Senate Bill sb0782e1

    SB 782                                         First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to nursing education; amending

  3         ss. 240.4075, 240.4076, F.S.; including nursing

  4         homes, family practice teaching hospitals and

  5         specialty children's hospitals as facilities

  6         eligible under the program; exempting such

  7         hospitals from the fund-matching requirements

  8         of the program; transferring the program from

  9         the Board of Regents to the Department of

10         Health; providing an effective date.

11

12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

13

14         Section 1.  Subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of

15  subsection (7) of section 240.4075, Florida Statutes, are

16  amended to read:

17         240.4075  Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Program.--

18         (1)  To encourage qualified personnel to seek

19  employment in areas of this state in which critical nursing

20  shortages exist, there is established the Nursing Student Loan

21  Forgiveness Program.  The primary function of the program is

22  to increase employment and retention of registered nurses and

23  licensed practical nurses in nursing homes and hospitals in

24  the state and in state-operated medical and health care

25  facilities, birth centers, federally sponsored community

26  health centers, and teaching hospitals, family practice

27  teaching hospitals, and specialty children's hospitals by

28  making repayments toward loans received by students from

29  federal or state programs or commercial lending institutions

30  for the support of postsecondary study in accredited or

31  approved nursing programs.


                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    SB 782                                         First Engrossed



  1         (7)(a)  Funds contained in the Nursing Student Loan

  2  Forgiveness Trust Fund which are to be used for loan

  3  forgiveness for those nurses employed by hospitals, birth

  4  centers, and nursing homes must be matched on a

  5  dollar-for-dollar basis by contributions from the employing

  6  institutions, except that this provision shall not apply to

  7  state-operated medical and health care facilities, county

  8  health departments, federally sponsored community health

  9  centers, or teaching hospitals as defined in s. 408.07, family

10  practice teaching hospitals as defined in s. 395.805, or

11  specialty children's hospitals as described in s. 409.9119.

12  If, in any given fiscal quarter, there are insufficient funds

13  in the trust fund to grant all eligible applicants' requests,

14  awards must be based on the following priority by employer:

15  county health departments, federally sponsored community

16  health centers, state-operated medical and health care

17  facilities, teaching hospitals as defined in s. 408.07, family

18  practice teaching hospitals as defined in s. 395.805,

19  specialty children's hospitals as described in s. 409.9119,

20  and other hospitals, birthing centers, or nursing homes where

21  the match is required.

22         Section 2.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section

23  240.4076, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

24         240.4076  Nursing scholarship program.--

25         (4)  Credit for repayment of a scholarship shall be as

26  follows:

27         (b)  Eligible health care facilities include

28  state-operated medical or health care facilities, county

29  health departments, federally sponsored community health

30  centers, or teaching hospitals as defined in s. 408.07,

31  nursing homes, family practice teaching hospitals as defined


                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    SB 782                                         First Engrossed



  1  in s. 395.805, or specialty children's hospitals as described

  2  in s. 409.9119. The recipient shall be encouraged to complete

  3  the service obligation at a single employment site.  If

  4  continuous employment at the same site is not feasible, the

  5  recipient may apply to the department for a transfer to

  6  another approved health care facility.

  7         Section 3.  All the statutory powers, duties, and

  8  functions and the records, personnel, property, and unexpended

  9  balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds of the

10  Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Program are transferred from

11  the Department of Education to the Department of Health by a

12  type two transfer as defined in section 20.06, Florida

13  Statutes.

14         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31


                                  3

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.