JFAC splits on rural nursing loan repayment funding; committee later approves year-two payments and ongoing appropriation

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on March 12 considered multiple actions tied to the rural nursing loan repayment fund established in House Bill 213 (2023). The program offers loan repayment assistance to nurses working in rural areas and is structured as a five-year program with a dedicated fund.

An initial committee motion to transfer $2,250,000 from the general fund into the dedicated rural nursing loan repayment fund and to establish base appropriations for the program failed to win a Senate committee majority and was not approved in joint committee (the committee recorded a split and sent the matter to the Senate for further action).

Following that outcome, Representative Furness moved a one-time supplemental appropriation of $375,000 from the rural nursing loan repayment fund for FY2025 to fund year-two awards and a separate ongoing FY2026 appropriation of $625,000 from the same dedicated fund to continue payments for the life of the program. Both measures passed the committee after debate and roll-call votes. The one-time supplemental and the ongoing appropriation each passed in joint committee with combined tallies reported as 12 ayes, 6 nays, 2 absent/excused (majorities in both the House and Senate committees where recorded).

Committee debate reflected differing views on the need to fund the program. Representative Furness said affected nurses were not "double dipping" and that they had not received the payments due; she argued the legislature has a responsibility to fund policy enacted in statute. Senator Ward Engelking told the committee, "We are required to fund things that are in policy. We don't get to pick and choose which things we fund if they're in policy." Representative Tanner and others opposed the supplemental and ongoing funding in part because multiple new scholarships and federal programs have become available to support nurses and because of concerns about program redundancy.

What the committee approved: - One-time supplemental appropriation, FY2025: $375,000 (rural nursing loan repayment fund) - Ongoing FY2026 appropriation: $625,000 (rural nursing loan repayment fund)

What did not pass in committee: the larger general-fund transfer to fully capitalize the dedicated fund at that time failed to secure an affirmative Senate committee vote and was referred to the Senate for further consideration.

Ending: The committee's actions mean the rural loan-repayment program will receive additional funds to issue year-two awards and an ongoing appropriation for FY2026, while an earlier proposal to transfer larger general-fund cash into the dedicated fund will require further action by the Senate or additional legislative steps.