HB 5441 — AN ACT CONCERNING CLINICAL PLACEMENTS FOR NURSING STUDENTS, REPORTING BY THE OFFICE OF WORKFORCE STRATEGY, PROMOTION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY AND CONNECTICUT HIGHER EDUCATION SUPPLEMENTAL LOAN AUTHORITY STUDENT LOAN SUBSIDY PROGRAMS FOR VARIOUS PROFESSIONS.

829 Such eligibility criteria and guidelines shall include, but need not be limited to, (1) applicant eligibility criteria, (2) interest rate subsidies and principal limits on authority loans offered under the program, (3) a process for verifying that applicants are actively employed in a clinical or an emergency medical service setting, and (4) a requirement that an interest rate subsidy on an authority loan issued under the program be terminated if the subsidy recipient fails to meet the requirements of the program at any time during the term of such loan.

Section 2 of substitutepublic houseact bill23-60 6689 of the current session is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023):

The Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority shall establish and maintain a separate, nonlapsing account to hold funds for the Nursing, [and] Mental Health Care and Emergency Medical Service Professionals Loan Subsidy Program established pursuant to section1section 1 of [this act] substitutepublic houseact bill668923-60. ofthe current session.

The account shall contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the account, including, but not limited to, any state appropriation and the proceeds from the sale of any bonds issued for the purpose of section 1 of [this act] substitutepublic houseact bill23-60. 6689 of the current session.

Moneys in the account shall be expended by the Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority (1) for the purposes of the Nursing, [and] Mental Health Care and Emergency Medical Service Professionals Loan Subsidy Program established pursuant to section1section 1 of [this act] substitutepublic houseact bill668923-60 ofthe current session including, but not limited to, for reasonable expenses necessary to administer said program, (2) to issue authority loans under said program to refinance onePublic orAct moreNo. eligible loans, and (3) to maintain a reserve, held by the authority, to cover any losses incurred by the authority in issuing authority loans under said program.

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5441 one or more eligible loans, and (3) to maintain a reserve, held by the authority, to cover any losses incurred by the authority in issuing authority loans under said program.

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829 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

Section 1 from passage New section Sec.

2 July 1, 2023 4-124jj(b) Sec.

3 July 1, 2023 38a-8(h) Sec.

4 January 1, 2024 10a-247 Sec.

5 January 1, 2024 10a-247a Sec.

6 January 1, 2024 New section Sec.

7 July 1, 2023 HB 6689 (current session), Sec.

1 Sec.

8 July 1, 2023 HB 6689 (current session), Sec.

2 sHB5441 / File No.

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829 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $ Various State Agencies Various - See See Below See Below Below Note:

Various=Various Municipal Impact:

None Section 1 creates a task force to develop a plan for establishing clinical placements at State facilities for nursing students at public and independent institutions of higher education, resulting in no fiscal impact to the State because the task force has the expertise to carry out the requirements of the bill.

Section 2 eliminates the sunset date of 10/1/25 for the Office of WorkforceStrategy(OWS)toprovideanannualreportontheworkforce training programs funded through the OWS.

It is anticipated that OWS can produce this report annually within existing resources.

However, the level of funding available for OWS’ workforce training programs in isuncertain.The workforcetrainingprogramsunderOWSareprimarily funded through $70 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, which are required to be fully expended by the end of calendar year2026.Inaddition,$40millioninstateGeneralObligation(GO)bond funds have been authorized to support OWS’ workforce training initiatives, of which $5 million has been allocated to date.

Section 3 requires the Insurance Commissioner to promote the development and growth of the insurance industry in Connecticut, including employment opportunities, which has no fiscal impact because the Insurance Department can comply with the bill within sHB5441 / File No.

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829 existing resources.

Sections 4 and 5 expand eligibility for a loan subsidy program through the Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority (CHESLA), which is anticipated to have no fiscal impact, absent separate legislation providing additional funding for the program.

The program was financed through the authorization of $7 million of GO bonds, which were previously fully allocated by the State Bond Commission in December of 2021.

No change to debt service is anticipated as all authorized bonds have been made available to the program.

The expanded eligibility could change the individuals able to participate in the program, but not the total cost to the program.

Section 6 requires CHESLA to establish a new loan subsidy program and Sections 7 and 8 expand a different loan subsidy program that is being established in pending legislation (sHB 6689).

The bill does not appropriate funds or authorize bond funds for either purpose.

Without additional funding it is unclear how CHESLA would operate the program, as they do not have funds available for this purpose.

House "A" strikes the underlying bill and its associated fiscal impact and replaces it with the fiscal impact described above.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.

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829 OLR Bill Analysis sHB 5441 (as amended by House "A")* AN ACT CONCERNING CLINICAL PLACEMENTS FOR NURSING STUDENTS, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIPS FOR TEACHERS, REPORTING BY THE OFFICE OF WORKFORCE STRATEGY, PROMOTION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY AND A STUDENT LOAN SUBSIDY FOR HIGH-DEMAND PROFESSIONS.

SUMMARY This bill makes various unrelated changes affecting higher education statutes and programs.

Principally, it does the following:

1.

creates an 11-member task force to develop a plan to establish clinicalplacementsatstatefacilitiesfornursingstudentsat public and private higher education institutions (§ 1);

2.

makespermanent aprovision due to sunset under current law on October 1, 2025, that requires the Chief Workforce Officer to annually report to the governor and certain legislative committees on the Office of Workforce Strategy’s workforce training programs (§ 2);

3.

requires the insurance commissioner to promote the development and growth of, and employment opportunities within, the state’s insurance industry (§ 3);

4.

extends eligibility to the Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority’s (CHESLA) Alliance District Teacher Loan Subsidy Programto paraeducators and counselors, and makes conforming changes (§§ 4-5);

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requires CHESLA to establish a Police Officer Loan Subsidy Program to subsidize interest rates on CHESLA loans to eligible police officers employed in distressed municipalities (§ 6);

and 6.

amends sHB 6689 of the current session to expand a CHESLA loan subsidy program for specified health care professionals to also include emergency services professionals (§§ 7-8).

*House Amendment “A” eliminates provisions (1) creating a state income tax credit for certain licensed health care providers who provide clinical placements for nursing students as part of an agreement with higher education institutions, (2) requiring the Office of Higher Education executive director and the labor and education commissioners to jointly develop a plan to establish a registered apprenticeship program to allow certain students to work as apprentice teacher’s aides, and (3) requiring CHESLA to establish a Student Loan SubsidyProgramtosubsidizeinterestratesonauthorityloanstoeligible individuals employed in high demand professions.

The amendment also (1) adds members to the task force and expands its charge to cover clinical placements at private institutions and (2) adds the provisions (a) modifying the Alliance District Teacher Student Loan Subsidy program, (b) establishing a loan subsidy program for police officers employed by distressed municipalities, and (c) amending provisions in sHB 6689 of the current session.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2023, except the police officer student loan subsidy program provisions take effect on January 1, 2024, and the task force provision is effective upon passage.

§ 1 — NURSING STUDENT CLINICAL PLACEMENT TASK FORCE Duties The bill creates a task force to develop a plan to establish clinical placements for nursing students at public and private colleges and universities.

In developing the plan, the bill requires the task force to examine the following:

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the types of state facilities that can accommodate these clinical placements, including state correctional facilities and facilities operated by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), the Department of Children and Families (DCF), and the Department of Developmental Services (DDS);

2.

the number and type of clinical placements that may be established at each state facility;

3.

the staffing requirements for providing the clinical placements and the facilities’ compliance with them;

and 4.

the total and per-student cost to state facilities to provide the clinical placements.

Membership The task force includes six members appointed by the six legislative leaders.

The table below lists the appointees’ qualifications and appointing authorities.

Members appointed by the legislative leaders may be legislators.

Table:

Task Force Membership Appointing Authority Number of Appointee Qualifications Appointments House speaker One Nursing education program administrator at UConn Senate president pro One Nursing education program tempore administrator at an independent higher education institution House majority leader One Nursing education program administrator at a state university within the Connecticut State University System Senate majority leader One Nursing education program administrator at a regional community-technical college House minority leader One Nursing education program administrator at an independent higher education institution Senate minority leader One Nursing education program administrator at UConn Health sHB5441 / File No.

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829 Appointing Authority Number of Appointee Qualifications Appointments Center Department of CorrectioOne Licensed medical provider (DOC) commissioner employed by DOC Department of Public One Registered nurse employed by Health (DPH) DPH commissioner DMHAS commissioner One Registered nurse employed by DMHAS DDS commissioner One Registered nurse employed by DDS DCF commissioner One Registered nurse employed by DCF The bill requires appointing authorities to make their initial appointments within 30 days of the bill’s passage and fill any vacancies.

Leadership, Staff, and Meetings Under the bill, the House speaker and Senate president pro tempore must select the task force chairpersons from among its members.

The chairpersons must schedule the task force’s first meeting to be held within 60 days after the bill’s passage.

The bill requires the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee’s administrative staff to serve in this capacity for the task force.

Report The bill requires the task force to report its findings and recommendations to the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee by January 1, 2024.

It terminates on this date or the date it submits the report, whichever is later.

§ 2 — OFFICE OF WORKFORCE STRATEGY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS The bill makes permanent the requirement that the chief workforce officer annually report to the governor and the Commerce;

Education;

Finance, Revenue and Bonding;

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and Labor and Public Employees committees on Office of Workforce Strategy workforce training programs.

Under current law, the reporting requirement sunsets on October 1, 2025.

Under the bill and existing law, the report must include information on the number, demographics, and outcomes of program participants.

§§ 4-5 — ALLIANCE DISTRICT EDUCATOR AND COUNSELOR LOAN SUBSIDY PROGRAM The bill requires CHESLA to extend eligibility for the Alliance District Teacher Loan Subsidy Program to paraeducators and school counselors and renames the program the “Alliance District Educator and Counselor Loan Subsidy Program.” As under current law, this program provides subsidized interest rates onCHESLA loans to eligible borrowers employed in alliance districts, subject to available funding.

§ 6 — CHESLA POLICE OFFICER LOAN SUBSIDY PROGRAM The billrequiresCHESLA, by July 1, 2024,to establish a Police Officer Loan Subsidy Program to subsidize interest rates on CHESLA loans to eligible sworn members of municipal police departments (“police officers”) employed in distressed municipalities (see BACKGROUND), subject to available funding.

The Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) annually designates distressed municipalities based on high unemployment and poverty, aging housing stock, and low or declining rates of job, population, and per capita income growth (CGS § 32-9p).

Under the bill, CHESLA must establish a separate, non-lapsing account to hold program funds required by law to be deposited there, including any state appropriation or bond sale proceeds.

Eligibility Criteria and Administrative Guidelines The bill requires CHESLA to establish the program’s eligibility criteria and administrative guidelines in consultation with the Police Officer Standards Training Council.

Under the bill, the criteria and guidelines must address at least the following:

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applicant eligibility, 2.

interest rate subsidies and principal limits on authority loans subject to the loan subsidy program, 3.

the process for verifying applicants’ employment, and 4.

the requirement that an interest rate subsidy through the program terminates for a subsidy recipient who no longer meets the program’s employment requirements during the loan’s term.

Account Expenditure Guidelines CHESLA must use the funds in the program account to subsidize loans under the program.

In addition, CHESLA must spend account funds to cover (1) reasonable and necessary expenses for program administration, (2) the issuance of authority loans to refinance one or more eligible loans, and (3) a reserve for any losses from issuing authority loans.

By law and unchanged by the bill, “authority loans” are education loans by CHESLA or CHESLA loans from theproceeds of bonds to fund education loans.

“Eligible loans” are loans in repayment that were issued by (1) CHESLA or (2) another private or governmental lender to finance college or university attendance.

§§ 7 & 8 — CHESLA LOAN SUBSIDY PROGRAM FOR SPECIFIED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS sHB 6689 of the current session requires CHESLA to establish a Nursing and Mental Health Care Professionals Loan Subsidy Program to subsidize interest rates on CHESLA refinancing loans to certain Connecticut-licensed nurses, nurse’s aides, psychologists, marital and family therapists, clinical and master social workers, and professional counselors.

This bill amends sHB 6689 to expand the program to emergency medical service (EMS) professionals and makes various conforming changes.

Under the bill, to qualify, the EMS professional must (1) be DPH-certified as an emergency medical responder, emergency medical technician, or advanced emergency medical sHB5441 / File No.

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829 technician and (2) meet the program’s eligibility criteria and administrative guidelines set by CHESLA and the education commissioner.

BACKGROUND Distressed Municipalities DECD annually designates distressed municipalities based on high unemployment and poverty, aging housing stock, and low or declining rates of job, population, and per capita income growth (CGS § 32-9p).

The current (2022) distressed municipalities are Ansonia, Bridgeport, Bristol, Chaplin, Derby, East Hartford, East Haven, Griswold, Groton, Hartford, Meriden, Montville, New Britain, New London, North Stonington, Norwich, Plainfield, Putnam, Sprague, Sterling, Torrington, Waterbury, West Haven, Winchester, and Windham.

Related Bill HB 5437 (File 263), favorably reported by the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee, requires CHESLA to establish a student loan subsidy program to offer subsidized interest rates on loans it makes to first responders.

sHB 6689 (File 185), favorably reported by the Banking Committee, establishes a Nursing and Mental Health Care Professionals Loan Subsidy Program to subsidize interest rates on CHESLA refinancing loans to certain Connecticut-licensed nurses, nurse’s aides, psychologists, marital and family therapists, clinical and master social workers, and professional counselors.

COMMITTEE ACTION Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee Joint Favorable Yea 22 Nay 0 (03/14/2023) sHB5441 / File No.

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