1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; establishing a nursing grant 
  1.3             program for economically disadvantaged students; 
  1.4             modifying the summer health care interns program; 
  1.5             modifying a nursing loan forgiveness program; 
  1.6             establishing a rural nursing scholarship program and 
  1.7             school nurse loan forgiveness program; establishing a 
  1.8             community health care planning program; requiring a 
  1.9             study; appropriating money; amending Minnesota 
  1.10            Statutes 2000, sections 144.1464, subdivisions 1, 2, 
  1.11            and 3; and 144.1496, subdivision 3; proposing coding 
  1.12            for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 136A; 144; 
  1.13            and 145. 
  1.14  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.15     Section 1.  [136A.147] [GRANTS FOR ECONOMICALLY 
  1.16  DISADVANTAGED NURSING STUDENTS.] 
  1.17     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] A nursing grant program is 
  1.18  established under the authority of the higher education services 
  1.19  office to provide grants to economically disadvantaged students 
  1.20  who are entering or enrolled in an educational program that 
  1.21  leads to licensure as a registered nurse or in a program of 
  1.22  advanced nursing education. 
  1.23     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] (a) To be eligible to receive a 
  1.24  grant, a student must be: 
  1.25     (1) a citizen of the United States or permanent resident of 
  1.26  the United States; 
  1.27     (2) a resident of the state of Minnesota; 
  1.28     (3) economically disadvantaged; 
  1.29     (4) entering or enrolled in a nursing program in Minnesota 
  2.1   that leads to licensure as a registered nurse, a baccalaureate 
  2.2   degree in nursing, or a master's degree in nursing or in a 
  2.3   program of advanced nursing education; and 
  2.4      (5) eligible under any additional criteria established by 
  2.5   the school, college, or program of nursing in which the student 
  2.6   is enrolled. 
  2.7      (b) The grant must be awarded for one academic year but is 
  2.8   renewable for a maximum of six semesters or nine quarters of 
  2.9   full-time study, or their equivalent. 
  2.10     Subd. 3.  [RESPONSIBILITY OF NURSING PROGRAMS.] Each 
  2.11  school, college, or program of nursing offering course work that 
  2.12  leads to licensure as a registered nurse and that wishes to 
  2.13  participate in the student nursing grant program shall apply to 
  2.14  the higher education services office for grant money, according 
  2.15  to policies established by the office.  A school, college, or 
  2.16  program of nursing selected to participate in the program under 
  2.17  subdivision 4 shall establish criteria to use in awarding the 
  2.18  grants.  The criteria must include consideration of the 
  2.19  likelihood of a student's success in completing the nursing 
  2.20  educational program and must give priority to students with the 
  2.21  greatest financial need.  Each grant must be for a minimum of 
  2.22  $3,000 but must not exceed $5,000.  Each school, college, or 
  2.23  program of nursing selected to participate in the program shall 
  2.24  agree that the money awarded through the grant program must not 
  2.25  be used to replace any other grant or scholarship money for 
  2.26  which the student would otherwise be eligible.  
  2.27     Subd. 4.  [RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION 
  2.28  SERVICES OFFICE.] (a) The higher education services office shall 
  2.29  annually select up to three schools, colleges, or programs of 
  2.30  nursing to participate in the student nursing grant program.  
  2.31  The office shall establish an application process for interested 
  2.32  schools, colleges, or programs of nursing.  Of the nursing 
  2.33  programs selected to participate, at least one must be located 
  2.34  in the seven-county metropolitan area and one must be located 
  2.35  outside of the seven-county metropolitan area. 
  2.36     (b) In selecting nursing programs to participate in the 
  3.1   student nursing grant program and in evaluating program 
  3.2   effectiveness, the office shall use the following criteria: 
  3.3      (1) the extent to which the nursing program will use the 
  3.4   grant program as a recruitment tool to increase enrollment by 
  3.5   economically disadvantaged students; 
  3.6      (2) the intent of the nursing program to publicize the 
  3.7   availability of financial assistance under the grant program; 
  3.8      (3) the commitment of the nursing program to provide 
  3.9   assistance to retain students once they are admitted to a 
  3.10  nursing program; 
  3.11     (4) the commitment of the nursing program to recruit 
  3.12  applicants from high schools that serve the highest numbers of 
  3.13  economically disadvantaged students; 
  3.14     (5) the commitment of the nursing program to develop and 
  3.15  support disadvantaged student enrichment programs; 
  3.16     (6) the commitment of the nursing program to examine 
  3.17  traditional policies, curriculum, and teaching strategies to 
  3.18  determine if they are inclusive of diverse cultures; and 
  3.19     (7) the commitment of the nursing program to provide 
  3.20  faculty and student mentors. 
  3.21     (c) The office may establish an advisory committee that 
  3.22  includes representatives of communities with a large number of 
  3.23  economically disadvantaged students and representatives of the 
  3.24  academic community to assist the office in choosing nursing 
  3.25  programs to participate in the grant program. 
  3.26     (d) The office may grant each nursing program selected to 
  3.27  participate in the grant program up to $30,000 per year for 
  3.28  administrative costs related to the grant program, including 
  3.29  recruitment, publicity, retention assistance, and other 
  3.30  administrative costs. 
  3.31     (e) The higher education services office shall distribute 
  3.32  money each year to Minnesota schools, colleges, or programs of 
  3.33  nursing selected to participate in the grant program.  Money not 
  3.34  used by a recipient nursing program must be returned to the 
  3.35  higher education services office for redistribution under this 
  3.36  section to other participating recipient nursing programs. 
  4.1      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 144.1464, 
  4.2   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  4.3      Subdivision 1.  [SUMMER INTERNSHIPS.] The commissioner of 
  4.4   health, through a contract with a nonprofit organization as 
  4.5   required by subdivision 4, shall award grants to hospitals and, 
  4.6   clinics, and nursing facilities to establish a secondary and 
  4.7   post-secondary summer health care intern program.  The purpose 
  4.8   of the program is to expose interested secondary and 
  4.9   post-secondary pupils to various careers within the health care 
  4.10  profession. 
  4.11     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 144.1464, 
  4.12  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  4.13     Subd. 2.  [CRITERIA.] (a) The commissioner, through the 
  4.14  organization under contract, shall award grants to 
  4.15  hospitals and, clinics, and nursing facilities that agree to:  
  4.16     (1) provide secondary and post-secondary summer health care 
  4.17  interns with formal exposure to the health care profession; 
  4.18     (2) provide an orientation for the secondary and 
  4.19  post-secondary summer health care interns; 
  4.20     (3) pay one-half the costs of employing the secondary and 
  4.21  post-secondary summer health care intern, based on an overall 
  4.22  hourly wage that is at least the minimum wage but does not 
  4.23  exceed $6 an hour; 
  4.24     (4) interview and hire secondary and post-secondary pupils 
  4.25  for a minimum of six weeks and a maximum of 12 weeks; and 
  4.26     (5) employ at least one secondary student for each 
  4.27  post-secondary student employed, to the extent that there are 
  4.28  sufficient qualifying secondary student applicants. 
  4.29     (b) In order to be eligible to be hired as a secondary 
  4.30  summer health intern by a hospital or, clinic, or a nursing 
  4.31  facility, a pupil must: 
  4.32     (1) intend to complete high school graduation requirements 
  4.33  and be between the junior and senior year of high school; 
  4.34     (2) be from a school district in proximity to the facility; 
  4.35  and 
  4.36     (3) provide the facility with a letter of recommendation 
  5.1   from a health occupations or science educator. 
  5.2      (c) In order to be eligible to be hired as a post-secondary 
  5.3   summer health care intern by a hospital or clinic, a pupil must: 
  5.4      (1) intend to complete a health care training program or a 
  5.5   two-year or four-year degree program and be planning on 
  5.6   enrolling in or be enrolled in that training program or degree 
  5.7   program; 
  5.8      (2) be enrolled in a Minnesota educational institution or 
  5.9   be a resident of the state of Minnesota; priority must be given 
  5.10  to applicants from a school district or an educational 
  5.11  institution in proximity to the facility; and 
  5.12     (3) provide the facility with a letter of recommendation 
  5.13  from a health occupations or science educator. 
  5.14     (d) Hospitals and, clinics, and nursing facilities awarded 
  5.15  grants may employ pupils as secondary and post-secondary summer 
  5.16  health care interns beginning on or after June 15, 1993, if they 
  5.17  agree to pay the intern, during the period before disbursement 
  5.18  of state grant money, with money designated as the facility's 50 
  5.19  percent contribution towards internship costs. 
  5.20     Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 144.1464, 
  5.21  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  5.22     Subd. 3.  [GRANTS.] The commissioner, through the 
  5.23  organization under contract, shall award separate grants to 
  5.24  hospitals and, clinics, and nursing facilities meeting the 
  5.25  requirements of subdivision 2.  The grants must be used to pay 
  5.26  one-half of the costs of employing secondary and post-secondary 
  5.27  pupils in a hospital or, clinic, or nursing facility during the 
  5.28  course of the program.  No more than 50 percent of the 
  5.29  participants may be post-secondary students, unless the program 
  5.30  does not receive enough qualified secondary applicants per 
  5.31  fiscal year.  No more than five pupils may be selected from any 
  5.32  secondary or post-secondary institution to participate in the 
  5.33  program and no more than one-half of the number of pupils 
  5.34  selected may be from the seven-county metropolitan area. 
  5.35     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 144.1496, 
  5.36  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  6.1      Subd. 3.  [LOAN FORGIVENESS.] The commissioner may accept 
  6.2   up to ten 200 applicants a year.  At least 50 percent of the 
  6.3   accepted applicants must agree to practice at a facility located 
  6.4   outside the seven-county metropolitan area.  Applicants are 
  6.5   responsible for securing their own loans.  For each year of 
  6.6   nursing education, for up to two three years, applicants 
  6.7   accepted into the loan forgiveness program may designate an 
  6.8   agreed amount, not to exceed $3,000 $5,000, as a qualified 
  6.9   loan.  For each year that a participant practices nursing in a 
  6.10  nursing home or intermediate care facility for persons with 
  6.11  mental retardation or related conditions, up to a maximum of two 
  6.12  three years, the commissioner shall annually repay an amount 
  6.13  equal to one year of qualified loans.  Participants who move 
  6.14  from one nursing home or intermediate care facility for persons 
  6.15  with mental retardation or related conditions to another remain 
  6.16  eligible for loan repayment.  
  6.17     Sec. 6.  [144.1498] [RURAL NURSING CAREER SCHOLARSHIP 
  6.18  PROGRAM.] 
  6.19     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] The commissioner of health 
  6.20  shall establish and administer a rural nursing career 
  6.21  scholarship program.  The commissioner may award 100 
  6.22  scholarships in each fiscal year. 
  6.23     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] To be eligible to receive a 
  6.24  scholarship through the nursing career scholarship program, an 
  6.25  applicant must: 
  6.26     (1) be a resident of Minnesota; 
  6.27     (2) be admitted to or enrolled in, on a part-time or 
  6.28  full-time basis, a degree-granting program at a Minnesota 
  6.29  university or technical college leading to licensure as a 
  6.30  licensed practical nurse or a registered nurse; and 
  6.31     (3) agree to serve a minimum one-year service obligation 
  6.32  with a health care facility or provider located outside the Twin 
  6.33  Cities seven-county metropolitan area for each year of 
  6.34  scholarship benefits received. 
  6.35     Subd. 3.  [AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIP.] The amount of the 
  6.36  scholarship is limited to $5,000 per year. 
  7.1      Subd. 4.  [SCHOLARSHIP RENEWALS.] A scholarship may be 
  7.2   renewed annually, for up to two additional academic years, if 
  7.3   the student: 
  7.4      (1) is a resident of Minnesota; and 
  7.5      (2) is making satisfactory progress in a degree-granting 
  7.6   program at a Minnesota university or technical college leading 
  7.7   to licensure as a licensed practical nurse or a registered nurse.
  7.8      Subd. 5.  [PENALTY FOR NONFULFILLMENT.] If a participant 
  7.9   does not fulfill the service commitment under subdivision 2, the 
  7.10  commissioner of health shall collect from the participant 100 
  7.11  percent of any scholarship award and interest at a rate 
  7.12  established according to section 270.75. 
  7.13     Subd. 6.  [SUSPENSION OR WAIVER OF OBLIGATION.] Payment or 
  7.14  service obligations cancel in the event of a participant's 
  7.15  death.  The commissioner of health may waive or suspend payment 
  7.16  or service obligations in cases of total and permanent 
  7.17  disability or long-term temporary disability lasting for more 
  7.18  than two years.  The commissioner shall evaluate all other 
  7.19  requests for suspension or waivers on a case-by-case basis and 
  7.20  may grant a waiver of all or part of the money owed as a result 
  7.21  of a nonfulfillment penalty if emergency circumstances prevented 
  7.22  fulfillment of the required service commitment. 
  7.23     Sec. 7.  [144.1499] [PUBLIC SCHOOL NURSE LOAN FORGIVENESS.] 
  7.24     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this 
  7.25  section, the terms defined in this section have the meanings 
  7.26  given them, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. 
  7.27     Subd. 2.  [QUALIFYING EDUCATIONAL LOANS.] "Qualifying 
  7.28  educational loans" means government, commercial, and foundation 
  7.29  loans for actual costs paid for tuition, reasonable education 
  7.30  expenses, and reasonable living expenses related to the graduate 
  7.31  or undergraduate education of a health care professional. 
  7.32     Subd. 3.  [PUBLIC SCHOOL NURSE.] "Public school nurse" 
  7.33  means a licensed school nurse, as defined in Minnesota Rules, 
  7.34  part 8710.6100, employed by a school district. 
  7.35     Subd. 4.  [CREATION OF ACCOUNT.] A public school nurse 
  7.36  education account is established in the general fund.  The 
  8.1   commissioner of health shall use money from the account to 
  8.2   establish a loan forgiveness program for public school nurses. 
  8.3      Subd. 5.  [ELIGIBILITY.] To be eligible to participate in 
  8.4   the program, a nursing student must submit an application to the 
  8.5   commissioner of health while attending a program of study 
  8.6   designed to prepare the individual to become a public school 
  8.7   nurse.  For state fiscal year 2002, applicants may have 
  8.8   graduated from a nursing program in calendar year 2001.  A 
  8.9   nursing student who is accepted into the program must sign a 
  8.10  contract to agree to serve a minimum one-year service obligation 
  8.11  as a public school nurse, which shall begin no later than March 
  8.12  31 of the first year following completion of a nursing program. 
  8.13     Subd. 6.  [LOAN FORGIVENESS.] The commissioner of health 
  8.14  may accept up to 50 applicants per year for participation in the 
  8.15  loan forgiveness program.  Applicants are responsible for 
  8.16  securing their own loans.  The commissioner shall give 
  8.17  preference to applicants who have attended a Minnesota 
  8.18  educational institution and to applicants closest to completing 
  8.19  their training.  For each year that a participant serves as a 
  8.20  public school nurse as required by subdivision 5, up to a 
  8.21  maximum of two years, the commissioner shall make annual 
  8.22  disbursements directly to the participant equivalent to $2,500 
  8.23  per year of service, not to exceed $5,000 or the balance of the 
  8.24  qualifying educational loans, whichever is less.  Before 
  8.25  receiving loan repayment disbursements, the participant, if 
  8.26  requested to do so, must complete and return to the commissioner 
  8.27  an affidavit of practice form provided by the commissioner 
  8.28  verifying that the participant is practicing as required.  The 
  8.29  participant must provide the commissioner with verification that 
  8.30  the full amount of loan repayment disbursement received by the 
  8.31  participant has been applied toward the qualifying educational 
  8.32  loans.  After each disbursement, verification must be received 
  8.33  by the commissioner and approved before the next loan repayment 
  8.34  disbursement is made.  Participants who move their practice from 
  8.35  one public school to another remain eligible for loan repayment. 
  8.36     Subd. 7.  [PENALTY FOR NONFULFILLMENT.] If a participant 
  9.1   does not fulfill the service commitment under subdivision 5, the 
  9.2   commissioner of health shall collect from the participant 100 
  9.3   percent of any payments made for qualified loans and interest at 
  9.4   a rate established according to section 270.75.  The 
  9.5   commissioner shall deposit the money collected in the public 
  9.6   school nurse education account established in subdivision 4. 
  9.7      Subd. 8.  [SUSPENSION OR WAIVER OF OBLIGATION.] Payment or 
  9.8   service obligations cancel in the event of a participant's 
  9.9   death.  The commissioner may waive or suspend payment or service 
  9.10  obligations in cases of total and permanent disability or 
  9.11  long-term temporary disability lasting for more than two years.  
  9.12  The commissioner shall evaluate all other requests for 
  9.13  suspension or waivers on a case-by-case basis and may grant a 
  9.14  waiver of all or part of the money owed as a result of a 
  9.15  nonfulfillment penalty if emergency circumstances prevented 
  9.16  fulfillment of the required service commitment. 
  9.17     Sec. 8.  [145.928] [COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE PLANNING AND 
  9.18  IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM.] 
  9.19     (a) Within the limits of appropriations specifically for 
  9.20  this purpose, the commissioner of health shall make grants to 
  9.21  communities and regions to plan and implement responses to local 
  9.22  shortages of nurses and other health care personnel.  
  9.23     (b) To be eligible for a grant, an applicant must consist 
  9.24  of representatives of, at a minimum, local health and social 
  9.25  service agencies, health care providers and consumers, and 
  9.26  housing agencies. 
  9.27     (c) Grants shall be for up to two years of planning at not 
  9.28  more than $30,000 per year and up to five years of 
  9.29  implementation at not more than $50,000 per year. 
  9.30     (d) The commissioner shall require grantees to provide 
  9.31  periodic progress reports on the planning and implementation 
  9.32  process. 
  9.33     Sec. 9.  [STUDY OF LOAN FORGIVENESS AND RELATED PROGRAMS.] 
  9.34     (a) The commissioner of health shall study and make 
  9.35  recommendations to the legislature by January 15, 2002, on ways 
  9.36  to modify or expand existing loan forgiveness, grant, and 
 10.1   tuition waiver programs and training programs available for 
 10.2   health care workers to better address the critical shortage of 
 10.3   nurses and other personnel in nursing facilities and other 
 10.4   health care settings. 
 10.5      (b) The commissioner shall determine what modifications are 
 10.6   required in existing programs to satisfy the demand for health 
 10.7   care workers and may propose additional programs if necessary to 
 10.8   meet current and projected worker demand. 
 10.9      Sec. 10.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
 10.10     (a) $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
 10.11  commissioner of health for the biennium beginning July 1, 2001, 
 10.12  for the purposes of sections 2 to 9. 
 10.13     (b) $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
 10.14  director of the higher education services office for the 
 10.15  biennium beginning July 1, 2001, for the purposes of section 1.