S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5341
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 8, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MAGNARELLI -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
McDONALD -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Educa-
tion
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.
§ 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.
LBD07366-01-7
A. 5341 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. 5341 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.
§ 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. 5341 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. 5341 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.
§ 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:
§ 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.
§ 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.