Bill Text: NY A03586 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Enacts the New York state nursing shortage correction act; establishes the New York state nursing recruitment incentive and retention program; defines terms; provides for tuition benefits and the reimbursement of student loans if a person is a registered and licensed nurse; provides that SUNY and CUNY shall pay for a person's education if such person signs a contract stating that he or she shall work in New York state as a registered nurse; makes related provisions; establishes the New York state nursing recruitment incentive and retention account.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 27-3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-14 - held for consideration in higher education [A03586 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A03586-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3586
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 29, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. PALMESANO, BLANKENBUSH, B. MILLER, GIGLIO, RAIA,
          MONTESANO, FINCH, GOODELL -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of  A.  BARCLAY,
          BARNWELL,  BRABENEC,  CROUCH,  DiPIETRO,  FRIEND, LAWRENCE, McDONOUGH,
          M. L. MILLER, MORINELLO, WALSH  --  read  once  and  referred  to  the
          Committee on Higher Education
        AN ACT to amend the education law and the state finance law, in relation
          to enacting the New York state nursing shortage correction act
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the  "New  York
     2  state nursing shortage correction act".
     3    §  2.  The  education  law is amended by adding a new section 669-i to
     4  read as follows:
     5    § 669-i. New York state nursing recruitment  incentive  and  retention
     6  program. 1. The department is authorized, within amounts appropriated or
     7  otherwise lawfully available from any other source, to establish a nurs-
     8  ing recruitment incentive and retention program.
     9    2. Definitions. As used in this section the term:
    10    (a) "Prospective nurse" shall mean a person who desires to enter nurs-
    11  ing school to become a nurse.
    12    (b)  "Degree  producing  curriculum"  shall  mean  a series of courses
    13  programmed to culminate in a specific post-secondary degree  or  diploma
    14  when successfully completed.
    15    (c)  "Tuition"  shall  mean  the total semester, quarter, or classroom
    16  hour cost of instruction to the student as periodically published in the
    17  catalogue of the institution,  specifically  excluding  mandatory  fees,
    18  book charges, and room and board.
    19    (d)  "Tuition  benefit"  shall  mean  the  payment of whatever cost is
    20  attributable to the cost of tuition after the  deduction  of  any  other
    21  available educational grant aid.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07530-01-9

        A. 3586                             2
     1    (e) "Part-time study" shall mean enrollment in an approved post-secon-
     2  dary  degree  program  for  at  least  six but less than twelve semester
     3  hours, or the equivalent per semester, or at least four  but  less  than
     4  eight semester hours per quarter in an institution.
     5    (f)  "Institution"  shall  mean  the state university of New York, the
     6  city university of New York or a community college located  within  this
     7  state  which  provides  a  course  of study leading to the granting of a
     8  post-secondary degree or diploma.
     9    (g) "Legal resident" shall mean a person whose principal  domicile  is
    10  located  within  New York state in excess of one hundred eighty-six days
    11  per year.
    12    3. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other  general,  special,
    13  or  local law, rule, or regulation, any prospective nurse shall be enti-
    14  tled to the tuition benefit provided by this section upon such  person's
    15  enrollment in a degree producing curriculum in any institution.
    16    (b)  The  tuition benefit provided by this section shall be restricted
    17  to legal residents of the state. The benefit  may  be  used  for  either
    18  part-time  or  full-time  study.  No restriction as to sessions, student
    19  status, or space availability which does not apply to all students shall
    20  be placed by institutions upon recipients under this program.
    21    (c) Upon the recipient's attainment of a baccalaureate or cessation of
    22  status as  an  active  student,  whichever  occurs  first,  the  benefit
    23  provided  by  this  section  shall  be discontinued. The tuition benefit
    24  provided by this section may  be  suspended  at  the  direction  of  the
    25  department  for a recipient's failure to maintain good academic progress
    26  and program pursuit or for the failure to maintain  sufficient  academic
    27  standing  to  retain  eligibility for any other financial assistance the
    28  recipient may be receiving.
    29    (d) Unless otherwise provided for in this section, the tuition benefit
    30  shall be on the terms and conditions set  by  the  department,  provided
    31  that  such  person  shall sign a contract to agree to work in a job that
    32  requires such person to be licensed as a registered nurse more  than  an
    33  average  of  twenty  hours  per week anywhere within this state; for two
    34  years if such person was in an associate in nursing program; or for four
    35  years if such person were in  a  bachelor's  or  higher  degree  nursing
    36  program. Such job shall begin within one year after leaving college or a
    37  nursing degree program.
    38    (e)  The  tuition  benefit provided by this section shall be effective
    39  beginning with the school semester or quarter  following  its  enactment
    40  into law.
    41    4.  (a) A registered nurse who did not receive the full benefit pursu-
    42  ant to subdivision three of this section or is under obligation to repay
    43  the loans, and is employed more than an average of twenty hours  a  week
    44  in  a  licensed and registered nursing job in this state may request the
    45  state university of New York or the city university of New York to  take
    46  over  all  or  part  of such registered nurse's student loan payments if
    47  such person averages more than thirty-five hours per week in a job  that
    48  requires such person to be licensed as a registered nurse.
    49    (b)  If  such person averages between twenty and thirty-five hours per
    50  week in a job that requires such person to be licensed as  a  registered
    51  nurse, one-half of the student loan payments shall be taken over by such
    52  institutions.
    53    (c)  Only  hours  worked within New York state may be eligible towards
    54  the hours of work per week.
    55    5. The state university of New York and the  city  university  of  New
    56  York  shall  continue  to  operate pursuant to subdivision three of this

        A. 3586                             3
     1  section until such person receives the same amount as  would  have  been
     2  received  under  subdivision  one  of  this section or until such person
     3  ceases to be employed more than twenty hours per week in a job  in  this
     4  state that requires such person to be licensed as a registered nurse, or
     5  such person's student loans are paid off, whichever occurs first.
     6    6.  (a)  If  such benefit pursuant to subdivision four of this section
     7  ceases because such registered nurse ceases to be employed more than  an
     8  average  of  twenty  hours per week in a job in this state that requires
     9  such person to be licensed as a registered nurse, such person may  reap-
    10  ply when such person begins to work more than an average of twenty hours
    11  per week.
    12    (b)  At  the  time  when  the benefit ceases, the full amount of money
    13  advanced such person shall be converted into a student loan  as  defined
    14  in the contract such person signed pursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivi-
    15  sion three of this section.
    16    (c)  The  commissioner of health may waive or delay the enforcement of
    17  this subdivision in cases of extreme hardship.
    18    7. The respective institutions shall provide the department  of  taxa-
    19  tion  and  finance  on  a  quarterly  basis  with pertinent information,
    20  including, but not limited to, the  names,  addresses,  social  security
    21  numbers,  names and addresses of employers. Such information shall be in
    22  a computer readable format as set forth by the  department  of  taxation
    23  and finance.
    24    §  3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 91-g to
    25  read as follows:
    26    § 91-g. New York state nursing  recruitment  incentive  and  retention
    27  account.  1.  There  is  hereby  established in the joint custody of the
    28  state comptroller and  the  commissioner  of  taxation  and  finance  an
    29  account in the miscellaneous special revenue fund to be known as the New
    30  York state nursing recruitment incentive and retention account.
    31    2.  Such  account shall consist of all revenues received from contrib-
    32  utions, donations and other moneys credited or transferred thereto  from
    33  any other fund or source pursuant to law.
    34    3.  Moneys  of the account, following appropriation by the legislature
    35  may be expended for the New York state nursing recruitment incentive and
    36  retention program. Moneys shall be paid out of the account on the  audit
    37  and  warrant  of the state comptroller on vouchers certified or approved
    38  by the adjutant general of New York state.
    39    § 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.  Effective  immediately,
    40  the  addition,  amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
    41  sary for the implementation of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are
    42  authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
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