S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  2531

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 16, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit-
  tee on Higher Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to  regents  professional
  education  scholarships, health care professional opportunity scholar-
  ships and loan forgiveness for podiatrists and dentists

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Subdivision  3  of  section  605 of the education law, as
amended by chapter 31 of the  laws  of  1985,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  3.  Regents  professional  education  in  medicine [or], dentistry, OR
PODIATRY scholarships. Regents professional education in medicine  [or],
dentistry,  OR  PODIATRY  scholarships  shall  be awarded annually, on a
competitive basis, to students beginning professional study in  medicine
[or],  dentistry,  OR PODIATRY.   One hundred such scholarships shall be
awarded annually, and shall be classified and  allocated  in  accordance
with  regents rules. The provisions of this subdivision shall only apply
to any recipient who receives his or her first award  payment  prior  to
the  nineteen  hundred eighty-five--nineteen hundred eighty-six academic
year.
  S 2. Subdivision 9 of section 605 of the education law, as amended  by
chapter  523  of  the  laws  of  1992,  subparagraph 3 of paragraph a as
amended by section 89 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of  the  laws
of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
  9. Regents physician, DENTIST AND PODIATRIST loan forgiveness program.
Regents  physician, DENTIST AND PODIATRIST loan forgiveness awards shall
be awarded annually to physicians, DENTISTS AND PODIATRISTS who agree to
practice medicine, DENTISTRY OR PODIATRY in an area of  New  York  state
designated  by  the regents as having a shortage of physicians, DENTISTS
OR PODIATRISTS.   Such awards  shall  be  classified  and  allocated  in
accordance with regents rules.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD05539-01-5
              

A. 2531                             2

  a. Eligibility. (1) The applicant must be a resident of New York state
and licensed to practice medicine, DENTISTRY OR PODIATRY.
  (2) The applicant must have completed a professional residency program
within  the  five  years  immediately preceding the period for which the
first award would be granted, or be within two years of completion of an
accredited residency program in a primary care specialty  designated  in
short supply by the board of regents.
  (3) The applicant must agree to practice medicine, DENTISTRY OR PODIA-
TRY  in  an  area  in  New York state designated as having a shortage of
physicians, DENTISTS OR PODIATRISTS.  The  regents,  after  consultation
with the commissioners of health, corrections and community supervision,
mental  health  and  developmental  disabilities,  shall designate those
regions and facilities of New York state which have a shortage of physi-
cians, DENTISTS OR PODIATRISTS for the  purposes  of  this  section  and
establish relative rankings thereof.
  b. Selection.  The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner
of health, shall establish criteria for the selection of participants in
the  program.  An  applicant  must  satisfy at least one of the criteria
established. A priority shall  be  accorded  to  any  applicant  who  is
completing  the second year of the service requirement and is reapplying
for a new award. The criteria shall include but not be  limited  to  the
following:
  (i)  reapplication  for  a new award by a person who is completing the
second year of a service requirement;
  (ii) receipt of specific training  in  a  primary  care  specialty  or
obstetrics, determined by the regents to be in short supply;
  (iii) receipt of specific training or experience in serving a shortage
area;
  (iv)  receipt  of  specific training or experience matching a specific
medical, DENTAL OR PODIATRIC need existing in a shortage area; and
  (v) agreement pursuant  to  [subdivision  (d)]  PARAGRAPH  D  of  this
[section]  SUBDIVISION  to practice in an area determined by the regents
to have a severe shortage of primary care physician, DENTIST  OR  PODIA-
TRIST services.
  c.  Notification.  (1)  The  commissioner  shall then forward approved
applications to the president and shall notify unsuccessful applicants;
  (2) The president shall verify the approved applicants':
  (i) eligibility; and
  (ii) total undergraduate  and  medical,  DENTAL  OR  PODIATRIC  school
student expense;
  (3) The president shall notify applicants of their award entitlement.
  d.  Service requirement. Within such time as the commissioner shall by
regulation provide, a recipient of an award shall have agreed  to  prac-
tice  medicine,  DENTISTRY  OR PODIATRY in a specific area designated as
having a shortage of physicians, DENTISTS OR PODIATRISTS for a period of
twelve months for each annual payment to be received by  the  recipient.
Physicians,  DENTISTS  AND  PODIATRISTS in training who receive an award
shall not receive credit toward their required service for time spent in
a training program. In no case shall  the  total  number  of  months  of
service  required  be  less  than  twenty-four.  The president shall, in
consultation with the commissioner, develop and secure from  each  award
recipient, a written agreement to:
  (i)  practice medicine, DENTISTRY OR PODIATRY in the designated short-
age area;
  (ii) to accept Medicare and Medicaid payments; and

A. 2531                             3

  (iii) to provide thirty-five hours per week of direct patient care  in
the  designated  shortage  area being served, or to the designated popu-
lation being served.
If a recipient fails to comply fully with such conditions, the president
shall  be entitled to receive from such recipient an amount to be deter-
mined by the formula:
                               A = 2B (t-s)
                                  -----
                                    t
in which "A" is the amount the president is entitled to recover; "B"  is
the  sum  of all payments made to the recipient and the interest on such
amount which would be payable if at the times such awards were paid they
were loans bearing interest at the maximum prevailing rate; "t"  is  the
total  number of months in the recipient's period of obligated services;
and "s" is the number of months of  service  actually  rendered  by  the
recipient.  Any  amount which the president is entitled to recover under
this paragraph shall be paid within the five-year  period  beginning  on
the  date  that  the recipient failed to comply with this service condi-
tion. Nothing in the written agreement shall affect the terms of employ-
ment of the individual who shall negotiate, separate and apart from  the
program, his or her salary and other forms of employment with an agency,
institution or a program in which he or she shall be employed.
  Any  obligation  to  comply  with  such provisions as outlined in this
section shall be cancelled upon the death of the recipient. The  commis-
sioner shall make regulations to provide for the waiver or suspension of
any financial obligation which would involve extreme hardship.
  e. Reporting. A recipient of an award shall report annually to the New
York  state higher education services corporation, and the department of
health on forms prescribed by the president, as to  the  performance  of
the  required  services,  commencing with the calendar year in which the
recipient begins to practice medicine, DENTISTRY OR PODIATRY in a short-
age area and continuing until the recipient shall have completed, or  it
is  determined  that  he  or she shall not be obligated to complete, the
required services.   If the recipient shall  fail  to  file  any  report
required  hereunder  within thirty days of written notice to the recipi-
ent, mailed to the address shown on the last application for an award or
last report filed, whichever is later, the president of the  corporation
may  impose  a  fine  of up to one thousand dollars. The president shall
have the discretion to waive the filing of a report, excuse a  delay  in
filing  or  a  failure  to  file  a  report, or waive or reduce any fine
imposed for good cause shown.
  f. Other awards. Award recipients shall be eligible to apply  for  one
additional award.
  S  3.  Subdivision 10 of section 605 of the education law, as added by
chapter 31 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
  10.  Regents  health  care  professional   opportunity   scholarships.
Regents  health  care  professional  opportunity  scholarships  shall be
awarded annually to students who are beginning or engaged in an approved
program in medicine [or], dentistry, OR PODIATRY  and  who  are  econom-
ically  disadvantaged  and/or  members  of  an underrepresented minority
group, provided, however, that to the extent that  regents  health  care
professional opportunity scholarships are not awarded, such scholarships
shall be awarded as regents professional opportunity scholarships. These
scholarships  shall  be  classified  and  allocated  in  accordance with
regents rules.

A. 2531                             4

  a. In selecting  and  certifying  scholarship  recipients  under  this
subdivision,  priority  shall be accorded to applicants in the following
order:
  (1)  First,  to  any  applicant  who  is economically disadvantaged as
defined by the regents and a minority historically  underrepresented  in
the  profession as determined by the regents after consultation with the
council on professional  career  opportunity  created  by  section  nine
hundred forty-one of the executive law;
  (2) Second, to any applicant who is a minority underrepresented in the
profession  as  determined  by  the  regents after consultation with the
council on professional  career  opportunity  created  by  section  nine
hundred forty-one of the executive law;
  (3)  Third,  to any applicant who is a graduate of the state-sponsored
opportunity program pursuant to section sixty-four hundred fifty-one  or
sixty-four hundred fifty-two of this chapter.
  In the event that there are more applicants who have the same priority
than there are remaining scholarships, the commissioner shall distribute
the remaining number of such scholarships by means of a lottery or other
form of random selection.
  b.  The  commissioner  shall then forward approved applications to the
president and shall notify unsuccessful applicants.
  c. The president shall notify applicants of their award entitlement.
  d. The president shall, in consultation with the commissioner, develop
and secure from each successful applicant a written agreement  to  prac-
tice  medicine [or], dentistry, OR PODIATRY, as appropriate, in a desig-
nated shortage area. Within such time as the commissioner shall by regu-
lation provide, a recipient of an award shall  have  practiced  medicine
[or],  dentistry, OR PODIATRY in an area designated as having a shortage
of physicians [or], dentists, OR PODIATRISTS, as appropriate,  for  that
number of months calculated by multiplying by twelve the number of annu-
al payments received by the recipient. In no case shall the total number
of  months  of service required be less than twenty-four. If a recipient
fails to comply fully with such conditions, the president shall be enti-
tled to receive from such recipient an amount to be  determined  by  the
formula:
                               A = 2B (t-s)
                                  -----
                                    t
in  which "A" is the amount the president is entitled to recover; "B" is
the sum of all payments made to the recipient and the interest  on  such
amount which would be payable if at the times such awards were paid they
were  loans  bearing interest at the maximum prevailing rate; "t" is the
total number of months in the recipient's period of obligated  services;
and  "s"  is  the  number  of months of service actually rendered by the
recipient. Any amount which the president is entitled to  recover  under
this  paragraph  shall  be paid within the five-year period beginning on
the date that the recipient failed to comply with  this  service  condi-
tion. Nothing in the written agreement shall affect the terms of employ-
ment  of the individual who shall negotiate, separate and apart from the
program, his or her salary and other forms of employment with an agency,
institution or a program in which he or she shall be employed.
  Any obligation to comply with such  provisions  as  outlined  in  this
section  shall be cancelled upon the death of the recipient. The commis-
sioner shall make regulations to provide for the waiver or suspension of
any financial obligation which would involve extreme hardship.

A. 2531                             5

  e. A recipient of an award shall report annually to the New York state
higher education services corporation, on forms prescribed by it, as  to
the  performance  of the required services, commencing with the calendar
year in which the recipient begins to practice medicine [or], dentistry,
OR  PODIATRY in a shortage area and continuing until the recipient shall
have completed, or it is determined that he or she shall  not  be  obli-
gated  to  complete, the required services.  If the recipient shall fail
to file any report required hereunder  within  thirty  days  of  written
notice  to the recipient, mailed to the address shown on the last appli-
cation for an award or last report filed, whichever is later, the presi-
dent of the corporation may impose a fine of up to one thousand dollars.
The president shall have the discretion to waive the filing of a report,
excuse a delay in filing or a failure to file  a  report,  or  waive  or
reduce any fine imposed for good cause shown.
  S  4.  Section 677 of the education law, as added by chapter 31 of the
laws of 1985 and subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 439 of the laws  of
1988, is amended to read as follows:
  S 677.  Regents  physician,  DENTIST  AND  PODIATRIST loan forgiveness
program. 1. Number and certification. Eighty regents physician,  DENTIST
AND  PODIATRIST loan forgiveness awards shall be awarded each year. Such
awards shall be allocated as provided in article thirteen of this  chap-
ter to eligible physicians, DENTISTS AND PODIATRISTS as certified to the
president by the commissioner.
  2.  Calculation  of  award  amounts.  Each  award shall consist of two
consecutive  annual  loan  forgiveness  payments.  Each  of  the  annual
payments  shall be for an amount equal to the total of undergraduate and
medical, DENTAL OR PODIATRIC school student loan expense or ten thousand
dollars whichever is less.   The  president  shall  be  responsible  for
calculating  the  dollar  amount of each award that [eligibile] ELIGIBLE
candidates may receive from this  program.  For  the  purposes  of  this
section,  student  loan  expense  shall mean the cumulative total of the
annual student loans covering the cost of attendance at an undergraduate
institution and/or medical, DENTAL OR PODIATRIC school. Interest paid or
due on student loans that an applicant has taken out for use  in  paying
for  such  undergraduate  and/or  medical, DENTAL OR PODIATRIC education
shall be considered eligible for reimbursement under this program.
  3. Award disbursement. a. Annual  award  disbursements  shall  be  the
responsibility  of  the president and shall occur prior to the beginning
of each of the required terms of service as  specified  in  the  service
contract.  The board of trustees of the higher education services corpo-
ration shall adopt rules and regulations regarding criteria  for  deter-
mining  successful  completion  of  the  service contract and any appeal
process that may be required to implement this paragraph upon  recommen-
dation of the president in consultation with the commissioner.
  b. The disbursement of the second annual award shall be dependent upon
successful  completion  of  the  first  year  requirement of the service
contract as defined by the president, as  well  as  other  criteria  set
forth in this section.
  S  5.  This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law, provided, that the  amend-
ments  made to subdivisions 9 and 10 of section 605 of the education law
made by sections two and three of this act shall not affect  the  termi-
nation of such program and scholarship, respectively, and the amendments
to  section  677  of  the education law made by section four of this act
shall not affect the termination of such program as provided by  section
17 of chapter 31 of the laws of 1985, as amended.