loans and interest on loans repaid for an individual may not 09 exceed $10,000 in a lifetime for a nurse. An award under this section shall be paid 10 annually over a period of at least five years. The maximum annual award under this 11 section is the lesser of 12 (1) $2,000; or 13 (2) 20 percent of the total loan and interest amount owed by the 14 program participant. 15 (b) An award must be conditioned on the availability of money for the 16 program. The executive director shall monitor the outstanding financial awards made 17 under the program to ensure the adequacy of the balance of the account to meet 18 program needs. If the executive director finds that the balance of the account is 19 (1) insufficient to pay for existing awards, the executive director shall 20 prorate the money available in the account among all existing award recipients and 21 shall suspend the acceptance of new applications and the processing of pending 22 applications under the program; or 23 (2) sufficient for existing awards but insufficient for new or pending 24 applicants, the executive director shall pay existing awards and shall award the money 25 available for new or pending eligible applicants according to criteria established by the 26 Board of Nursing. 27 (c) An educational loan or interest on a loan is not eligible for repayment 28 under the program if the loan or interest is eligible for repayment from another source, 29 including another loan repayment or forgiveness program or repayment by an 30 employer. 31 Sec. 14.43.590. Definitions. In AS 14.43.530 - 14.43.590, unless the context
01 otherwise requires, 02 (1) "account" means the Alaska registered nurse recruitment loan 03 repayment program account established in AS 14.43.540; 04 (2) "executive director" means the executive director of the 05 commission; 06 (3) "nurse" means a person licensed as a registered nurse under 07 AS 08.68.170; 08 (4) "program" means the Alaska registered nurse recruitment loan 09 repayment program. 10 * Sec. 10. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 11 read: 12 TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The State Medical Board, the state Board of 13 Nursing, and the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education may immediately proceed 14 to adopt regulations necessary to implement their respective duties under secs. 1 - 4 and 6 - 9 15 of this Act. The regulations take effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but 16 not before July 1, 2007. 17 * Sec. 11. Section 10 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 18 * Sec. 12. Except as provided in sec. 11 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 2007.