Minnesota 2023-2024 Regular Session

Minnesota House Bill HF737 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1.1 A bill for an act
2	2	1.2 relating to higher education; establishing loan forgiveness and grants for home
3	3	1.3 care worker education; requiring reports; transferring money; appropriating money;
4	4	1.4 proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 136A.
5	5	1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
6	6	1.6 Section 1. [136A.1277] HOME CARE WORKER GRANTS.
7	7	1.7 Subdivision 1.Establishment.The commissioner of the Office of Higher Education
8	8	1.8must establish a grant program for students working as home care workers.
9	9	1.9 Subd. 2.Eligibility.(a) To be eligible for a grant under this section, a student must:
10	10	1.10 (1) be enrolled at an eligible institution in a two- or four-year postsecondary program
11	11	1.11that leads to a degree;
12	12	1.12 (2) have been employed as a home care worker no less than an average of ten hours per
13	13	1.13week during the two months prior to applying for the grant;
14	14	1.14 (3) agree to continue working as a home care worker no less than an average of ten hours
15	15	1.15per week during the academic period for which the grant is awarded;
16	16	1.16 (4) demonstrate financial need based on criteria established by the commissioner under
17	17	1.17subdivision 3; and
18	18	1.18 (5) have made satisfactory academic progress as defined under section 136A.101,
19	19	1.19subdivision 10.
20	20	1Section 1.
21	21	REVISOR DTT/RC 23-0059212/09/22
22	22	State of Minnesota
23	23	This Document can be made available
24	24	in alternative formats upon request
25	25	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
26	26	H. F. No. 737
27	27	NINETY-THIRD SESSION 2.1 (b) For purposes of this section, "home care worker" means an individual who is a
28	28	2.2personal care assistant as defined in section 256B.0659, or a support worker as defined in
29	29	2.3section 256B.85.
30	30	2.4 Subd. 3.Administration.(a) The commissioner must establish an application process
31	31	2.5and other guidelines for implementing this program. The commissioner must notify grant
32	32	2.6recipients of their award amounts by the following dates:
33	33	2.7 (1) for fall academic periods, recipients must be notified by August 15;
34	34	2.8 (2) for spring academic periods, recipients must be notified by December 1; and
35	35	2.9 (3) for summer academic periods, recipients must be notified by May 1.
36	36	2.10These notification deadlines do not apply in cases where grants are awarded to home care
37	37	2.11workers who applied after application deadlines and grant money was available after the
38	38	2.12initial round of grants were awarded.
39	39	2.13 (b) Each academic year, the commissioner must determine each grant amount up to
40	40	2.14$5,000 based on available funding, the number of eligible applicants, and the financial need
41	41	2.15of each applicant.
42	42	2.16 (c) The commissioner must give equal consideration to all eligible applicants regardless
43	43	2.17of the order that the application was received in before the application deadline.
44	44	2.18 (d) If there is insufficient grant money to provide a grant to all eligible applicants, the
45	45	2.19commissioner shall prioritize the grants to eligible applicants based on:
46	46	2.20 (1) the financial need of an applicant; and
47	47	2.21 (2) the statewide distribution of grant money.
48	48	2.22 Subd. 4.Reporting.By February 15 of each year, the commissioner must submit a
49	49	2.23report on the details of the program under this section to the legislative committees with
50	50	2.24jurisdiction over higher education and human services finance and policy. The report must
51	51	2.25include the following information:
52	52	2.26 (1) the number of eligible applicants and the number of home care workers receiving a
53	53	2.27grant, each broken down by postsecondary institution;
54	54	2.28 (2) the total number of grants, the total dollar amount of all grants, and the average grant
55	55	2.29amount; and
56	56	2.30 (3) other summary data identified by the commissioner as outcome indicators.
57	57	2Section 1.
58	58	REVISOR DTT/RC 23-0059212/09/22 3.1 Sec. 2. [136A.1786] HOME CARE WORKER LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM.
59	59	3.2 Subdivision 1.Definitions.(a) For purposes of this section, the terms in this subdivision
60	60	3.3have the meanings given.
61	61	3.4 (b) "Home care worker" means an individual who is a personal care assistant as defined
62	62	3.5in section 256B.0659 or a support worker as defined in section 256B.85.
63	63	3.6 (c) "Qualified education loan" means a government, commercial, or foundation loan
64	64	3.7used by an individual for actual costs paid for tuition and reasonable educational and living
65	65	3.8expenses related to the postsecondary education of the home care worker.
66	66	3.9 Subd. 2.Creation of account.(a) A home care worker loan forgiveness program account
67	67	3.10is established in the special revenue fund to provide home care workers with financial
68	68	3.11assistance in repaying qualified education loans. The commissioner must use money from
69	69	3.12the account to establish and administer the home care worker loan forgiveness program.
70	70	3.13 (b) Money in the home care worker loan forgiveness program account is appropriated
71	71	3.14to the commissioner for purposes of this section, does not cancel, and is available until
72	72	3.15expended.
73	73	3.16 Subd. 3.Eligibility.To be eligible to participate in the loan forgiveness program under
74	74	3.17this section, an individual must:
75	75	3.18 (1) have been employed as a home care worker at least an average of two hours per week
76	76	3.19for the six months prior to application;
77	77	3.20 (2) have qualified education loans;
78	78	3.21 (3) reside in Minnesota; and
79	79	3.22 (4) submit an application to the commissioner in the form and manner prescribed by the
80	80	3.23commissioner.
81	81	3.24 Subd. 4.Loan forgiveness.(a) The commissioner may select eligible applicants each
82	82	3.25year for participation in the home care worker loan forgiveness program, within the limits
83	83	3.26of available funding. Applicants are responsible for securing their own qualified education
84	84	3.27loans.
85	85	3.28 (b) For each year that the participant meets the eligibility requirements under subdivision
86	86	3.293, the commissioner must make annual disbursements directly to a home care worker equal
87	87	3.30to the least of (1) $200 times the average weekly number of hours worked in the preceding
88	88	3.31year as a home care worker, (2) $3,000, or (3) the balance of the participant's qualified
89	89	3Sec. 2.
90	90	REVISOR DTT/RC 23-0059212/09/22 4.1education loans. An individual may receive disbursements under this section for a maximum
91	91	4.2of five years.
92	92	4.3 (c) The participant must provide the commissioner with verification that the full amount
93	93	4.4of the loan repayment disbursement received by the participant has been applied toward a
94	94	4.5qualified education loan. After each disbursement, verification must be received by the
95	95	4.6commissioner and approved before the next repayment disbursement is made.
96	96	4.7 (d) If the participant receives a disbursement in the participant's fifth year of eligibility
97	97	4.8or ceases to qualify for additional disbursements, the participant must provide the
98	98	4.9commissioner with verification that the full amount of the participant's final loan repayment
99	99	4.10disbursement was applied toward a qualified education loan. If a participant does not provide
100	100	4.11the verification as required under this paragraph within 12 months of receipt of the final
101	101	4.12disbursement, the commissioner must collect from the participant the amount paid in the
102	102	4.13last disbursement to the participant under the loan forgiveness program plus interest at a
103	103	4.14rate established according to section 270C.40. The commissioner must deposit the money
104	104	4.15collected in the home care worker loan forgiveness program account.
105	105	4.16 Sec. 3. APPROPRIATIONS; HOME CARE WORKER GRANTS.
106	106	4.17 $....... in fiscal year 2024 and $ ....... in fiscal year 2025 are appropriated from the general
107	107	4.18fund to the commissioner of the Office of Higher Education for home care worker grants
108	108	4.19under Minnesota Statutes, section 136A.1277. The commissioner may use up to five percent
109	109	4.20of this appropriation to administer the program. $....... is added to the base for fiscal year
110	110	4.212026 and later.
111	111	4.22 Sec. 4. TRANSFER; HOME CARE WORKER LOAN FORGIVENESS.
112	112	4.23 $....... in fiscal year 2024 and $....... in fiscal year 2025 are transferred from the general
113	113	4.24fund to the home care worker loan forgiveness program account established in Minnesota
114	114	4.25Statutes, section 136A.1786, subdivision 2. This transfer is added to the base for fiscal year
115	115	4.262026 and later. The commissioner of the Office of Higher Education may use up to five
116	116	4.27percent of the amount transferred in this section to administer the loan forgiveness program.
117	117	4Sec. 4.
118	118	REVISOR DTT/RC 23-0059212/09/22