SB 271, as amended, 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,begin insert andend insert administered by the Health Professions Education Foundation within the office.
This bill would extend the operation of this program indefinitely and wouldbegin insert require the office to post A.D.N. Scholarship Program statistics and updates on its Internet Web site. The bill would alsoend insert make relatedbegin insert technicalend insert changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
begin insertSection 128400 of the end insertbegin insertHealth and Safety Codeend insertbegin insert is
2amended to read:end insert
There is hereby established in the State Treasury the
2Registered Nurse Education Fund. All money in the fund shall be
3used for the purposes specified in the California Registered Nurse
4Education Program established pursuant to this article. This fund
5shall receive money collected pursuant to subdivisionbegin delete (c)end deletebegin insert (d)end insert of
6Section 2815begin insert and Section 2815.1end insert of the Business and Professions
7Code.
Section 128401 of the Health and Safety Code is
10amended to
read:
(a) The Office of Statewide Health Planning and
12Development shall adopt regulations establishing the statewide
13Associate Degree Nursing (A.D.N.) Scholarship Program.
14(b) Scholarships under the program shall be available only to
15students in counties determined to have the most need. Need in a
16county shall be established based on consideration of all the
17following factors:
18(1) Counties with a registered nurse-to-population ratio equal
19begin insert to end insert or less than 500 registered nurses per 100,000
individuals.
20(2) County unemployment rate.
21(3) County level of poverty.
22(c) A scholarship recipient shall be required to complete, at a
23minimum, an associate degree in nursing and work in a medically
24underserved area in California upon obtaining his or her license
25from the Board of Registered Nursing.
26(d) The Health Professions Education Foundation shall consider
27the following factors when selecting recipients for the A.D.N.
28Scholarship Program:
29(1) An applicant’s economic need, as established by the federal
30poverty index.
31(2) Applicants who demonstrate cultural and linguistic skills
32and abilities.
33(e) The program shall be funded from the Registered Nurse
34Education Fund established pursuant to Section 128400 and
35administered by the Health Professions Education Foundation
36within the office. The Health Professions Education Foundation
37shall allocate a portion of the moneys in the fund for the program
38established pursuant to this section, in addition to moneys otherwise
39allocated pursuant to this article for scholarships and loans for
40associate degree nursing students.
P3 1(f) No additional staff or General Fund operating costs shall be
2expended for the program.
3(g) The Health Professions Education Foundation may accept
4private
or federal funds for purposes of the A.D.N. Scholarship
5Program.
6(h) The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development
7shall post A.D.N. Scholarship Program statistics and updates on
8its Internet Web site.
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