Assembly Bill No. 12-Committee on Health and Human Services
Prefiled on January 7, 1997
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Referred to Committee on Education
SUMMARY--Authorizes commissioners of Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education from State of Nevada to require certain students to perform community service as term of receiving support fee. (BDR 34-494)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: Yes.
EXPLANATION - Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to the Western Regional Higher Education Compact; authorizing the commissioners of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education from the State of Nevada to require certain students to perform community service as a condition to receiving a support fee; extending the time for making the first installment of the loan of a student under certain circumstances; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
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Section 1 Chapter 397 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows:
1. The provisions of this section apply only to support fees received by a student on or after July 1, 1997.
2. The three commissioners from the State of Nevada, acting jointly, may require a student who is certified to study to practice in a profession which could benefit a medically underserved area of this state, as that term is defined by the officer of rural health of the University of Nevada School of Medicine, to practice in such an area as a condition to receiving a support fee for a period of time determined pursuant to subsection 4.
3. If a person agrees to practice in a medically underserved area of this state pursuant to subsection 2, the three commissioners from the State of Nevada, acting jointly, may forgive the portion of the support fee designated as the loan of the person.
4. The senate standing committee on finance and the assembly standing committee on ways and means, or their successor, shall determine during each legislative session the period of time that a student may be required to practice in a medically underserved area of this state pursuant to subsection 2 as a condition to receiving any support fee awarded to such a student during the next biennium.
5. As used in this section, a "profession which could benefit a medically underserved area of this state" includes, without limitation, dentistry, physical therapy, pharmacy and practicing as a physicians' assistant.
Sec. 2 NRS 397.0615 is hereby amended to read as follows:
397.0615 Financial support provided to a student who is chosen by the three commissioners from the State of Nevada to receive such support from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education must be provided in the form of a support fee. [Twenty-five] Except as otherwise provided in section 1 of this act, 25 percent of the support fee is a loan that the student must repay with interest pursuant to NRS 397.063 or 397.064, as appropriate. Seventy-five percent of the support fee is a stipend that the student is not required to repay, except as otherwise provided in NRS 397.0653.
Sec. 3 NRS 397.064 is hereby amended to read as follows:
397.064 Loans, from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education's fund for student loans, to students who enter the program on or after July 1, 1985, must be made upon the following terms:
1. All loans must bear interest at 8 percent per annum from the first day of the academic term for which the student received the loan.
2. [Each] Except as otherwise provided in section 1 of this act, each student receiving a loan must repay the loan with interest following the termination of his education or completion of his internship for which the loan is made.
3. The loan must be repaid in monthly installments over the period allowed, as set forth in subsection 4, with the first installment due :
(a) If he becomes licensed to practice in this state in the profession for which he was certified to study within 1 year after the date of the termination of his education or the completion of his internship for which the loan is made [.] , 1 year after the date of termination or completion; or
(b) If he does not become licensed to practice in this state in the profession for which he was certified to study within 1 year after the date of the termination of his education or the completion of his internship for which the loan is made, 2 years after the date of termination or completion.
The amounts of the installments may not be less than $50 and may be calculated to allow a smaller payment at the beginning of the repayment period, with each succeeding payment gradually increasing so that the total amount due will have been paid within the period allowed for repayment.
4. The three commissioners from the State of Nevada, acting jointly, shall, or shall delegate to the director of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education the power to, schedule the repayment within the following periods:
(a) Five years for loans which total less than $10,000.
(b) Eight years for loans which total $10,000 or more but less than $20,000.
(c) Ten years for loans which total $20,000 or more.
[3.] 5. A student loan may not exceed 50 percent of the student fees for any academic year.
[4.] 6. A delinquency charge may be assessed on any installment delinquent 10 days or more in the amount of 8 percent of the installment or $4, whichever is greater, but not more than $15.
[5.] 7. The reasonable costs of collection and an attorney's fee may be recovered in the event of delinquency.
Sec. 4 NRS 397.0645 is hereby amended to read as follows:
397.0645 1. A student who receives from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education a stipend governed by the provisions of NRS 397.065 or 397.0653 must repay all state contributions for the stipend unless he practices, in the State of Nevada, the profession for which he was certified to study:
(a) For 3 years, if he entered the program before July 1, 1985;
(b) For 1 year for each academic year he receives a stipend, if he enters the program after June 30, 1985; [or]
(c) For 1 year for each 9 months he receives a stipend, if he enters the program after June 30, 1985, and is enrolled in an accelerated program that provides more than 1 academic year of graduate and professional education in 9 months [,] ; or
(d) For the period specified by the legislature pursuant to section 1 of this act, if he agrees to practice in a medically underserved area of this state as a condition to receiving his support fee,
within 5 years after the completion or termination of his education, internship or residency for which he receives the stipend.
2. The three commissioners from the State of Nevada, acting jointly, may adopt regulations which:
(a) Reduce the period of required practice for a person who practices his profession in a rural area of this state or as an employee of this state.
(b) Extend the time for completing the required practice beyond 5 years for a person who is granted an extension because of hardship.
3. If the period for the required practice is only partially completed, the commission may give credit towards repayment of the stipend for the time the person practiced his profession as required.
Sec. 5 This act becomes effective on July 1, 1997.