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HOUSE BILL 375
57
TH LEGISLATURE
-
STATE
OF
NEW
MEXICO
-
FIRST SESSION
,
2025
INTRODUCED BY
Joanne J. Ferrary and Eleanor Chávez and Jenifer Jones
and Linda M. López and Kathleen Cates
AN ACT
RELATING TO HIGHER EDUCATION; ENACTING THE GRADUATE BEHAVIORAL
HEALTH SCHOLARSHIP ACT TO PROVIDE DEBT-FREE EDUCATION TO
ELIGIBLE GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO ARE STUDYING TO BECOME
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS; REQUIRING THE HIGHER EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT TO ADMINISTER THE GRADUATE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be
cited as the "Graduate Behavioral Health Scholarship Act".
SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the
Graduate Behavioral Health Scholarship Act:
A. "academic year" means any consecutive period of
two semesters, three quarters or other comparable units
commencing with the fall term each year;
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B. "department" means the higher education
department;
C. "eligible institution" means any graduate-
degree-granting institution of higher education that is
enumerated in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New
Mexico;
D. "eligible student" means a person enrolled in a
graduate behavioral health degree program at an eligible
institution who:
(1) has not earned a master's or doctoral
degree from a graduate behavioral health degree program at the
time the scholarship is awarded;
(2) remains in good academic standing as
determined by the eligible institution where the eligible
student is enrolled;
(3) is enrolled as a full-time graduate
student as determined by the eligible institution where the
eligible student is enrolled; and
(4) has complied with other rules promulgated
by the department to carry out the provisions of the Graduate
Behavioral Health Scholarship Act;
E. "graduate behavioral health degree program"
means a program of study intended to result in a master's or
higher degree or certification in the field of:
(1) counseling;
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(2) psychiatric nursing;
(3) nurse practitioner or physician assistant
in addiction medicine;
(4) psychology; or
(5) social work; and
F. "scholarship" means the graduate behavioral
health scholarship.
SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] GRADUATE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
SCHOLARSHIP FUND CREATED.--The "graduate behavioral health
scholarship fund" is created as a nonreverting fund in the
state treasury, consisting of income from investment of the
fund and any specified distributions, appropriations, gifts,
grants and donations to the fund. The fund shall be
administered by the higher education department, and money in
the fund is appropriated to the higher education department for
the purposes of providing scholarships pursuant to the Graduate
Behavioral Health Scholarship Act. Expenditures from the fund
shall be by warrant of the secretary of finance and
administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the secretary of
higher education or the secretary's authorized representative.
SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] SCHOLARSHIP CREATED--
ADMINISTRATION.--
A. Scholarships shall be awarded to eligible
students in an amount not to exceed one hundred percent of the
costs of tuition, school fees, books, licensing application
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fees and initial licensing fees after all other state financial
aid has been applied.
B. The department shall administer the Graduate
Behavioral Health Scholarship Act and shall promulgate rules to
carry out the provisions of that act.
C. An eligible student may only be awarded a
scholarship for one graduate behavioral health degree program.
D. Prior to June 1 of each year, based on the
amount appropriated by the legislature from the graduate
behavioral health scholarship fund and on the projected
enrollment of eligible students at eligible institutions, the
department shall:
(1) determine the total amount of money
available for scholarships; and
(2) distribute to each eligible institution an
amount based on the projected enrollment in graduate behavioral
health degree programs at each eligible institution; provided
that the amount shall not exceed the remaining balance of the
graduate behavioral health scholarship fund.
E. Prior to receiving a scholarship, an eligible
student shall commit to practice in New Mexico for as many
years as the eligible student receives a scholarship. The
commitment shall be evidenced by a contract between the
eligible student and the department.
F. If an eligible student graduates from a graduate
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behavioral health degree program and fails to fulfill the
contractual commitment to practice in New Mexico, the
department shall assess a penalty of up to three times the
amount of the value of the scholarship awarded to the student,
unless the department finds acceptable extenuating
circumstances for why the eligible student cannot fulfill the
commitment.
SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] DURATION OF SCHOLARSHIP.--
A. Each scholarship is for a period of one academic
year.
B. Scholarships may be provided to an eligible
student until the eligible student completes a graduate
behavioral health degree program.
SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] TERMINATION OF SCHOLARSHIP.--A
scholarship is terminated upon the occurrence of:
A. withdrawal of the eligible student from the
eligible institution;
B. failure of the eligible student to achieve
satisfactory academic progress set by the eligible institution
where the eligible student is enrolled; or
C. substantial noncompliance by the eligible
student with the Graduate Behavioral Health Scholarship Act or
the rules promulgated pursuant to that act.
SECTION 7. [NEW MATERIAL] DEPARTMENT RULEMAKING AND
REPORTING.--
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A. The department shall promulgate rules setting
forth explicit criteria in accordance with the Graduate
Behavioral Health Scholarship Act for:
(1) student eligibility; and
(2) calculating the total amount of money
necessary to pay for scholarships at each eligible institution.
B. The department shall report by November 1 of
each year to the legislative finance committee, the legislative
health and human services committee and the department of
finance and administration on the:
(1) status of the graduate behavioral health
scholarship fund; and
(2) aggregated data for each eligible
institution that shows the:
(a) number of eligible students who
received scholarships in the prior academic year;
(b) total number of students enrolled in
graduate behavioral health degree programs in the prior
academic year; and
(c) number of eligible students who
graduated with a degree from a graduate behavioral health
degree program in the prior academic year.
SECTION 8. APPROPRIATION.--
A. Ten million dollars ($10,000,000) is
appropriated from the general fund to the graduate behavioral
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health scholarship fund for expenditure in fiscal year 2026 and
subsequent fiscal years to:
(1) provide scholarships to eligible students;
and
(2) provide the higher education department
with up to one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) to
administer the fund and make reports required by the Graduate
Behavioral Health Scholarship Act.
B. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining
at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the general
fund.
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