BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        SB 271|
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                                 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  
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          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  

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             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: 

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           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,  

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          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

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