104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026 SB1510 Introduced 2/4/2025, by Sen. Sara Feigenholtz SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new110 ILCS 975/6.5225 ILCS 65/70-50 was 225 ILCS 65/20-40 Amends the Nursing Education Scholarship Law. Creates the Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Provides that all money in the Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund shall be used, subject to appropriation, by the Department of Public Health to provide scholarships to nurse educators. Provides that each fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2025, the State Comptroller shall transfer $1,500,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund to implement the nurse educator scholarship provisions. Makes a conforming change in the State Finance Act. Amends the Nurse Practice Act. Provides that, for fiscal year 2026 and for each fiscal year thereafter, $6,000,000 (instead of $4,000,000) of the moneys deposited in the Nursing Dedicated and Professional Fund each year shall be set aside and appropriated to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for nursing scholarships awarded pursuant to the Nursing Education Scholarship Law. Effective immediately. LRB104 06395 LNS 16431 b A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026 SB1510 Introduced 2/4/2025, by Sen. Sara Feigenholtz SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new110 ILCS 975/6.5225 ILCS 65/70-50 was 225 ILCS 65/20-40 30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new 110 ILCS 975/6.5 225 ILCS 65/70-50 was 225 ILCS 65/20-40 Amends the Nursing Education Scholarship Law. Creates the Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Provides that all money in the Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund shall be used, subject to appropriation, by the Department of Public Health to provide scholarships to nurse educators. Provides that each fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2025, the State Comptroller shall transfer $1,500,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund to implement the nurse educator scholarship provisions. Makes a conforming change in the State Finance Act. Amends the Nurse Practice Act. Provides that, for fiscal year 2026 and for each fiscal year thereafter, $6,000,000 (instead of $4,000,000) of the moneys deposited in the Nursing Dedicated and Professional Fund each year shall be set aside and appropriated to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for nursing scholarships awarded pursuant to the Nursing Education Scholarship Law. Effective immediately. LRB104 06395 LNS 16431 b LRB104 06395 LNS 16431 b A BILL FOR
104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026 SB1510 Introduced 2/4/2025, by Sen. Sara Feigenholtz SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new110 ILCS 975/6.5225 ILCS 65/70-50 was 225 ILCS 65/20-40 30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new 110 ILCS 975/6.5 225 ILCS 65/70-50 was 225 ILCS 65/20-40
30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new
110 ILCS 975/6.5
225 ILCS 65/70-50 was 225 ILCS 65/20-40
Amends the Nursing Education Scholarship Law. Creates the Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Provides that all money in the Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund shall be used, subject to appropriation, by the Department of Public Health to provide scholarships to nurse educators. Provides that each fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2025, the State Comptroller shall transfer $1,500,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund to implement the nurse educator scholarship provisions. Makes a conforming change in the State Finance Act. Amends the Nurse Practice Act. Provides that, for fiscal year 2026 and for each fiscal year thereafter, $6,000,000 (instead of $4,000,000) of the moneys deposited in the Nursing Dedicated and Professional Fund each year shall be set aside and appropriated to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for nursing scholarships awarded pursuant to the Nursing Education Scholarship Law. Effective immediately.
LRB104 06395 LNS 16431 b LRB104 06395 LNS 16431 b
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A BILL FOR
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SB1510 LRB104 06395 LNS 16431 b
1 AN ACT concerning education.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
5 Section 5.1030 as follows:
6 (30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new)
7 Sec. 5.1030. The Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund.
8 Section 10. The Nursing Education Scholarship Law is
9 amended by changing Section 6.5 as follows:
10 (110 ILCS 975/6.5)
11 Sec. 6.5. Nurse educator scholarships.
12 (a) The Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund is created as a
13 special fund in the State treasury. All money in the Nurse
14 Educator Scholarship Fund shall be used, subject to
15 appropriation, by the Department to provide scholarships under
16 this Law. Each fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2025, the State
17 Comptroller shall transfer $1,500,000 from the General Revenue
18 Fund to the Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund to implement this
19 Section. The Beginning with the fall term of the 2009-2010
20 academic year, the Department shall provide scholarships to
21 individuals selected from among those applicants who qualify
104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026 SB1510 Introduced 2/4/2025, by Sen. Sara Feigenholtz SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new110 ILCS 975/6.5225 ILCS 65/70-50 was 225 ILCS 65/20-40 30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new 110 ILCS 975/6.5 225 ILCS 65/70-50 was 225 ILCS 65/20-40
30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new
110 ILCS 975/6.5
225 ILCS 65/70-50 was 225 ILCS 65/20-40
Amends the Nursing Education Scholarship Law. Creates the Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Provides that all money in the Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund shall be used, subject to appropriation, by the Department of Public Health to provide scholarships to nurse educators. Provides that each fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2025, the State Comptroller shall transfer $1,500,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Nurse Educator Scholarship Fund to implement the nurse educator scholarship provisions. Makes a conforming change in the State Finance Act. Amends the Nurse Practice Act. Provides that, for fiscal year 2026 and for each fiscal year thereafter, $6,000,000 (instead of $4,000,000) of the moneys deposited in the Nursing Dedicated and Professional Fund each year shall be set aside and appropriated to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for nursing scholarships awarded pursuant to the Nursing Education Scholarship Law. Effective immediately.
LRB104 06395 LNS 16431 b LRB104 06395 LNS 16431 b
LRB104 06395 LNS 16431 b
A BILL FOR
30 ILCS 105/5.1030 new
110 ILCS 975/6.5
225 ILCS 65/70-50 was 225 ILCS 65/20-40
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1 for consideration by showing the following:
2 (1) that he or she has been a resident of this State
3 for at least one year prior to application and is a citizen
4 or a lawful permanent resident of the United States;
5 (2) that he or she is enrolled in or accepted for
6 admission to a graduate degree in nursing program at an
7 approved institution; and
8 (3) that he or she agrees to meet the nurse educator
9 employment obligation.
10 (b) If in any year the number of qualified applicants
11 exceeds the number of scholarships to be awarded under this
12 Section, the Department shall, in consultation with the
13 Illinois Nursing Workforce Center Advisory Board, consider the
14 following factors in granting priority in awarding
15 scholarships:
16 (1) Financial need, as shown on a standardized
17 financial needs assessment form used by an approved
18 institution, of students who will pursue their education
19 on a full-time or close to full-time basis and who already
20 have a diploma in nursing and are pursuing a higher
21 degree.
22 (2) A student's status as a registered nurse who is
23 pursuing a graduate degree in nursing to pursue employment
24 in an approved institution that educates licensed
25 practical nurses and that educates registered nurses in
26 undergraduate and graduate nursing programs.
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1 (3) A student's merit, as shown through his or her
2 grade point average, class rank, experience as a nurse,
3 including supervisory experience, experience as a nurse in
4 the United States military, and other academic and
5 extracurricular activities.
6 (c) Unless otherwise indicated, scholarships under this
7 Section shall be awarded to recipients at approved
8 institutions for a period of up to 3 years.
9 (d) Within 12 months after graduation from a graduate
10 degree in nursing program for nurse educators, any recipient
11 who accepted a scholarship under this Section shall begin
12 meeting the required nurse educator employment obligation. In
13 order to defer his or her continuous employment obligation, a
14 recipient must request the deferment in writing from the
15 Department. A recipient shall receive a deferment if he or she
16 notifies the Department, within 30 days after enlisting, that
17 he or she is spending up to 4 years in military service. A
18 recipient shall receive a deferment if he or she notifies the
19 Department, within 30 days after enrolling, that he or she is
20 enrolled in an academic program leading to a graduate degree
21 in nursing. The recipient must begin meeting the required
22 nurse educator employment obligation no later than 6 months
23 after the end of the deferment or deferments.
24 Any person who fails to fulfill the nurse educator
25 employment obligation shall pay to the Department an amount
26 equal to the amount of scholarship funds received per year for
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1 each unfulfilled year of the nurse educator employment
2 obligation, together with interest at 7% per year on the
3 unpaid balance. Payment must begin within 6 months following
4 the date of the occurrence initiating the repayment. All
5 repayments must be completed within 6 years from the date of
6 the occurrence initiating the repayment. However, this
7 repayment obligation may be deferred and re-evaluated every 6
8 months when the failure to fulfill the nurse educator
9 employment obligation results from involuntarily leaving the
10 profession due to a decrease in the number of nurses employed
11 in this State or when the failure to fulfill the nurse educator
12 employment obligation results from total and permanent
13 disability. The repayment obligation shall be excused if the
14 failure to fulfill the nurse educator employment obligation
15 results from the death or adjudication as incompetent of the
16 person holding the scholarship. No claim for repayment may be
17 filed against the estate of such a decedent or incompetent.
18 The Department may allow a nurse educator employment
19 obligation fulfillment alternative if the nurse educator
20 scholarship recipient is unsuccessful in finding work as a
21 nurse educator. The Department shall maintain a database of
22 all available nurse educator positions in this State.
23 (e) Each person applying for a scholarship under this
24 Section must be provided with a copy of this Section at the
25 time of application for the benefits of this scholarship.
26 (f) Rulemaking authority to implement this Law Act is
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1 conditioned on the rules being adopted in accordance with all
2 provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and
3 all rules and procedures of the Joint Committee on
4 Administrative Rules; any purported rule not so adopted, for
5 whatever reason, is unauthorized.
6 (Source: P.A. 102-699, eff. 4-19-22; 102-1030, eff. 5-27-22;
7 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)
8 Section 15. The Nurse Practice Act is amended by changing
9 Section 70-50 as follows:
10 (225 ILCS 65/70-50) (was 225 ILCS 65/20-40)
11 (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)
12 Sec. 70-50. Fund.
13 (a) There is hereby created within the State Treasury the
14 Nursing Dedicated and Professional Fund. The monies in the
15 Fund may be used by and at the direction of the Department for
16 the administration and enforcement of this Act, including, but
17 not limited to:
18 (1) Distribution and publication of this Act and
19 rules.
20 (2) Employment of secretarial, nursing,
21 administrative, enforcement, and other staff for the
22 administration of this Act.
23 (b) Disposition of fees:
24 (1) $5 of every licensure fee shall be placed in a fund
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1 for assistance to nurses enrolled in a diversionary
2 program as approved by the Department.
3 (2) All of the fees, fines, and penalties collected
4 pursuant to this Act shall be deposited in the Nursing
5 Dedicated and Professional Fund.
6 (3) Each fiscal year, the moneys deposited in the
7 Nursing Dedicated and Professional Fund shall be
8 appropriated to the Department for expenses of the
9 Department and the Board in the administration of this
10 Act. All earnings received from investment of moneys in
11 the Nursing Dedicated and Professional Fund shall be
12 deposited in the Nursing Dedicated and Professional Fund
13 and shall be used for the same purposes as fees deposited
14 in the Fund.
15 (4) For fiscal years 2010 through 2022, $2,000,000 of
16 the moneys deposited in the Nursing Dedicated and
17 Professional Fund each year shall be set aside and
18 appropriated to the Department of Public Health for
19 nursing scholarships awarded pursuant to the Nursing
20 Education Scholarship Law. For fiscal years year 2023
21 through 2025 and for each fiscal year thereafter,
22 $4,000,000 of the moneys deposited in the Nursing
23 Dedicated and Professional Fund each year shall be set
24 aside and appropriated to the Illinois Student Assistance
25 Commission for nursing scholarships awarded pursuant to
26 the Nursing Education Scholarship Law. For fiscal year
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1 2026 and for each fiscal year thereafter, $6,000,000 of
2 the moneys deposited in the Nursing Dedicated and
3 Professional Fund each year shall be set aside and
4 appropriated to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission
5 for nursing scholarships awarded pursuant to the Nursing
6 Education Scholarship Law.
7 (5) Moneys in the Fund may be transferred to the
8 Professions Indirect Cost Fund as authorized under Section
9 2105-300 of the Department of Professional Regulation Law
10 (20 ILCS 2105/2105-300).
11 (c) Moneys set aside for nursing scholarships awarded
12 pursuant to the Nursing Education Scholarship Law as provided
13 in item (4) of subsection (b) of this Section may not be
14 transferred under Section 8h of the State Finance Act.
15 (Source: P.A. 102-699, eff. 4-19-22.)
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