A 60: Provides for the award of regents scholarships and loan forgiveness for nurses on the same terms as physicians; applies to registered professional nurses as defined in section 6903 of the education law.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 60 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. MAGNARELLI, EACHUS, RAGA -- 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: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 605 of the education law, as 2 amended by chapter 31 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 3. Regents professional education in medicine [or], dentistry, or 5 nursing scholarships. Regents professional education in medicine [or], 6 dentistry, or nursing scholarships shall be awarded annually, on a 7 competitive basis, to students beginning professional study in medicine 8 [or], dentistry, or nursing. One hundred such scholarships shall be 9 awarded annually to students beginning professional study in medicine 10 and two thousand such scholarships to students beginning professional 11 study in nursing, and shall be classified and allocated in accordance 12 with regents rules. The provisions of this subdivision shall only apply 13 to any recipient who receives [his or her] the first award payment prior 14 to the nineteen hundred eighty-five--nineteen hundred eighty-six academ- 15 ic year. Further, the provisions of this subdivision shall only apply to 16 a student studying to be a registered professional nurse as defined in 17 section sixty-nine hundred three of this chapter. 18 § 2. Subdivision 9 of section 605 of the education law, as amended by 19 chapter 523 of the laws of 1992 and subparagraph 3 of paragraph a as 20 amended by section 89 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws 21 of 2011, is amended to read as follows: 22 9. Regents physician and nursing loan forgiveness program. Regents 23 physician and nursing loan forgiveness awards shall be awarded annually EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00434-01-5 
 A. 60 2 1 to physicians and nurses who agree to practice medicine or nursing in an 2 area of New York state designated by the regents as having a shortage of 3 physicians or nurses. Such awards shall be classified and allocated in 4 accordance with regents rules. 5 a. Eligibility. (1) The applicant must be a resident of New York state 6 and licensed to practice medicine or nursing and shall be a registered 7 professional nurse as defined in section sixty-nine hundred three of 8 this chapter. 9 (2) [The applicant must have completed a professional residency 10 program within the five years immediately preceding the period for which 11 the first award would be granted, or be within two years of completion 12 of an accredited residency program in a primary care specialty desig- 13 nated in short supply by the board of regents. 14 (3)] The applicant must agree to practice medicine or nursing in an 15 area in New York state designated as having a shortage of physicians or 16 nurses. The regents, after consultation with the commissioners of 17 health, corrections and community supervision, mental health and devel- 18 opmental disabilities, shall designate those regions and facilities of 19 New York state which have a shortage of physicians or nurses for the 20 purposes of this section and establish relative rankings thereof. 21 b. Selection. The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner 22 of health, shall establish criteria for the selection of participants in 23 the program. An applicant must satisfy at least one of the criteria 24 established. A priority shall be accorded to any applicant who is 25 completing the second year of the service requirement and is reapplying 26 for a new award. The criteria shall include but not be limited to the 27 following: 28 (i) reapplication for a new award by a person who is completing the 29 second year of a service requirement; 30 (ii) receipt of specific training in a primary care specialty or 31 obstetrics, or nursing determined by the regents to be in short supply; 32 (iii) receipt of specific training or experience in serving a shortage 33 area; 34 (iv) receipt of specific training or experience matching a specific 35 medical need existing in a shortage area; and 36 (v) agreement pursuant to [subdivision (d)] paragraph d of this 37 [section] subdivision to practice in an area determined by the regents 38 to have a severe shortage of primary care physician services and nursing 39 services. 40 c. Notification. (1) The commissioner shall then forward approved 41 applications to the president and shall notify unsuccessful applicants; 42 (2) The president shall verify the approved applicants': 43 (i) eligibility; and 44 (ii) total undergraduate and medical school and nursing school student 45 expense; 46 (3) The president shall notify applicants of their award entitlement. 47 d. Service requirement. Within such time as the commissioner shall by 48 regulation provide, a recipient of an award shall have agreed to prac- 49 tice medicine or nursing in a specific area designated as having a shor- 50 tage of physicians or nurses for a period of twelve months for each 51 annual payment to be received by the recipient. Physicians and nurses in 52 training who receive an award shall not receive credit toward their 53 required service for time spent in a training program. [In no case shall 54 the total number of months of service required be less than twenty- 55 four.] The president shall, in consultation with the commissioner, 56 develop and secure from each award recipient, a written agreement to[: 
 A. 60 3 1 (i)] practice medicine or nursing in the designated shortage area[; 2 (ii) to accept Medicare and Medicaid payments; and 3 (iii) to provide thirty-five hours per week of direct patient care in 4 the designated shortage area being served, or to the designated popu- 5 lation being served]. 6 If a recipient fails to comply fully with such conditions, the president 7 shall be entitled to receive from such recipient an amount to be deter- 8 mined by the formula: 9 A = 2B (t-s) 10 ----- 11 t 12 in which "A" is the amount the president is entitled to recover; "B" is 13 the sum of all payments made to the recipient and the interest on such 14 amount which would be payable if at the times such awards were paid they 15 were loans bearing interest at the maximum prevailing rate; "t" is the 16 total number of months in the recipient's period of obligated services; 17 and "s" is the number of months of service actually rendered by the 18 recipient. Any amount which the president is entitled to recover under 19 this paragraph shall be paid within the five-year period beginning on 20 the date that the recipient failed to comply with this service condi- 21 tion. Nothing in the written agreement shall affect the terms of employ- 22 ment of the individual who shall negotiate, separate and apart from the 23 program, [his or her] salary and other forms of employment with an agen- 24 cy, institution or a program in which [he or she] such individual shall 25 be employed. 26 Any obligation to comply with such provisions as outlined in this 27 section shall be cancelled upon the death of the recipient. The commis- 28 sioner shall make regulations to provide for the waiver or suspension of 29 any financial obligation which would involve extreme hardship. 30 e. Reporting. A recipient of an award shall report annually to the New 31 York state higher education services corporation, and the department of 32 health on forms prescribed by the president, as to the performance of 33 the required services, commencing with the calendar year in which the 34 recipient begins to practice medicine or nursing in a shortage area and 35 continuing until the recipient shall have completed, or it is determined 36 that [he or she] such recipient shall not be obligated to complete, the 37 required services. If the recipient shall fail to file any report 38 required hereunder within thirty days of written notice to the recipi- 39 ent, mailed to the address shown on the last application for an award or 40 last report filed, whichever is later, the president of the corporation 41 may impose a fine of up to one thousand dollars. The president shall 42 have the discretion to waive the filing of a report, excuse a delay in 43 filing or a failure to file a report, or waive or reduce any fine 44 imposed for good cause shown. 45 f. Other awards. Award recipients shall be eligible to apply for one 46 additional award. 47 § 3. Section 677 of the education law, as added by chapter 31 of the 48 laws of 1985 and subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 439 of the laws of 49 1988, is amended to read as follows: 50 § 677. Regents physician and nursing loan forgiveness program. 1. 51 Number and certification. Eighty regents physician and nursing loan 52 forgiveness awards shall be awarded each year. Such awards shall be 53 allocated as provided in article thirteen of this chapter to eligible 54 physicians and nurses as certified to the president by the commissioner. 55 This section shall apply only to registered professional nurses as 56 defined in section sixty-nine hundred three of this chapter. 
 A. 60 4 1 2. Calculation of award amounts. Each award shall consist of two 2 consecutive annual loan forgiveness payments. Each of the annual 3 payments shall be for an amount equal to the total of undergraduate and 4 medical or nursing school student loan expense or ten thousand dollars 5 whichever is less. The president shall be responsible for calculating 6 the dollar amount of each award that [eligibile] eligible candidates may 7 receive from this program. For the purposes of this section, student 8 loan expense shall mean the cumulative total of the annual student loans 9 covering the cost of attendance at an undergraduate institution and/or 10 medical or nursing school. Interest paid or due on student loans that an 11 applicant has taken out for use in paying for such undergraduate and/or 12 medical or nursing education shall be considered eligible for reimburse- 13 ment under this program. 14 3. Award disbursement. a. Annual award disbursements shall be the 15 responsibility of the president and shall occur prior to the beginning 16 of each of the required terms of service as specified in the service 17 contract. The board of trustees of the higher education services corpo- 18 ration shall adopt rules and regulations regarding criteria for deter- 19 mining successful completion of the service contract and any appeal 20 process that may be required to implement this paragraph upon recommen- 21 dation of the president in consultation with the commissioner. 22 b. The disbursement of the second annual award shall be dependent upon 23 successful completion of the first year requirement of the service 24 contract as defined by the president, as well as other criteria set 25 forth in this section. 26 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding 27 the date on which it shall have become a law.