S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                   407

                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 9, 2013
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. MAGNARELLI, MILLMAN -- read once and referred to
  the Committee on Higher Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to  regents  professional
  education  scholarships, health care professional opportunity scholar-
  ships and loan forgiveness for nurses

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Subdivision  3  of  section  605 of the education law, as
amended by chapter 31 of the  laws  of  1985,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  3.  Regents  professional  education  in  medicine [or], dentistry, OR
NURSING scholarships.  Regents professional education in medicine  [or],
dentistry,  OR  NURSING  scholarships  shall  be  awarded annually, on a
competitive basis, to students beginning professional study in  medicine
[or],  dentistry,  OR  NURSING.   One hundred such scholarships shall be
awarded annually TO STUDENTS BEGINNING PROFESSIONAL  STUDY  IN  MEDICINE
AND  TWO  THOUSAND  SUCH SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDENTS BEGINNING PROFESSIONAL
STUDY IN NURSING, and shall be classified and  allocated  in  accordance
with  regents rules. The provisions of this subdivision shall only apply
to any recipient who receives his or her first award  payment  prior  to
the  nineteen  hundred eighty-five--nineteen hundred eighty-six academic
year. FURTHER, THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL ONLY APPLY TO  A
STUDENT  STUDYING  TO  BE  A REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL NURSE AS DEFINED IN
SECTION SIXTY-NINE HUNDRED THREE OF THIS CHAPTER.
  S 2. Subdivision 9 of section 605 of the education law, as amended  by
chapter  523  of  the  laws of 1992 and subparagraph 3 of paragraph a as
amended by section 89 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of  the  laws
of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
  9.  Regents  physician  AND  NURSING loan forgiveness program. Regents
physician AND NURSING loan forgiveness awards shall be awarded  annually
to physicians AND NURSES who agree to practice medicine OR NURSING in an
area of New York state designated by the regents as having a shortage of

              

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01862-01-3

A. 407                              2

physicians  OR NURSES.  Such awards shall be classified and allocated in
accordance with regents rules.
  a. Eligibility. (1) The applicant must be a resident of New York state
and  licensed  to practice medicine OR NURSING AND SHALL BE A REGISTERED
PROFESSIONAL NURSE AS DEFINED IN SECTION  SIXTY-NINE  HUNDRED  THREE  OF
THIS CHAPTER.
  (2)  [The  applicant  must  have  completed  a  professional residency
program within the five years immediately preceding the period for which
the first award would be granted, or be within two years  of  completion
of  an  accredited  residency program in a primary care specialty desig-
nated in short supply by the board of regents.
  (3)] The applicant must agree to practice medicine OR  NURSING  in  an
area  in New York state designated as having a shortage of physicians OR
NURSES. The  regents,  after  consultation  with  the  commissioners  of
health,  corrections and community supervision, mental health and devel-
opmental disabilities, shall designate those regions and  facilities  of
New  York  state  which  have a shortage of physicians OR NURSES for the
purposes of this section and establish relative rankings thereof.
  b. Selection.  The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner
of health, shall establish criteria for the selection of participants in
the program. An applicant must satisfy at  least  one  of  the  criteria
established.  A  priority  shall  be  accorded  to  any applicant who is
completing the second year of the service requirement and is  reapplying
for  a  new  award. The criteria shall include but not be limited to the
following:
  (i) reapplication for a new award by a person who  is  completing  the
second year of a service requirement;
  (ii)  receipt  of  specific  training  in  a primary care specialty or
obstetrics, OR NURSING determined by the regents to be in short supply;
  (iii) receipt of specific training or experience in serving a shortage
area;
  (iv) receipt of specific training or experience  matching  a  specific
medical need existing in a shortage area; and
  (v)  agreement  pursuant  to  [subdivision  (d)]  PARAGRAPH  D of this
[section] SUBDIVISION to practice in an area determined by  the  regents
to have a severe shortage of primary care physician SERVICES AND NURSING
services.
  c.  Notification.  (1)  The  commissioner  shall then forward approved
applications to the president and shall notify unsuccessful applicants;
  (2) The president shall verify the approved applicants':
  (i) eligibility; and
  (ii) total undergraduate and medical school AND NURSING SCHOOL student
expense;
  (3) The president shall notify applicants of their award entitlement.
  d. Service requirement. Within such time as the commissioner shall  by
regulation  provide,  a recipient of an award shall have agreed to prac-
tice medicine OR NURSING in a specific area designated as having a shor-
tage of physicians OR NURSES for a period  of  twelve  months  for  each
annual payment to be received by the recipient. Physicians AND NURSES in
training  who  receive  an  award  shall not receive credit toward their
required service for time spent in a training program. [In no case shall
the total number of months of service  required  be  less  than  twenty-
four.]  The  president  shall,  in  consultation  with the commissioner,
develop and secure from each award recipient, a written agreement to[:
  (i)] practice medicine OR NURSING in the designated shortage area[;
  (ii) to accept Medicare and Medicaid payments; and

A. 407                              3

  (iii) to provide thirty-five hours per week of direct patient care  in
the  designated  shortage  area being served, or to the designated popu-
lation being served].
If a recipient fails to comply fully with such conditions, the president
shall  be entitled to receive from such recipient an amount to be deter-
mined by the formula:
                               A = 2B (t-s)
                                  -----
                                    t
in which "A" is the amount the president is entitled to recover; "B"  is
the  sum  of all payments made to the recipient and the interest on such
amount which would be payable if at the times such awards were paid they
were loans bearing interest at the maximum prevailing rate; "t"  is  the
total  number of months in the recipient's period of obligated services;
and "s" is the number of months of  service  actually  rendered  by  the
recipient.  Any  amount which the president is entitled to recover under
this paragraph shall be paid within the five-year  period  beginning  on
the  date  that  the recipient failed to comply with this service condi-
tion. Nothing in the written agreement shall affect the terms of employ-
ment of the individual who shall negotiate, separate and apart from  the
program, his or her salary and other forms of employment with an agency,
institution or a program in which he or she shall be employed.
  Any  obligation  to  comply  with  such provisions as outlined in this
section shall be cancelled upon the death of the recipient. The  commis-
sioner shall make regulations to provide for the waiver or suspension of
any financial obligation which would involve extreme hardship.
  e. Reporting. A recipient of an award shall report annually to the New
York  state higher education services corporation, and the department of
health on forms prescribed by the president, as to  the  performance  of
the  required  services,  commencing with the calendar year in which the
recipient begins to practice medicine OR NURSING in a shortage area  and
continuing until the recipient shall have completed, or it is determined
that  he  or  she  shall  not  be  obligated  to  complete, the required
services.  If the recipient shall fail to file any report required here-
under within thirty days of written notice to the recipient,  mailed  to
the  address  shown  on the last application for an award or last report
filed, whichever is later, the president of the corporation may impose a
fine of up to  one  thousand  dollars.  The  president  shall  have  the
discretion  to waive the filing of a report, excuse a delay in filing or
a failure to file a report, or waive or reduce any fine imposed for good
cause shown.
  f. Other awards. Award recipients shall be eligible to apply  for  one
additional award.
  S  3.  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:
  10.  Regents  health  care  professional   opportunity   scholarships.
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, OR NURSING and who are economically
disadvantaged and/or members  of  an  underrepresented  minority  group,
provided,  however,  that to the extent that regents health care profes-
sional opportunity scholarships are not awarded, such scholarships shall
be awarded as regents professional opportunity scholarships. These scho-
larships shall be classified and allocated in  accordance  with  regents
rules.  THIS  SUBDIVISION  SHALL  APPLY  ONLY TO REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL
NURSES AS DEFINED IN SECTION SIXTY-NINE HUNDRED THREE OF THIS CHAPTER.

A. 407                              4

  a. In selecting  and  certifying  scholarship  recipients  under  this
subdivision,  priority  shall be accorded to applicants in the following
order:
  (1)  First,  to  any  applicant  who  is economically disadvantaged as
defined by the regents and a minority historically  underrepresented  in
the  profession as determined by the regents after consultation with the
council on professional  career  opportunity  created  by  section  nine
hundred forty-one of the executive law;
  (2) Second, to any applicant who is a minority underrepresented in the
profession  as  determined  by  the  regents after consultation with the
council on professional  career  opportunity  created  by  section  nine
hundred forty-one of the executive law;
  (3)  Third,  to any applicant who is a graduate of the state-sponsored
opportunity program pursuant to section sixty-four hundred fifty-one  or
sixty-four hundred fifty-two of this chapter.
  In the event that there are more applicants who have the same priority
than there are remaining scholarships, the commissioner shall distribute
the remaining number of such scholarships by means of a lottery or other
form of random selection.
  b.  The  commissioner  shall then forward approved applications to the
president and shall notify unsuccessful applicants.
  c. The president shall notify applicants of their award entitlement.
  d. The president shall, in consultation with the commissioner, develop
and secure from each successful applicant a written agreement  to  prac-
tice  medicine  [or], dentistry, OR NURSING, as appropriate, in a desig-
nated shortage area. Within such time as the commissioner shall by regu-
lation provide, a recipient of an award shall  have  practiced  medicine
[or],  dentistry,  OR NURSING in an area designated as having a shortage
of physicians [or], dentists, OR NURSES, as appropriate, for that number
of months calculated by multiplying  by  twelve  the  number  of  annual
payments received by the recipient. In no case shall the total number of
months  of  service  required  be  less than twenty-four. If a recipient
fails to comply fully with such conditions, the president shall be enti-
tled to receive from such recipient an amount to be  determined  by  the
formula:
                               A = 2B (t-s)
                                  -----
                                    t
in  which "A" is the amount the president is entitled to recover; "B" is
the sum of all payments made to the recipient and the interest  on  such
amount which would be payable if at the times such awards were paid they
were  loans  bearing interest at the maximum prevailing rate; "t" is the
total number of months in the recipient's period of obligated  services;
and  "s"  is  the  number  of months of service actually rendered by the
recipient. Any amount which the president is entitled to  recover  under
this  paragraph  shall  be paid within the five-year period beginning on
the date that the recipient failed to comply with  this  service  condi-
tion. Nothing in the written agreement shall affect the terms of employ-
ment  of the individual who shall negotiate, separate and apart from the
program, his or her salary and other forms of employment with an agency,
institution or a program in which he or she shall be employed.
  Any obligation to comply with such  provisions  as  outlined  in  this
section  shall be cancelled upon the death of the recipient. The commis-
sioner shall make regulations to provide for the waiver or suspension of
any financial obligation which would involve extreme hardship.

A. 407                              5

  e. A recipient of an award shall report annually to the New York state
higher education services corporation, on forms prescribed by it, as  to
the  performance  of the required services, commencing with the calendar
year in which the recipient begins to practice medicine [or], dentistry,
OR  NURSING  in a shortage area and continuing until the recipient shall
have completed, or it is determined that he or she shall  not  be  obli-
gated  to  complete, the required services.  If the recipient shall fail
to file any report required hereunder  within  thirty  days  of  written
notice  to the recipient, mailed to the address shown on the last appli-
cation for an award or last report filed, whichever is later, the presi-
dent of the corporation may impose a fine of up to one thousand dollars.
The president shall have the discretion to waive the filing of a report,
excuse a delay in filing or a failure to file  a  report,  or  waive  or
reduce any fine imposed for good cause shown.
  S  4.  Section 677 of the education law, as added by chapter 31 of the
laws of 1985 and subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 439 of the laws  of
1988, is amended to read as follows:
  S 677.  Regents  physician  AND  NURSING loan forgiveness program.  1.
Number and certification. Eighty  regents  physician  AND  NURSING  loan
forgiveness  awards  shall  be  awarded  each year. Such awards shall be
allocated as provided in article thirteen of this  chapter  to  eligible
physicians AND NURSES as certified to the president by the commissioner.
THIS  SECTION  SHALL  APPLY  ONLY  TO  REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL NURSES AS
DEFINED IN SECTION SIXTY-NINE HUNDRED THREE OF THIS CHAPTER.
  2. Calculation of award amounts.  Each  award  shall  consist  of  two
consecutive  annual  loan  forgiveness  payments.  Each  of  the  annual
payments shall be for an amount equal to the total of undergraduate  and
medical  OR  NURSING school student loan expense or ten thousand dollars
whichever is less.  The president shall be responsible  for  calculating
the dollar amount of each award that [eligibile] ELIGIBLE candidates may
receive  from  this  program.  For the purposes of this section, student
loan expense shall mean the cumulative total of the annual student loans
covering the cost of attendance at an undergraduate  institution  and/or
medical OR NURSING school. Interest paid or due on student loans that an
applicant  has taken out for use in paying for such undergraduate and/or
medical OR NURSING education shall be considered eligible for reimburse-
ment under this program.
  3. Award disbursement. a. Annual  award  disbursements  shall  be  the
responsibility  of  the president and shall occur prior to the beginning
of each of the required terms of service as  specified  in  the  service
contract.  The board of trustees of the higher education services corpo-
ration shall adopt rules and regulations regarding criteria  for  deter-
mining  successful  completion  of  the  service contract and any appeal
process that may be required to implement this paragraph upon  recommen-
dation of the president in consultation with the commissioner.
  b. The disbursement of the second annual award shall be dependent upon
successful  completion  of  the  first  year  requirement of the service
contract as defined by the president, as  well  as  other  criteria  set
forth in this section.
  S  5.  This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law, provided, that the  amend-
ments to subdivisions 3, 9 and 10 of section 605  and section 677 of the
education  law  made  by  sections  one, two, three and four of this act
shall not affect the termination of such  subdivisions  and  section  as
provided by section 17 of chapter 31 of the laws of 1985, as amended.