BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 271| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 271 Author: Hernandez (D) Amended: 8/6/13 Vote: 21 SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/3/13 AYES: Hernandez, Anderson, Beall, De León, DeSaulnier, Monning, Nielsen, Pavley, Wolk SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/13 AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg SENATE FLOOR : 38-0, 5/29/13 (Consent) AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Nielsen, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Wright, Vacancy ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 9/4/13 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Associate Degree Nursing Scholarship Program SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill deletes the January 1, 2014, sunset date of the Associate Degree Nursing Scholarship Pilot Program (ADN Scholarship Program), requires the Office of Statewide Health CONTINUED SB 271 Page 2 Planning and Development (OSHPD) to post ADN Scholarship Program statistics and updates on its Internet Web Site, and makes other technical, conforming changes. Assembly Amendments add a requirement for OSHPD to post ADN Scholarship Program statistics and updates on its Internet Web site. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Requires OSHPD to adopt regulations establishing the statewide ADN Scholarship Program. 2. Requires scholarships under the ADN Scholarship Program to be available only to students in counties determined to have the most need. Need in a county is established based on consideration of all the following factors: A. Counties with a registered nurse-to-population ratio equal or less than 500 registered nurses (RNs) per 100,000 individuals. B. County unemployment rate. C. County level of poverty. 3. Requires a scholarship recipient to complete, at a minimum, an associate degree in nursing and work in a medically underserved area (MUA) in California upon obtaining his/her license from the Board of Registered Nursing. 4. Requires the Health Professions Education Foundation (Foundation) to consider the following factors when selecting recipients for the ADN Scholarship Program: A. An applicant's economic need, as established by the federal poverty index. B. Applicants who demonstrate cultural and linguistic skills and abilities. 5. Requires the ADB Scholarship Program to be funded from the CONTINUED SB 271 Page 3 Registered Nurse Education Fund (RNEF) and administered by the Foundation. 6. Requires the Foundation to allocate a portion of the moneys in the fund for the ADN Scholarship Program, in addition to moneys otherwise allocated for scholarships and loans for associate degree nursing students. 7. Establishes a January 1, 2014, sunset date for the ADN Scholarship Program. This bill: 1. Deletes the January 1, 2014, sunset date of the ADN Scholarship Program. 2. Requires OSHPD to post ADN Program Statistics and updates on its Internet Web site. 3. Makes other technical, conforming changes. Background The ADN Scholarship Program provides scholarships of up to $10,000 to ADN students in exchange for providing direct patient care in a MUA in California after graduation. The ADN Scholarship Program is funded from the RNEF, which is supported by a $10 surcharge on all RN licensure renewals. According to OSHPD, the RNEF funds the following programs: 1. ADN Program 2. Bachelor of Science Nursing (BSN) Scholarship Program 3. BSN Loan Repayment Program 4. Entry-Level Master's Degree Program 5. Registered Nurse Education Master's or Doctoral Degree Teaching Program Currently, 30% of the RNEF's $1.7 million budget is directed to the ADN Scholarship Program for scholarships. To be eligible for an ADN Program scholarship, an applicant must: CONTINUED SB 271 Page 4 1. Be currently accepted or enrolled in an ADN Scholarship Program in California. 2. Be free from any other service obligation. 3. Have valid legal presence and ability to work and provide care in the state of California. 4. Be willing to work in a MUA for two years. OSHPD states that the current demand for ADN Scholarship Program scholarships vastly outweighs the supply of available funding for the program. Since May 2003 through September 2011, the Foundation has received $10.6 million in scholarship applications, and approximately $3.2 million in ADN Scholarship Program scholarships were awarded. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, there will be ongoing costs of about $700,000 per year to provide scholarships and administer grants (special fund). Over the last five years, scholarship awards (including administrative costs) have ranged from about $400,000 to $780,000 with an average of about $650,000. SUPPORT : (Verified 9/4/13) AFSCME Association of California Healthcare Districts California Association for Health Services at Home California Hospital Association California Nurses Association California State Board of Registered Nurses California Optometric Association Hospital Corporation of America United Nurses Association of California/Union of Health Care Professionals ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, while the nation has been experiencing a shortage of nurses for more than a decade, it has been particularly acute in California, CONTINUED SB 271 Page 5 where a booming and aging population, combined with higher education budget cuts, has led to challenges in meeting the nursing demand. The RN shortage has also resulted in a diminished ability to educate the incoming population of nursing students. This bill will ensure that this valuable program continues to operate, providing patient access to practitioners in MUAs. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 9/4/13 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Melendez, Vacancy, Vacancy JL:k 9/5/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED