SENATE HIGHER EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 2801

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  FEBRUARY 10, 2025

      The Senate Higher Education Committee favorably reports Assembly Bill No. 2801 (1R) with committee amendments.

      This amended bill renames and broadens eligibility for the Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program established within the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA).

      The amended bill specifically:

· renames the program as the Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program;

· provides for the participation in the program of psychiatrists and other health professionals working in fields designated by the Commissioner of Health for inclusion in the program;

· permits the Commissioner of Health, after consultation with the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development and the Director of Consumer Affairs, to designate additional health care fields experiencing critical Statewide labor shortages for inclusion in the program;

· requires the HESSA to annually submit a report on the Health Care Professional Loan Redemption Program to the Governor and the Legislature no later than August 1 of each year;

· increases the maximum loan redemption amount under the program from $120,000 to $200,000;

· expands the definition of “State designated medically underserved area” to include municipalities where more than 50 percent of households are at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty line and municipalities with a medically underserved area or population designation reflecting health status and economic indicators as determined by the United States Health Resources and Services Administration;

· permits a program participant to identify an approved site for designation and approval under the program;

· establishes criteria for a site to be automatically designated as an approved site under the program; and

· establishes eligibility requirements for approved sites and prohibits the HESAA from requiring any additional eligibility requirements for approved sites.

      As amended and reported by the committee, Assembly Bill No. 2801 (1R) is identical to Senate Bill No.780, which was also amended and reported by the committee on this date.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to:

· clarify that eligible qualifying loan expenses are not limited to undergraduate institutions of higher education;

· provide that the additional health care fields which the Commissioner of Health may designate for inclusion in the program are not limited to those fields which require a degree in allopathic or osteopathic medicine; and

· make minor technical corrections.