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The Florida Senate

2001 Florida Statutes

SECTION 4075
Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Program.
Section 240.4075, Florida Statutes 2001

1240.4075  Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Program.--

(1)  To encourage qualified personnel to seek employment in areas of this state in which critical nursing shortages exist, there is established the Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Program. The primary function of the program is to increase employment and retention of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses in nursing homes and hospitals in the state and in state-operated medical and health care facilities, public schools, birth centers, federally sponsored community health centers, family practice teaching hospitals, and specialty children's hospitals by making repayments toward loans received by students from federal or state programs or commercial lending institutions for the support of postsecondary study in accredited or approved nursing programs.

(2)  To be eligible, a candidate must have graduated from an accredited or approved nursing program and have received a Florida license as a licensed practical nurse or a registered nurse or a Florida certificate as an advanced registered nurse practitioner.

(3)  Only loans to pay the costs of tuition, books, and living expenses shall be covered, at an amount not to exceed $4,000 for each year of education towards the degree obtained.

(4)  Receipt of funds pursuant to this program shall be contingent upon continued proof of employment in the designated facilities in this state. Loan principal payments shall be made by the Department of Health directly to the federal or state programs or commercial lending institutions holding the loan as follows:

(a)  Twenty-five percent of the loan principal and accrued interest shall be retired after the first year of nursing;

(b)  Fifty percent of the loan principal and accrued interest shall be retired after the second year of nursing;

(c)  Seventy-five percent of the loan principal and accrued interest shall be retired after the third year of nursing; and

(d)  The remaining loan principal and accrued interest shall be retired after the fourth year of nursing.

In no case may payment for any nurse exceed $4,000 in any 12-month period.

(5)  There is created the Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Trust Fund to be administered by the Department of Health pursuant to this section and s. 240.4076 and department rules. The Comptroller shall authorize expenditures from the trust fund upon receipt of vouchers approved by the Department of Health. All moneys collected from the private health care industry and other private sources for the purposes of this section shall be deposited into the Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Trust Fund. Any balance in the trust fund at the end of any fiscal year shall remain therein and shall be available for carrying out the purposes of this section and s. 240.4076.

(6)  In addition to licensing fees imposed under part I of chapter 464, there is hereby levied and imposed an additional fee of $5, which fee shall be paid upon licensure or renewal of nursing licensure. Revenues collected from the fee imposed in this subsection shall be deposited in the Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Trust Fund of the Department of Health and will be used solely for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section and s. 240.4076. Up to 50 percent of the revenues appropriated to implement this subsection may be used for the nursing scholarship program established pursuant to s. 240.4076.

(7)2(a)  Funds contained in the Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Trust Fund which are to be used for loan forgiveness for those nurses employed by hospitals, birth centers, and nursing homes must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis by contributions from the employing institutions, except that this provision shall not apply to state-operated medical and health care facilities, public schools, county health departments, federally sponsored community health centers, teaching hospitals as defined in s. 408.07, family practice teaching hospitals as defined in s. 395.805, or specialty hospitals for children as used in s. 409.9119. If in any given fiscal quarter there are insufficient funds in the trust fund to grant all eligible applicant requests, awards shall be based on the following priority of employer: county health departments; federally sponsored community health centers; state-operated medical and health care facilities; public schools; teaching hospitals as defined in s. 408.07; family practice teaching hospitals as defined in s. 395.805; specialty hospitals for children as used in s. 409.9119; and other hospitals, birth centers, and nursing homes.

(b)  All Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Trust Fund moneys shall be invested pursuant to s. 18.125. Interest income accruing to that portion of the trust fund not matched shall increase the total funds available for loan forgiveness and scholarships. Pledged contributions shall not be eligible for matching prior to the actual collection of the total private contribution for the year.

(8)  The Department of Health may solicit technical assistance relating to the conduct of this program from the Department of Education.

(9)  The Department of Health is authorized to recover from the Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Trust Fund its costs for administering the Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Program.

(10)  The Department of Health may adopt rules necessary to administer this program.

(11)  This section shall be implemented only as specifically funded.

History.--s. 1, ch. 89-332; s. 1, ch. 90-192; s. 10, ch. 90-295; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 87, ch. 92-33; s. 1, ch. 92-137; s. 25, ch. 93-129; s. 27, ch. 94-218; s. 26, ch. 97-101; s. 16, ch. 97-237; s. 15, ch. 98-191; s. 86, ch. 2000-318; s. 3(7), ch. 2000-321; s. 19, ch. 2001-104; s. 2, ch. 2001-203; s. 91, ch. 2001-277.

1Note.--Repealed January 7, 2003, by s. 3(7), ch. 2000-321, and shall be reviewed by the Legislature prior to that date.

2Note.--As amended by s. 91, ch. 2001-277. Section 19, ch. 2001-104, and s. 2, ch. 2001-203, also amended paragraph (7)(a), and that version reads:

(7)(a)  Funds contained in the Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Trust Fund which are to be used for loan forgiveness for those nurses employed by hospitals, birth centers, and nursing homes must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis by contributions from the employing institutions, except that this provision shall not apply to state-operated medical and health care facilities, county health departments, federally sponsored community health centers, teaching hospitals as defined in s. 408.07, family practice teaching hospitals as defined in s. 395.805, or specialty children's hospitals as described in s. 409.9119. If, in any given fiscal quarter, there are insufficient funds in the trust fund to grant all eligible applicants' requests, awards must be based on the following priority by employer: county health departments, federally sponsored community health centers, state-operated medical and health care facilities, teaching hospitals as defined in s. 408.07, family practice teaching hospitals as defined in s. 395.805, specialty children's hospitals as described in s. 409.9119, and other hospitals, birthing centers, or nursing homes where the match is required.