Senate Bill 2514

(COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)

AN ACT TO CREATE THE NURSING INSTRUCTION PILOT PROGRAM; TO ESTABLISH THE MISSISSIPPI NURSING INSTRUCTION GRANT PROGRAM TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD; TO SET ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND STIPULATIONS FOR USE OF GRANT MONEY; TO CREATE A SPECIAL FUND IN THE STATE TREASURY TO BE DESIGNATED THE MISSISSIPPI NURSING GRANT PROGRAM FUND; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) For the purposes of this act, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(a) "Grant program" means the Mississippi Nursing Instruction Grant Program established in this act.

(b) "Pilot program" means the Mississippi Nursing Instruction Pilot Program.

(d) "Community college" or "college" means any one of the following:

(i) Coahoma Community College;

(ii) Copiah-Lincoln Community College;

(iii) East Central Community College;

(iv) East Mississippi Community College;

(v) Hinds Community College;

(vi) Holmes Community College;

(vii) Itawamba Community College;

(viii) Jones County Junior College;

(ix) Meridian Community College;

(x) Mississippi Delta Community College;

(xi) Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College;

(xii) Northeast Mississippi Community College;

(xiii) Northwest Mississippi Community College;

(xiv) Pearl River Community College; and

(xv) Southwest Mississippi Community College.

(2) (a) Subject to appropriation by the Legislature, the Mississippi Community College Board shall establish a Nursing Instruction Pilot Program. The goals of the pilot program, by employing more nursing instructors at a greater salary, are to:

(i) Increase the number of admitted students to nursing programs at community colleges in the State of Mississippi;

(ii) Increase the number of licensed nurses in Mississippi; and

(iii) Provide better quality healthcare services to communities in Mississippi.

(b) This subsection (2) shall stand repealed on July 1, 2028.

(3) There is established the Mississippi Nursing Instruction Grant Program, to serve as a grant program for employing eligible nursing instructors at publicly funded community colleges in Mississippi, to be administered by the board to its fifteen (15) members. The board shall set the dates and deadlines for applying for a grant under this section, and shall establish such rules and regulations as it deems necessary and proper to carry out the purposes and intent of this section.

(4) The Mississippi Nursing Instruction Grant Program shall be funded by monies in the fund created in subsection (9) of this section for the purpose of increasing the salaries of nursing instructors and be allocated to colleges to accomplish the following:

(a) Increase the overall salaries of currently employed nursing instructors to One Hundred Five Thousand Dollars ($105,000.00); and

(b) Allow colleges to fill up to two (2) vacant nursing instructor positions at an overall salary of One Hundred Five Thousand Dollars ($105,000.00).

(5) Each community college under the purview of the board may submit an application for grant funds under this section. Applicants shall certify to the board that each expenditure of the funds awarded to them under this section is in compliance with the guidelines established in subsection (3) of this section.

(6) An application for a grant under this section shall be submitted at such time, be in such form, and contain such information as the board prescribes. Each application for grant funds shall include the following at a minimum:

(a) Contact information for an employee of the community college who will serve as the point of contact between the college and the board;

(b) The number of nursing instructors whose overall salaries will be increased to meet the guidelines of subsection (2) of this section, as well as their current overall salaries; and

(c) The number of nursing instructor vacancies the college plans to fill using grant funds, up to two (2) vacancies per college.

(7) The board may apply a system for use in ranking the grant applications received, if there are insufficient funds for all eligible requests under the grant program. The ranking system shall include factors to be determined by the board. The board shall determine a deadline for an initial round of requests under the grant program. After the initial applications determined by the board, applications shall be reviewed and scored on a rolling basis, unless there are sufficient funds for all eligible requests under the grant program.

(8) Grant agreements shall be executed between the recipient and the board.

(9) There is created a special fund in the State Treasury, to be known as the "Mississippi Nursing Grant Program Fund," from which the grants authorized by this act shall be disbursed by the board upon appropriation by the Legislature. The fund shall be maintained by the State Treasurer as a separate and special fund, separate and apart from the State General Fund. Monies in the fund shall consist of funds made available by the Legislature in any manner and funds from any other source designated for deposit into such fund. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not lapse into the State General Fund. Any interest earned or investment earnings or interest earned on amounts in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund.

(10) The use of funds allocated under this program shall be subject to audit by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor. Each community college receiving funds under this program found to be fully or partially noncompliant with the requirements in this section shall return to the state all or a portion of the funds received.

(11) By December 1 each year, the board shall submit to the Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, House and Senate Appropriations Chairmen, and the Legislative Budget Office annual reports that contain the applications received, the score of the applications, the criteria used to determine the score of the applications, the amount of grant funds awarded to each college, the amount of grant funds expended by each college, and the total number of nursing instructors employed at each college for the purpose of reevaluating the amount of monies to be appropriated each year. The score of the applications is not required to be included in the report if sufficient funds exist to fund the total amount of funds for all eligible grant requests under the grant program for the calendar year.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.