BILL NUMBER: SB 271	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hernandez

                        FEBRUARY 14, 2013

   An act to amend Section 128401 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to public health.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 271, as introduced, Hernandez. Associate Degree Nursing
Scholarship Program.
   Existing law establishes, until January 1, 2014, the statewide
Associate Degree Nursing (A.D.N.) Scholarship Pilot Program in the
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to provide
scholarships to students, in accordance with prescribed requirements,
in counties determined to have the most need. Existing law provides
that the program be funded from the Registered Nurse Education Fund,
administered by the Health Professions Education Foundation within
the office.
   This bill would extend the operation of this program indefinitely
and would make related changes.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 128401 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
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 nursing
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,
2014, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2014, deletes or extends
that date.