ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-fifth Legislature

First Regular Session

 

HB 2629: Arizona nurses academy

Sponsor:  Representative Shah, LD 24

Committee on Health & Human Services

Overview

Establishes the Arizona Nurses Academy (Academy) and the Arizona Nurses Academy Fund (Fund) at eligible postsecondary institutions (institutions). Outlines requirements for the Academy.

History

The Arizona Constitution establishes the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) as the governing board of Arizona's university system, which includes Arizona State University, the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University (Ariz. Const. art. 11 § 5). Statute provides and defines the general powers and duties of ABOR, including appointing presidents, fixing tuition, establishing curricula and prescribing qualifications for admission of all students to the universities (A.R.S. § 15-1626).

Provisions

The Academy

1.   ☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal NoteRequires institutions to implement an Academy to provide incentives for students to enter the nursing profession and to commit to practice in Arizona in a:

a)   Hospital;

b)   Community health center;

c)   Skilled nursing facility;

d)   Public school located in a county with a population of less than 500,000 persons or on an Indian reservation; or

e)   A home health agency under contract with the Division of Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Economic Security. (Sec. 2)

2.   Directs ABOR, in consultation with institutions, to develop and implement centralized administrative processes for the Academy, including:

a)   A marketing and promotion plan to recruit students;

b)   Data collection and reporting;

c)   Tracking postgraduation service requirements;

d)   Distributing monies in the Fund between institutions; and

e)   Collecting reimbursement from individuals who fail to meet service obligations. (Sec. 2)

3.   Specifies that the Academy may include new or existing nursing programs that are patient-focused and that employ proven, research-based models of best practices that are already being implemented. (Sec. 2)

4.   Allows each institution to develop a portfolio of nursing programs to offer as part of the Academy. (Sec. 2)

5.   Requires Academy programs to include accelerated models for critical needs areas, including:

a)   Hospitals

b)   Community health centers;

c)   Skilled nursing facilities; and

d)   Public schools located in rural communities and on Indian reservations. (Sec. 2)

6.   Requires each institution to develop formalized partnerships in Arizona to build commitments for nurse employment upon a student's completion of the Academy. (Sec. 2)

7.   Stipulates that the targeted deployment of nurses who complete the Academy must be based on the needs of each system, the community that is being served and individual skills of each nurse. (Sec. 2)

Scholarships

8.   Requires each institution to provide each full-time student who is enrolled in the Academy an annual scholarship, after all other financial gifts, aid or grants received, of either:

a)   $5,000 per year for a maximum of four academic years or eight semesters for undergraduate university students; or

b)   $3,000 per year for a maximum of two academic years or four semesters for community college students. (Sec. 2)

9.   Requires a student to reimburse ABOR for the total amount of a scholarship received if the student does not successfully complete an academic year in good academic standing. (Sec. 2)

10.  Stipulates that a student must agree to practice as a nurse for one full calendar year for each academic year that the student successfully completes and for which the student receives a scholarship. (Sec. 2)

11.  States that an institution may:

a)   Not charge students any remaining difference if the scholarship does not cover remaining tuition and fee costs after other aid received; and

b)   Use any remaining amount of monies to support Academy costs if the scholarship amount exceeds tuition and fee costs. (Sec. 2)

12.  Directs a student who does not fulfill their obligation to practice as a nurse to reimburse ABOR for the proportional amount of the scholarship they received that corresponds to the number of years committed to practice in Arizona that were not fulfilled. (Sec. 2)

13.  Requires ABOR to establish a process for:

a)   Assessing a student's ability to repay the scholarship amount the student received and determine any terms of repayment if the student is physically or mentally unable to fulfill the requirements of the Academy; and

b)   Deferring a student's service or repayment based on ABOR-adopted factors. (Sec. 2)

The Fund

14.  Establishes the Fund that consists of legislative appropriations and states Fund monies are continuously appropriated and exempt from lapsing. (Sec. 2)

15.  Requires ABOR to administer the Fund and establish criteria for distributing Fund monies.

16.  Specifies that Fund monies may be only used for:

a)   Reimbursing Academy scholarships; and

b)   Implementing a marketing and promotion plan. (Sec. 2)

17.  Prohibits annual expenditures for marketing, promoting and administering the Academy from exceeding 3% of Fund monies each fiscal year. (Sec. 2)

18.  Allows institutions to use remaining Fund monies at the end of each fiscal year for Academy costs in the next fiscal year. (Sec. 2)

19.  Requires, by August 1 of each fiscal year, the state General Fund (GF) appropriation for the Academy for the current fiscal year to be reduced by the amount of monies remaining in the Fund at the end of the prior fiscal year. (Sec. 2)

Reporting Requirements

20.  Requires ABOR to submit an annual report, beginning March 1, 2022, to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) and the Governor's Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) on the following:

a)   The total number of students enrolled in the Academy by institutions in the current academic year; and

b)   The estimated amount of monies committed from the Academy in the current fiscal year. (Sec. 2)

21.  Requires ABOR to submit an annual report, beginning September 1, 2022, to the Governor, Legislature and submit a copy to the Secretary of State, containing enrollment, completion and repayment data. (Sec. 2)

Miscellaneous

22.  Changes the heading of Title 15, Chapter 13, Article 9 from medical programs to health professional programs. (Sec. 1)

23.  Defines eligible postsecondary institutions and tuition and fees. (Sec. 2)

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27.                    HB 2629

28.  Initials EB  Page 0 Health & Human Services

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