S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
                                  2690
                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                          I N  A S S E M B L Y
                            January 20, 2011
                               ___________
Introduced  by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit-
  tee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to funding  of  physician
  loan forgiveness programs
  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
  Section 1. Subdivision 9 of  section  605  of  the  education  law  is
amended by adding a new paragraph g to read as follows:
  G.  USE  OF  EXCESS  FUNDS  FROM  THE REGENTS HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL
OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS. ANY FUNDS APPLIED  TOWARD  THIS  PROGRAM  FROM
UNUSED  ALLOCATIONS DIRECTED TOWARD THE REGENTS HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL
OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS, PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION TEN OF  THIS  SECTION,
SHALL  BE  DISTRIBUTED  IN ACCORDANCE WITH REGENTS RULES THAT SHALL GIVE
PRIORITY TO PHYSICIANS WHO ARE ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED AND/OR MEMBERS
OF AN UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY GROUP. AWARDEES  SHALL  PROVIDE  SERVICE
PAYBACK  IN  AN  AREA DESIGNATED AS HAVING A SHORTAGE OF PHYSICIANS, BUT
NOT LIMITED TO, PRIMARY CARE SERVICES.
  S 2. The opening paragraph of subdivision 10 of  section  605  of  the
education law, as added by chapter 31 of the laws of 1985, is amended to
read as follows:
  Regents  health  care  professional  opportunity scholarships shall be
awarded annually to students who are beginning or engaged in an approved
program in medicine or dentistry and who are economically  disadvantaged
and/or members of an underrepresented minority group, provided, however,
that  to  the  extent  that regents health care professional opportunity
scholarships are not awarded, such [scholarships  shall  be  awarded  as
regents  professional  opportunity scholarships] REMAINING FUNDING SHALL
BE APPLIED TO THE REGENTS  PHYSICIAN  LOAN  FORGIVENESS  PROGRAM.  These
scholarships  shall  be  classified  and  allocated  in  accordance with
regents rules.
 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD03046-01-1
              
             
                          
                A. 2690                             2
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that the  amend-
ments to subdivisions 9 and 10 of section 605 of the education law, made
by sections one and two of this act, shall not affect the termination of
such  program  and  scholarship  respectively  pursuant to section 17 of
chapter  31 of the laws of 1985, as amended, and such program and schol-
arship shall terminate therewith.