AB 697, as introduced, Gomez. Nursing education: service in state veterans homes.
Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission as the primary state agency for the administration of state-authorized student financial aid programs available to students attending all segments of postsecondary education.
Existing law establishes the State Nursing Assumption Program of Loans for Education (SNAPLE), administered by the commission, under which any person enrolled in an institution of postsecondary education and participating in that loan assumption program is eligible to receive a conditional warrant for loan assumption, to be redeemed upon becoming employed as a full-time nursing faculty member at a California college or university.
This bill would establish a loan assumption program for employees of state veterans’ homes within the SNAPLE program. This program would provide loan assumption benefits to persons who fulfill agreements to work full time for 4 consecutive years as clinical registered nurses in state veterans’ homes, as specified, that employ registered nurses. The program provides for a progressive assumption of the amount of a qualifying loan over 4 consecutive years of qualifying clinical registered nursing service, up to a total loan assumption of $20,000. The bill would require that, in any fiscal year, the commission award no more than the number of warrants that are authorized in the Budget Act for that fiscal year for the assumption of loans pursuant to the program. This program would become inoperative on July 1, 2019, and would be repealed on January 1, 2020.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Article 2 (commencing with Section 70130) is
2added to Chapter 3 of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the 3Education Code, to read:
4
(a) (1) Any person enrolled in an eligible institution,
8or any person who agrees to work full time as a registered nurse
9in a state veterans’ home that employs registered nurses, may be
10eligible to enter into an agreement for loan assumption, to be
11redeemed pursuant to Section 70131 upon becoming employed as
12a clinical registered nurse in a state veterans’ home that employs
13registered nurses. In order to be eligible to enter into an agreement
14for loan assumption, an applicant shall satisfy all of the conditions
15specified in subdivision (b).
16(2) As used in this article, “eligible institution” means a
17postsecondary institution that is determined by the Student Aid
18Commission to meet both of the following requirements:
19(A) The institution is eligible to participate in state and federal
20financial aid programs.
21(B) The institution maintains an accredited program of
22professional preparation for licensing as a registered nurse in
23California.
24(3) As used in this article, “state veterans’ home” means any of
25the institutions referenced in Section 1011 of the Military and
26Veterans Code.
27(b) (1) The applicant has been admitted to, or is enrolled in, or
28has successfully completed, an accredited program of professional
29preparation for licensing as a registered nurse in California.
P3 1However, a person who is currently employed as a registered nurse
2in a state veterans’ home may be eligible to enter into an agreement
3for loan assumption under Article 1 (commencing
with Section
470100), but is not eligible to enter into an agreement for loan
5assumption under this article.
6(2) The applicant is currently enrolled, or has been admitted to
7a program in which he or she will be enrolled, on a full-time basis,
8as determined by the participating institution. The applicant shall
9agree to maintain satisfactory academic progress and a minimum
10of full-time enrollment, as defined by the participating eligible
11institution.
12(3) The applicant has been judged by his or her postsecondary
13institution to have outstanding ability on the basis of criteria that
14may include, but need not be limited to, any of the following:
15(A) Grade point average.
16(B) Test scores.
17(C) Faculty evaluations.
18(D) Interviews.
19(E) Other recommendations.
20(4) The applicant has received, or is approved to receive, a loan
21under one or more of the following designated loan programs:
22(A) The Federal Family Education Loan Program (20 U.S.C.
23Sec. 1071 et seq.).
24(B) Any loan program approved by the Student Aid
25Commission.
26(5) The applicant has agreed to work full time for at least four
27consecutive years as a clinical registered nurse in a state veterans’
28home that employs registered nurses.
29(c) No applicant who has completed fewer than 60
semester
30units, or the equivalent, shall be eligible under this section to
31participate in the loan assumption program set forth in this article.
32(d) A person participating in the program pursuant to this section
33shall not enter into more than one agreement under this article.
The commission shall commence loan assumption
35payments, as specified in Section 70132, upon verification that
36the applicant has fulfilled all of the following:
37(a) The applicant has become a registered nurse licensed to
38practice in California.
39(b) The applicant is working full time as a clinical registered
40nurse in a state veterans’ home that employs registered nurses.
P4 1(c) The applicant has met the requirements of the agreement
2and all other pertinent conditions of this article.
The terms of a loan assumption granted under this
4article shall be as follows, subject to the specific terms of each
5agreement:
6(a) After a program participant has completed one year of
7full-time employment as described in subdivision (b) of Section
870131, the commission shall assume up to five thousand dollars
9($5,000) of the participant’s outstanding liability under one or
10more of the designated loan programs.
11(b) After a program participant has completed two years of
12full-time employment as described in subdivision (b) of Section
1370131, the commission shall assume up to an additional five
14thousand dollars ($5,000) of the participant’s outstanding liability
15under one or more of the designated loan
programs, for a total loan
16assumption of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
17(c) After a program participant has completed three years of
18full-time employment as described in subdivision (b) of Section
1970131, the commission shall assume up to an additional five
20thousand dollars ($5,000) of the participant’s outstanding liability
21under one or more of the designated loan programs, for a total loan
22assumption of up to fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
23(d) After a program participant has completed four years of
24full-time employment as described in subdivision (b) of Section
2570131, the commission shall assume up to an additional five
26thousand dollars ($5,000) of the participant’s outstanding liability
27under one or more of the designated loan programs, for a total loan
28assumption of up to twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), if a program
30participant fails to complete a minimum of four consecutive years
31of full-time employment as required by this article, under the terms
32of the agreement pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of
33Section 70130, the participant shall retain full liability for all
34student loan obligations remaining after the commission’s
35assumption of loan liability for the last year of qualifying clinical
36registered nursing service pursuant to Section 70132.
37(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if a program participant
38becomes unable to complete one of the four consecutive years of
39qualifying clinical registered nursing service due to serious illness,
40pregnancy, or other natural
causes, the term of the loan assumption
P5 1agreement shall be extended for a period not to exceed one year.
2The commission shall make no further payments under the loan
3assumption agreement until the applicable work requirements as
4specified in Section 70131 have been satisfied.
5(c) If a natural disaster prevents a program participant from
6completing one of the required years of work due to the interruption
7of employment at the employing state veterans’ home, the term of
8the loan assumption agreement shall be extended for the period of
9time equal to the period from the interruption of employment at
10the employing state veterans’ home until the resumption of
11employment. The commission shall make no further payments
12under the loan assumption agreement until the applicable
13employment requirements specified in Section 70131 have been
14satisfied.
(a) The commission shall administer this article, and
16shall adopt rules and regulations for that purpose. The rules and
17regulations shall include, but need not be limited to, provisions
18regarding the period of time during which an agreement shall
19remain valid, the reallocation of resources in light of agreements
20that are not used by program participants, the failure, for any
21reason, of a program participant to complete a minimum of four
22consecutive years of qualifying clinical registered nursing service,
23and the development of projections for funding purposes.
24(b) If a provision is added to this article and the commission
25deems it necessary to adopt a rule or regulation to implement that
26provision, the commission shall
develop and adopt that rule or
27regulation no later than six months after the operative date of the
28statute that adds the provision.
On or before January 31, 2015, and on or before each
30January 31 thereafter until, and including, January 31, 2019, the
31commission shall report annually to the Legislature regarding both
32of the following, on the basis of sex, age, and ethnicity:
33(a) The total number of program participants and the type of
34program of professional preparation they are attending or have
35attended.
36(b) The numbers of participants who complete one, two, three,
37or four years of qualifying clinical registered nursing service,
38respectively.
On or before May 1, 2018, the Office of the Legislative
40Analyst shall submit a report to the Legislature that includes the
P6 1findings and recommendations of the Legislative Analyst with
2respect to the efficacy of the program established by this article.
Reports pursuant to Sections 70135 and 70136 shall be
4submitted pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code.
In selecting applicants for participation in this program,
6the commission shall grant priority to applicants who, in the
7determination of the commission, are included in any of the
8following categories:
9(a) Persons who possess a baccalaureate degree at the time of
10initial application.
11(b) Persons who are enrolled in an accelerated program of
12professional preparation for licensing as a registered nurse in
13California.
14(c) Persons who are recipients of federally subsidized student
15loans or other need-based student loans.
Notwithstanding any other law, in any fiscal year, the
17commission shall award no more than the number of warrants that
18are authorized in the annual Budget Act for that fiscal year for the
19assumption of loans pursuant to this article.
This article shall become inoperative on July 1, 2019,
21and, as of January 1, 2020, is repealed, unless a later enacted
22statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2020,
23deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and
24is repealed.
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