Senate Bill sb1256e1
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CS for SB 1256 First Engrossed
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to nursing education;
3 prohibiting the Board of Nursing from
4 developing any rule relating to faculty/student
5 clinical ratios until a specified time;
6 requiring the Board of Nursing and the
7 Department of Education to submit to the
8 Legislature an implementation plan detailing
9 the impact and cost of any such proposed rule
10 change; amending ss. 240.4075, 240.4076, F.S.;
11 including nursing homes, family practice
12 teaching hospitals and specialty children's
13 hospitals as facilities eligible under the
14 program; exempting such hospitals from the
15 fund-matching requirements of the program;
16 transferring the program from the Board of
17 Regents to the Department of Health; providing
18 an effective date.
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20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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22 Section 1. The Board of Nursing within the Department
23 of Health shall hold in abeyance until July 1, 2002, the
24 development of any rule pursuant to section 464.019(2),
25 Florida Statutes, which relates to the establishment of
26 faculty/student clinical ratios. The Board of Nursing and the
27 Department of Education shall submit to the President of the
28 Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by
29 December 31, 2001, an implementation plan that details both
30 the impact and the cost of any such proposed rule change.
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CS for SB 1256 First Engrossed
1 Section 2. Subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of
2 subsection (7) of section 240.4075, Florida Statutes, are
3 amended to read:
4 240.4075 Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Program.--
5 (1) To encourage qualified personnel to seek
6 employment in areas of this state in which critical nursing
7 shortages exist, there is established the Nursing Student Loan
8 Forgiveness Program. The primary function of the program is
9 to increase employment and retention of registered nurses and
10 licensed practical nurses in nursing homes and hospitals in
11 the state and in state-operated medical and health care
12 facilities, birth centers, federally sponsored community
13 health centers, and teaching hospitals, family practice
14 teaching hospitals, and specialty children's hospitals by
15 making repayments toward loans received by students from
16 federal or state programs or commercial lending institutions
17 for the support of postsecondary study in accredited or
18 approved nursing programs.
19 (7)(a) Funds contained in the Nursing Student Loan
20 Forgiveness Trust Fund which are to be used for loan
21 forgiveness for those nurses employed by hospitals, birth
22 centers, and nursing homes must be matched on a
23 dollar-for-dollar basis by contributions from the employing
24 institutions, except that this provision shall not apply to
25 state-operated medical and health care facilities, county
26 health departments, federally sponsored community health
27 centers, or teaching hospitals as defined in s. 408.07, family
28 practice teaching hospitals as defined in s. 395.805, or
29 specialty children's hospitals as described in s. 409.9119.
30 If, in any given fiscal quarter, there are insufficient funds
31 in the trust fund to grant all eligible applicants' requests,
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CS for SB 1256 First Engrossed
1 awards must be based on the following priority by employer:
2 county health departments, federally sponsored community
3 health centers, state-operated medical and health care
4 facilities, teaching hospitals as defined in s. 408.07, family
5 practice teaching hospitals as defined in s. 395.805,
6 specialty children's hospitals as described in s. 409.9119,
7 and other hospitals, birthing centers, or nursing homes where
8 the match is required.
9 Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
10 240.4076, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
11 240.4076 Nursing scholarship program.--
12 (4) Credit for repayment of a scholarship shall be as
13 follows:
14 (b) Eligible health care facilities include
15 state-operated medical or health care facilities, county
16 health departments, federally sponsored community health
17 centers, or teaching hospitals as defined in s. 408.07,
18 nursing homes, family practice teaching hospitals as defined
19 in s. 395.805, or specialty children's hospitals as described
20 in s. 409.9119. The recipient shall be encouraged to complete
21 the service obligation at a single employment site. If
22 continuous employment at the same site is not feasible, the
23 recipient may apply to the department for a transfer to
24 another approved health care facility.
25 Section 4. All the statutory powers, duties, and
26 functions and the records, personnel, property, and unexpended
27 balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds of the
28 Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Program are transferred from
29 the Department of Education to the Department of Health by a
30 type two transfer as defined in section 20.06, Florida
31 Statutes.
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CS for SB 1256 First Engrossed
1 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.
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