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An Act To Increase Faculty in Maine Nursing Education Programs
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §1019, sub-§§2 and 4, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 417, §1, are amended to read:
 
2. Criteria.   For an applicant to participate in the nursing education loan repayment program established under subsection 1, the applicant must:
 
A.  Be a nurse;
 
B. CompleteBe currently enrolled in a master's or doctoral degree program in nursing or have completed a master's or doctoral degree in nursing;
 
C.  Possess an outstanding education loan relating to the master's or doctoral nursing degree; and
 
D.  Sign a statement of intent in a form acceptable to the authority to work as full-time nursing faculty in a nursing education program in the State for a minimum of 35 years after acceptance into the nursing education loan repayment program.
 
4. Administration.   The nursing education loan repayment program and the nursing education loan repayment fund are administered by the authority. The authority shall repay the loan of an applicant who meets the criteria in subsection 2 in the amount of up to $4,500$30,000 for a master's degree and up to $6,000$60,000 for a doctoral degree. The authority may adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this subchapter. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the nursing education loan repayment program as follows:
1. It extends eligibility to apply to individuals who are currently enrolled in master's or doctoral degree programs;
2. It specifies that applicants must indicate an intention to work as full-time nursing faculty in a nursing education program in the State, and increases the required commitment from 3 to 5 years after acceptance into the nursing education loan repayment program;
3. It increases the maximum amount of loans eligible for repayment under the program from $4,500 to $30,000 for a master's degree, and from $6,000 to $60,000 for a doctoral degree.