BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 1677
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 9, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                    AB 1677 (Gomez) - As Amended:  March 17, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              Higher  
          EducationVote:13-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill establishes a postsecondary education loan assumption  
          program for registered nurses, or those in an accredited nursing  
          program, who agree to work in specified state or local public  
          health care facilities. Specifically, this bill:

          1)Establishes the loan assumption program through 2021-22,  
            specifies the annual maximum number of awards, and  
            appropriates $48 million from the General Fund, scheduled in  
            specific amounts over each year of the program, starting in  
            2015-16.

          2)Establishes eligibility criteria, including that the person  
            agrees to work in one of the following types of facilities for  
            four years: a state hospital or veterans' home; a public  
            hospital; a California facility administered by the federal  
            Veterans Health Administration; a health care district.

          3)Provides up to $15,000 of loan forgiveness each year of  
            full-time employment that a program participant completes at  
            an qualifying facility, up to a total of four years of  
            employment at such facility.

          4)Requires the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), which  
            is to administer the program, to report program results by  
            January 1, 2016 and annually thereafter, and requires the  
            Legislative Analyst's Office to evaluate the program and  
            report to the Legislature by May 1, 2019.

           FISCAL EFFECT  









                                                                  AB 1677
                                                                  Page  2

          1)One-time General Fund appropriation of $48 million for loan  
            assumption awards, to be allocated as specified over seven  
            fiscal years beginning in 2015-16.

          2)Annual General Fund administrative costs of around $120,000,  
            including one position at CSAC to administer the program.

          COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . According to the author, veterans return from duty  
            with various needs.  Two of the more prevalent needs are  
            access to quality medical care and jobs.  The author states,  
            "In California, we have veterans' homes with nursing shortages  
            and, in 2012 California had an unemployment rate for veterans  
            that was 8.9%.  With a population of more than 1.7 million  
            veterans in California, we need to increase our efforts to  
            provide quality medical care and jobs for our servicemen."

           2)Similar Program Recently Sunset  . A former loan assumption  
            program was limited to nurses employed in state facilities.  
            That program had limited funding and participation, and sunset  
            January 1, 2013.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081