BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1703
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Date of Hearing: March 16, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Anthony Portantino, Chair
AB 1703 (Knight) - As Introduced: February 1, 2010
SUBJECT : State Nursing Assumption Program of Loans for
Education: veterans homes.
SUMMARY : Would increase the maximum student loan assumption
amount for nurses participating in the State Nursing Assumption
Program of Loans for Education (SNAPLE) for Nurses in State
Facilities (SNAPLE-NSF) for a nurse that completes qualifying
clinical service at a state-operated veterans home.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that for a SNAPLE-NSF program participant employed as
a clinical registered nurse in a state-operated veterans home
who has completed five or more years of full-time employment,
the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) shall assume an
additional $5,000 of the participant's outstanding loan
liability for each additional year of full-time employment in
a state-operated veterans home.
2)Provides that the total loan assumption for a program
participant under this bill shall be equal to the
participant's total outstanding liability under one or more of
the designated SNAPLE loan programs.
EXISTING LAW establishes and provides for the administration of
SNAPLE.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Background : SNAPLE contains two specific loan
assumption programs:
1)SNAPLE for Nurse Faculty (SNAPLE-NF) is designed to encourage
persons to complete their graduate degree and serve as nursing
faculty in a nursing program at an accredited California
college or university. SNAPLE-NF will pay up to a total of
$25,000 over the course of three academic years on outstanding
student loans for nursing faculty.
2)SNAPLE-NSF provides loan assumption for persons employed as
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nurses in state-operated 24-hour facilities that have a
clinical registered nurse vacancy rate of greater than 10%.
The SNAPLE-NSF requires nurses to work for four consecutive
years as full-time nurses in approved facilities, and provides
for loan assumption up to $20,000.
This bill would allow for $5,000 in loan assumption for each
additional year of full-time employment in a state-operated
veterans home for a SNAPLE-NSF program participant employed as a
clinical registered nurse in a state-operated veterans home who
has completed five or more years of full-time employment.
State facilities nursing shortage : As of January 1, 2010,
according to information provided by the Department of Personnel
Administration (DPA), there are twenty 24-hour state facilities
with nursing vacancy rates over 10%. Of these, fourteen are
prisons and correctional centers, two are developmental centers,
one is a school/diagnostic center, two are psychiatric programs,
and one is a veterans home. The author notes that the recent
vacancy rate report from DPA does not include two veterans homes
that recently opened in Lancaster and Ventura. Additionally,
the author notes that two additional veterans homes are planned
to open in the near future. The author argues that this bill is
intended to attract more nurses to veterans homes, which have
difficulty recruiting to some of their more remote locations.
SNAPLE-NSF is underutilized : According to CSAC data, SNAPLE-NSF
is underutilized. The state authorized 40 SNAPLE-NSF loan
assumption agreements in 2006-07, only five individuals applied
for the program. In 2007-08, 100 agreements were authorized,
five individuals applied for the program. In 2008-09, there
were only three applicants for the 100 authorized agreements.
SNAPLE-NF and SNAPLE-NSF are supported by direct General Fund
appropriations. Unused agreements are reabsorbed into the
General Fund.
Possible reasons SNAPLE-NSF is underutilized : CSAC has noted
that SNAPLE-NSF is relatively new; CSAC hopes that the number of
applicants will increase as schools and students become more
aware of the programs. Additionally, discussions with staff at
CSAC indicate that the loan assumption benefit may not be great
enough to encourage participation. According to data from the
American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the average nursing
student carries a loan debt $30,375 from baccalaureate studies
alone. Students with a master's degree in nursing report an
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average debt load of $44,393. The student debt average for
nurses with both undergraduate and graduate degrees is $64,077.
However, the maximum loan assumption under SNAPLE-NSF is
$20,000. Finally, SNAPLE-NSF requires program participants to
apply while still in school obtaining their nursing degree;
practicing nurses are not eligible for the program.
Should this bill be amended to address SNAPLE-NSF
underutilization ? As written, this bill would allow for
additional annual $5,000 loan assumption per service year for
nurses working in state-operated veterans homes until the
participant's total nursing education loan liability is
eliminated. Considering the underutilization of the existing
program, it is unclear that simply adding increased loan
assumption amounts based on additional service year requirements
will increase participation in the program in veterans
facilities. Should this bill be amended to address some of the
aforementioned causes of underutilization?
CSAC requested amendment : CSAC has taken a support if amended
position on this bill. As previously mentioned, this bill would
allow SNAPLE-NSF participants working in veterans facilities to
participate in the program until their total student loan
liability is assumed. This provision could require CSAC to
track participants indefinitely, making annual budgeting
difficult and creating a potential staffing burden as the
program expands. CSAC has requested that the bill be amended to
cap the duration of participation or the total amount of loan
assumption, or both.
Proposed Author's Amendments :
1)Delete current provisions and instead provide for an
additional $5,000 loan assumption per year for nurses serving
in qualified veterans homes, for the program length of four
years. This would establish a total maximum loan assumption
of $40,000 for SNAPLE-NSF participants working in veterans'
homes.
2)Include military active duty service as an allowable reason
for extension of leave of absence under SNAPLE-NSF.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
AB 1703
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None on File
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960