BILL NUMBER: AB 1241 CHAPTERED 09/17/03 CHAPTER 396 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 17, 2003 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 16, 2003 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 2, 2003 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 28, 2003 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 10, 2003 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 2, 2003 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2003 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2003 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Parra (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Maze) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Calderon, Cogdill, McCarthy, and Samuelian) (Coauthors: Senators Ashburn, Florez, and Kuehl) FEBRUARY 21, 2003 An act to add and repeal Section 128401 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to health professions. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1241, Parra. Nursing education scholarships. Existing law establishes the Registered Nurse Education Fund, consisting of specified fees, and administered by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, for purposes of funding the Registered Nurse Education Program within the foundation, which provides scholarships and loans to nursing students meeting specified criteria. Under existing law, the Health Professions Education Foundation is a nonprofit public health benefit organization established to assist the office with various duties relating to the promotion of health professions education throughout the state. This bill would require the office, until January 1, 2009, to establish, by regulation, the statewide Associate Degree Nursing (A.D.N.) Scholarship Pilot Program and to allocate a portion of the funds contained in the Registered Nurse Education Fund for purposes of providing scholarships to associate degree nursing students in counties determined to have the most need based on designated criteria. Scholarship recipients would, pursuant to these provisions, be required to meet specified requirements. The bill would require the Health Professions Education Foundation to consider specified factors when selecting program recipients, and would authorize the foundation to accept private or federal funds for purposes of the pilot program. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) There is a severe shortage of registered nurses in California. Currently, California ranks 49th out of the 50 states in the number of registered nurses per 100,000 persons. The central valley in the state suffers from the least number of nurses per capita. (2) The Health Professions Education Foundation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation established to assist the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development with the provision of scholarships and loan repayment grants to health professional students throughout California who are willing to practice in medically underserved areas. The foundation accomplishes its mission by making recommendations to the Director of Statewide Health Planning and Development with respect to the award of scholarships and loan repayment grants to health professional students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and demographically underrepresented groups who are committed to practicing in underserved areas. (3) To assist in addressing California's nursing shortage, including the severe nursing shortage in the central valley, a statewide associate degree nursing scholarship pilot program is necessary. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to establish a scholarship program for nursing students. SEC. 2. Section 128401 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: 128401. (a) The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development shall adopt regulations establishing the statewide Associate Degree Nursing (A.D.N.) Scholarship Pilot Program. (b) Scholarships under the pilot program shall be available only to students in counties determined to have the most need. Need in a county shall be established based on consideration of all the following factors: (1) Counties with a registered nurse to population ratio equal or less than 500 registered nurses per 100,000 individuals. (2) County unemployment rate. (3) County level of poverty. (c) A scholarship recipient shall be required to complete, at a minimum, an associate degree in nursing and work in a medically underserved area in California upon obtaining his or her license from the Board of Registered Nursing. (d) The Health Professions Education Foundation shall consider the following factors when selecting recipients for the A.D.N. Scholarship Pilot Program: (1) An applicant's economic need, as established by the federal poverty index. (2) Applicants who demonstrate cultural and linguistic skills and abilities. (e) The pilot program shall be funded from the Registered Nurse Education Fund established pursuant to Section 128400 and administered by the Health Professions Education Foundation within the office. The Health Professions Education Foundation shall allocate a portion of the moneys in the fund for the pilot program established pursuant to this section, in addition to moneys otherwise allocated pursuant to this article for scholarships and loans for associate degree nurse students. (f) No additional staff or General Fund operating costs shall be expended for the pilot program. (g) The Health Professions Education Foundation may accept private or federal funds for purposes of the A.D.N. Scholarship Pilot Program. (h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2009, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2009, deletes or extends that date.