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JFAC restores and funds rural nursing loan-repayment program after Senate initially rejects transfer
Summary
The committee debated funding steps for the rural nursing loan repayment program established in House Bill 213 (2023); an initial transfer of remaining cash failed in the Senate, but JFAC approved a one-time FY2025 supplement and ongoing FY2026 funding from the dedicated rural nursing fund.
Legislative analysts described H.B. 213’s rural nursing loan-repayment program as a five-year program set up with an initial cash transfer at creation but lacking subsequent year funding. The program assists nurses working in rural areas with student-loan repayment and was created in 2023.
Alex Williamson and Frances Lippitt (Legislative Services Office) told the committee the fund originally received $250,000 in cash to finance year-one awards; the packet noted a remaining $2,250,000 of general-fund cash that could be transferred to the dedicated rural nursing loan-repayment fund to secure future payouts. Representative Furness introduced actions to transfer the cash, make a supplemental appropriation for FY2025, and add ongoing appropriation authority for FY2026.
The committee first considered a motion to transfer $2,250,000 from the general fund into the dedicated rural nursing loan-repayment fund to ensure funds are set aside for the program’s life. That transfer motion failed in the Senate committee (Senate committee vote: 5 ayes, 4 nays, 1 absent excused) and therefore did not carry the committee’s approval. Because of differing committee procedures between the House and Senate, JFAC next separated the remaining actions.
The committee then approved a one-time FY2025 supplemental appropriation of $375,000 from the rural nursing loan repayment fund to pay year-two awards; that motion passed with a combined committee tally of 12 ayes, 6 nays, 2 absent and excused. Members who opposed the appropriation cited overlap with other nurse scholarship and federal programs; proponents said nurses who had applied for and expected loan repayment awards had not received them and that the appropriation corrects an administrative shortfall.
JFAC later approved an ongoing FY2026 appropriation of $625,000 from the rural nursing loan repayment fund to support the program going forward. That motion similarly passed in both committees (total 12 ayes, 6 nays, 2 absent and excused) and carries a due-pass recommendation.
Committee members stressed the program’s statute and the committee’s responsibility to fund programs created in law. Senator Ward Engelking told colleagues that, if policy problems exist, the legislature should address them in policy committees, but appropriation committees are required to fund code. Representative Furness argued that the participants were not “double-dipping” and that recipients had not received expected loan-payment disbursements.
Because the original proposed cash transfer failed in one chamber’s committee, staff will prepare letters and any necessary follow-up to reconcile the differing committee outcomes as materials proceed through the legislative process.
