House Bill 379

(As Passed the House)

AN ACT TO CODIFY SECTION 37-143-10, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR A "MISSISSIPPI CRITICAL NEEDS NURSING FACULTY INCENTIVE PROGRAM" TO AUTHORIZE SALARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR NURSE FACULTY; TO AMEND SECTION 37-143-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE ADVANCED DEGREE STUDENTS TO PURSUE DOCTORAL DEGREES WITHOUT PAYBACK; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. The following provision shall be codified as Section 37-143-10, Mississippi Code of 1972:

37-143-10. (1) There is established a "Mississippi Critical Needs Nursing Faculty Incentive Program." This program shall be implemented by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges to produce more nursing faculty at the schools of nursing in Mississippi in order to fill the health care needs of this state and to attract nursing faculty from other states to teach in Mississippi.

(2) Pursuant to specific appropriation therefor by the Legislature, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall implement a three-year across-the-board salary increase of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00) per fiscal year in fiscal year 2007, fiscal year 2008 and fiscal year 2009 for all registered nurses who are faculty in approved undergraduate and graduate nursing programs in the state. Pursuant to specific appropriation therefor by the Legislature, the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges shall implement a three-year across-the-board salary increase of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00) per fiscal year in fiscal year 2007, fiscal year 2008 and fiscal year 2009 for all registered nurses who are faculty in approved associate degree nursing programs in the state. This incentive is intended to bring salaries for nursing faculty within the average for the geographic area in which the State of Mississippi competes for nursing faculty, thereby retaining present faculty who would otherwise retire or accept employment in other states, and to attract nursing faculty from other states to teach in Mississippi. Salary supplements under this subsection shall be allocated to full-time nursing faculty who enter into contract with the appropriate school of nursing obligating themselves to spend a period of time of not less than three (3) years in teaching nursing at any accredited school of nursing in Mississippi, and shall be allocated to positions which are presently vacant and faculty positions currently funded by hospitals. Part-time faculty shall be eligible to receive a prorated salary supplement under this subsection based upon hours applied to teaching duties. Any person who does not render three (3) years' service as a nursing faculty in an approved school of nursing in Mississippi under this program, shall be liable to the appropriate board for one-third (1/3) of the total amount of the salary supplement granted under the program for each year that the person does not render such service, plus interest accruing at the current Stafford Loan rate at the time the person discontinues his service. If a claim for repayment under this subsection is placed in the hands of an attorney for collection, the obligor shall be liable for an additional amount equal to a reasonable attorney's fee. The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges shall jointly establish such rules and regulations as deemed necessary and proper to carry out the purposes and intent of this subsection.

(3) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges may grant a deferral for cause when there is no employment position immediately available for a program participant. After any such period of deferral, the nurse faculty shall begin or resume the required teaching duties or shall become liable to the appropriate board for repayment of the salary supplement.

(4) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges shall jointly prepare an annual report for the Legislature, to be submitted by December 1 of each year beginning in 2006, which shall assess the impact of the Mississippi Critical Needs Nursing Faculty Incentive Program on the employment of registered nurses as faculty in approved schools of nursing. The report shall include, at a minimum, the number of persons who have participated in each component of the program each year and the number of persons who have actually rendered service as faculty in Mississippi schools of nursing under the program.

SECTION 2. Section 37-143-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-143-9. There is created a program for advanced study in nursing. Scholarships are established and shall be allocated to students who: (a) have graduated from an accredited high school and from a school of nursing and are licensed registered nurses in Mississippi; and (b) are approved by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning; and (c) enter into contract with the board of trustees and its successors in office, obligating themselves to pursue to completion the course of study agreed upon, and immediately following the completion of such work, to spend a period of time, equal to the period of study provided under the scholarship, in teaching nursing at any accredited school of nursing in Mississippi, approved by the board of trustees, or in performing other work in the interest of public health in the state, to be approved by the board of trustees. Such period of service, after completion of study under a scholarship, shall in no event be less than one (1) year. However, any student who pursues an advanced doctorate degree after completing a masters degree under a scholarship program pursuant to this section, or any other program administered by the board of trustees, shall not be required to begin teaching or other service as a pay-back condition until the student has completed the advanced doctorate degree, at the option of the student.

In addition to a scholarship, any such student may be allocated a loan not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per month for each month of full-time study in a graduate nursing program. The repayment of the principal and interest of such loans shall be eligible for deferment during attendance as a full-time student in an approved program for advanced study in an accredited school of nursing. For any student who receives this loan, the student's contract with the board of trustees shall obligate the student, immediately following completion of the course of study, to repay the loan by teaching nursing for not less than two (2) years at any accredited school of nursing in Mississippi approved by the board of trustees. Such teaching service shall convert the loan to an interest-free scholarship, and discharge the same, on the basis of two (2) years of service for one-year's loan amount, or the appropriate proportion of the total outstanding balance of principal and interest, all as established by rule and regulation of the board of trustees. Any such student who fails to complete all of the teaching service obligation shall be liable to the board of trustees for the remaining balance of the principal and interest that remains undischarged.

The board of trustees shall establish such rules and regulations as it deems necessary and proper to carry out the purposes and intent of this section.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2006.