BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1703
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Date of Hearing: April 14, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1703 (Knight) - As Amended: March 18, 2010
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:8-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill:
1)Increases the maximum student loan assumption payment, for
eligible registered nurses employed in state-operated
veterans' homes, from $5,000 to $10,000 per year for four
consecutive years of full-time employment.
2)Allows a person's participation in the State Nursing
Assumption Program of Loans for Education for Nurses in State
Facilities (SNAPLE-NSF) to be extended for one year if their
participation is interrupted by active military duty.
FISCAL EFFECT
Assuming the availability of higher loan assumption payments
results in two additional SNAPLE-NSF participants each year,
additional GF costs would be $20,000 in 2011-12, increasing to
$80,000 in 2014-15 and thereafter. While the California Student
Aid Commission (CSAC) indicates a need for additional
administrative resources for the SNAPLE-NSF (see Comment #3),
little of this extra cost would be associated with the marginal
workload increase resulting from this bill.
COMMENTS
1)Background . The SNAPLE-NSF-administered by CSAC-provides loan
assumptions for persons employed as nurses in state-operated
24-hour facilities, such as prisons and developmental centers,
which have a clinical registered nurse vacancy rate of greater
than 10%. The SNAPLE-NSF requires nurses to work for four
AB 1703
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consecutive years as full-time nurses in approved facilities,
and provides for loan assumption of up to $5,000 per year
($20,000 total). SNAPLE-NSF payments are supported by direct
General Fund appropriations.
Based on CSAC data, the SNAPLE-NSF is underutilized. The
state authorized 40 SNAPLE-NSF loan assumption agreements in
2006-07, yet only five individuals applied for the program.
In 2007-08, 100 agreements were authorized, and again, only
five individuals applied. In 2008-09, there were only three
applicants for the 100 authorized agreements. Potential
reasons for this underutilization are: lack of awareness of
this new program among schools and students; the loan
assumption benefit may not be great enough to encourage
participation; the SNAPLE-NSF requires participants to apply
while still in school obtaining their nursing degree, thus
practicing nurses are not eligible for the program.
2)Purpose . As of January 1, 2010, there were twenty 24-hour
state facilities with nursing vacancy rates over 10%--14
prisons and correctional centers, two developmental centers,
one school/diagnostic center, two psychiatric programs, and
one veterans' home. The author notes that the report 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.
3)SNAPLE-NSF Administration . According to CSAC, when the
SNAPLE-NSF was established, the commission was granted
one-half position with the commitment that, as the program got
underway and workload increased, additional positions would be
added. The commission indicates that though there are
currently a small number of program participants, the workload
justifies an additional position. Administrative duties
include tracking and communicating with participants and
lenders, processing annual forms, running payment cycles,
compiling data and making program projections.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081