093_SB1367

 
                                     LRB093 10808 DRJ 11245 b

 1        AN ACT concerning loan repayment assistance for nurses.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section 1.  Short title. This Act may  be  cited  as  the
 5    Loan Repayment Assistance for Nurses Act.

 6        Section  5.  Purpose.  The  purpose  of  this  Act  is to
 7    establish a program in the Department  of  Public  Health  to
 8    increase  the  total  number  of  nurses  in  this  State and
 9    encourage nurses to locate in  areas  where  nurse  shortages
10    exist  by  providing  educational  loan  repayment assistance
11    grants  to  nurses  who  practice  in  areas  of  the   State
12    demonstrating the greatest need for nurses.

13        Section 10.  Definitions. In this Act, unless the context
14    otherwise requires:
15        "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
16        "Designated  shortage  area" means (i) an area designated
17    by the Director of Public Health as a nurse shortage area  or
18    (ii)  an  area served by a disproportionate share hospital as
19    described in the Illinois Public Aid Code.
20        "Educational loans" means higher education student  loans
21    that   a  person  has  incurred  in  attending  a  registered
22    professional nursing education program.
23        "Nurse"  means   a   registered   nurse   or   registered
24    professional  nurse as those terms are defined in the Nursing
25    and Advanced Practice Nursing Act.
26        "Program" means the educational loan repayment assistance
27    program for nurses established by the Department  under  this
28    Act.

29        Section  15.  Establishment  of  program.  The Department
 
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 1    shall establish  an  educational  loan  repayment  assistance
 2    program for nurses who practice in designated shortage areas.
 3    The  Department  shall  administer  the  program and make all
 4    necessary and proper rules not inconsistent with this Act for
 5    the program's effective implementation.  The  Department  may
 6    use  up  to  5%  of  the  appropriation  for this program for
 7    administration and promotion of nursing incentive programs.

 8        Section 20.  Application. Beginning  July  1,  2004,  the
 9    Department   shall,  each  year,  consider  applications  for
10    assistance under the program. The form of application and the
11    information required to be set forth in the application shall
12    be determined by the Department,  and  the  Department  shall
13    require  applicants  to  submit  with their applications such
14    supporting documents as the Department deems necessary.

15        Section 25.  Eligibility. To be eligible  for  assistance
16    under  the  program,  an  applicant  must  meet  all  of  the
17    following qualifications:
18             (1)  He  or  she  must  be  a  citizen  or permanent
19        resident of the United States.
20             (2)  He or she must be a resident of this State.
21             (3)  He or she must be  practicing  full-time  in  a
22        designated shortage area as a nurse.
23             (4)  He   or   she   must   currently   be  repaying
24        educational loans.

25        Section 30.  The award of grants. Under the program,  for
26    each year that a qualified applicant practices full-time in a
27    designated  shortage  area  as a nurse, the Department shall,
28    subject to appropriation, award a grant to that person in  an
29    amount  equal  to  the  amount  in educational loans that the
30    person must repay that year. However,  the  total  amount  in
31    grants  that  a person may be awarded under the program shall
 
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 1    not exceed $5,000. The Department shall encourage  recipients
 2    to use the grants to pay off their educational loans.

 3        Section  99.   Effective  date.  This Act takes effect on
 4    July 1, 2003.