Bill > A5117

Introduced Session

This bill establishes a Veterinary Medicine Loan Redemption Program to address the current large animal veterinarian shortage in this State. The program will be administered by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA). Since New Jersey does not have its own veterinary medicine school, and building a new veterinary medicine school is cost-prohibitive, the provisions of this bill are intended to establish a cost-effective path to addressing the large animal veterinarian shortage by incentivizing veterinary school graduates to reside in the State and practice in areas of the State experiencing large animal veterinarian shortages. From 1990 to 2007, the State provided for a "contract" program with veterinary schools in other states to "buy" seats reserved exclusively for New Jersey students. This program allowed New Jersey residents vying for seats at out-of-State veterinary schools to only compete against each other for those seats, not the entire population of applicants at large. The program also provided funding that permitted those students to attend the out-of-State veterinary schools at in-State tuition rates. However, this program resulted in residents leaving the State for veterinary school, with no promise that they would return to practice in New Jersey. Several other states have implemented veterinary loan redemption programs similar to the program established by this bill, including, but not limited to, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas, and Wyoming. The program established by this bill will incentivize residents of this State, who attend out-of-State veterinary schools, to return to New Jersey to perform services in a veterinary practice that is dedicated to the protection and enhancement of large animal health and productivity, in exchange for a redemption of their veterinary school loans over a relatively short period of time. This program will provide enormous benefits for large animal owners living in areas of this State with a shortage of adequate veterinary medicine services. Specifically, the bill provides for redemption of eligible qualifying loan expenses for veterinarians who work for no less than five years at a an approved site An approved site is as a site located within a State designated veterinary underserved area or within five miles of a State designated veterinary underserved area. The bill defines a State designated veterinary underserved area as a geographic area designated in this State by the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the New Jersey Horse Council, the New Jersey Association of Equine Practitioners, and the New Jersey Farm Bureau, on the basis of a large animal veterinarian shortage affecting the area. The Secretary of Agriculture will annually establish a list of State designated veterinary underserved areas and transmit that list to HESAA. Program participants are required to be State residents, have graduated from a veterinary school approved by the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners for the purpose of licensure and receive a recommendation from the school's veterinary medicine staff concerning participation in the loan redemption program, be a veterinarian licensed to practice in this State, and agree to practice at an approved site. In return for this commitment, the program participant's eligible qualifying loan expenses will be reimbursed. Maximum loan redemption under the bill will equal 100 percent of the eligible qualifying loan expenses for full-time service and 50 percent of the eligible qualifying loan expenses for half-time service in return for five years of service, except that the amount of qualifying loans which may be redeemed for a participant under the program will not exceed $20,000 in any year for full-time service or $10,000 in any year for half-time service. No amount of eligible qualifying loan expenses will be redeemed for services performed for less than a full year. The loan redemption will be reimbursed as follows with respect to full-time service: (1) first year of service, 12 percent of principal and interest; (2) second year of service, 20 percent of principal and interest; (3) third year of service, 20 percent of principal and interest; (4) fourth year of service, 24 percent of principal and interest; and (5) fifth year of service, 24 percent of principal and interest. The loan redemption will be reimbursed as follows with respect to half-time service: (1) first year of service, six percent of principal and interest; (2) second year of service, 10 percent of principal and interest; (3) third year of service, 10 percent of principal and interest; (4) fourth year of service, 12 percent of principal and interest; and (5) fifth year of service, 12 percent of principal and interest. The bill provides that in the case of a program participant's death or total and permanent disability, HESAA will nullify the service obligation of the program participant. The nullification will also terminate HESAA's obligations under the loan redemption contract. In the event of a program participant's death or total and permanent disability, HESAA will not require repayment of the prior redeemed portion of indebtedness. The bill provides that in Fiscal Year 2022 and each fiscal year thereafter, $500,000 will be appropriated from the General Fund to HESAA for the Veterinary Medicine Loan Redemption Program.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Ronald Dancer (R)*,  Eric Houghtaling (D)*, 

Reported out of Assembly Comm. with Amendments, 2nd Reading (on 06/09/2021)

Official Document