NM
New Mexico House Bill HB512

New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

New Mexico House Bill HB512 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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2828 HOUSE BILL 512
2929 57
3030 TH LEGISLATURE
3131 -
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3333 STATE
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3535 OF
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3737 NEW
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3939 MEXICO
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4242 FIRST SESSION
4343 ,
4444
4545 2025
4646 INTRODUCED BY
4747 Gail Armstrong and Alan T. Martinez and Tanya Mirabal Moya
4848 and Mark Duncan and Mark B. Murphy
4949 AN ACT
5050 RELATING TO HIGHER EDUCATION; ENACTING THE MEDICAL RESIDENCY
5151 LOAN REPAYMENT ACT; GRANTING LOAN REPAYMENT AWARDS TO CERTAIN
5252 MEDICAL RESIDENTS AND MEDICAL FELLOWS; PROVIDING FOR CONTRACTS,
5353 CONTRACT CANCELLATIONS AND CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT; CREATING A
5454 FUND; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
5555 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
5656 SECTION 1. A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is
5757 enacted to read:
5858 "[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the
5959 "Medical Residency Loan Repayment Act"."
6060 SECTION 2. A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is
6161 enacted to read:
6262 "[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Medical
6363 Residency Loan Repayment Act:
6464 .230520.1 underscored material = new
6565 [bracketed material] = delete
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9191 A. "applicant" means a person applying for an
9292 award;
9393 B. "award" means the grant of money to repay loans;
9494 C. "department" means the higher education
9595 department;
9696 D. "fund" means the medical residency loan
9797 repayment fund;
9898 E. "loan" means a grant of money pursuant to a
9999 contract between a medical resident or a medical fellow and the
100100 federal government, the state government or a commercial lender
101101 to defray the costs incidental to an undergraduate or medical
102102 education and that requires either repayment of principal and
103103 interest or repayment in services;
104104 F. "medical fellow" means an individual who has
105105 completed a medical fellowship in an institution of higher
106106 education in New Mexico;
107107 G. "medical resident" means an individual who has
108108 completed a medical residency in an institution of higher
109109 education in New Mexico; and
110110 H. "program" means the medical residency loan
111111 repayment program, which provides money to repay undergraduate
112112 education student loans and loans for medical training."
113113 SECTION 3. A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is
114114 enacted to read:
115115 "[NEW MATERIAL] POWERS AND DUTIES.--The department may:
116116 .230520.1
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144144 A. grant an award to repay loans obtained for
145145 undergraduate education and medical training obtained by a
146146 medical resident or medical fellow upon such terms and
147147 conditions as may be imposed by rule of the department; and
148148 B. delegate to other agencies or contract for the
149149 performance of services required by the program."
150150 SECTION 4. A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is
151151 enacted to read:
152152 "[NEW MATERIAL] AWARDS--CRITERIA--CONTRACT TERMS.--
153153 A. An applicant shall have completed a medical
154154 residency or medical fellowship program before applying for an
155155 award and agreed to work as a physician in New Mexico for five
156156 consecutive years upon receiving an award.
157157 B. Prior to receiving an award, a medical resident
158158 or medical fellow shall file an application with the department
159159 that meets the criteria established by rule of the department.
160160 C. An award recipient shall certify on at least an
161161 annual basis the recipient's continued employment as a
162162 physician practicing medicine in New Mexico.
163163 D. The following debts are not eligible for
164164 repayment pursuant to the Medical Residency Loan Repayment Act:
165165 (1) amounts incurred as a result of
166166 participation in state loan-for-service programs or other
167167 state programs the purposes of which state that service be
168168 provided in exchange for financial assistance;
169169 .230520.1
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197197 (2) scholarships that have a service component
198198 or obligation;
199199 (3) personal loans from friends or relatives;
200200 (4) loans that exceed individual standard
201201 school expense levels; and
202202 (5) loans that are eligible for another state
203203 or federal loan repayment program.
204204 E. Award criteria shall provide that:
205205 (1) the applicant shall have graduated from a
206206 medical school accredited by the liaison committee on medical
207207 education or the commission on osteopathic college
208208 accreditation;
209209 (2) the applicant shall be licensed to
210210 practice in New Mexico as a licensed physician;
211211 (3) the applicant shall have completed a
212212 medical residency or post-residency fellowship program offered
213213 by a New Mexico medical school within the year prior to
214214 submitting the application;
215215 (4) the applicant agrees to practice medicine
216216 in New Mexico for a minimum of five consecutive years upon
217217 receiving an award;
218218 (5) award amounts may be modified based on
219219 available funding or other special circumstances; and
220220 (6) an award for an approved applicant shall
221221 be in an annual amount to repay the applicant's loan
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250250 indebtedness within three years.
251251 F. Every loan repayment award shall be evidenced by
252252 a contract between the medical resident or medical fellow and
253253 the department on behalf of the state. The contract shall
254254 provide for the payment by the state of a stated sum to the
255255 medical resident's or medical fellow's federal government
256256 lender, state government lender or commercial lender and shall
257257 state the obligations of the medical resident or medical fellow
258258 under the program as established by the department.
259259 G. A contract between a medical resident or medical
260260 fellow and the department shall provide that if the medical
261261 resident or medical fellow does not comply with the terms of
262262 the contract, the medical resident or medical fellow shall
263263 reimburse the department for all loan payments made on the
264264 medical resident's or medical fellow's behalf plus
265265 reasonable interest at a rate to be determined by the
266266 department unless the department finds acceptable extenuating
267267 circumstances for why the medical resident or medical fellow
268268 cannot serve or comply with the terms of the contract.
269269 H. Awards shall be in the form of payments from the
270270 fund directly to the federal government lender, state
271271 government lender or commercial lender for a medical resident
272272 or medical fellow who has received the award and shall be
273273 considered a payment on behalf of the medical resident or
274274 medical fellow pursuant to the contract between the department
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303303 and the medical resident or medical fellow. An award shall not
304304 obligate the state or the department to a medical resident's or
305305 medical fellow's lender for any other payment and shall not be
306306 considered to create any privity of contract between the state
307307 or the department and the lender.
308308 I. The department shall adopt rules to implement
309309 the provisions of the Medical Residency Loan Repayment Act.
310310 The rules:
311311 (1) shall provide a procedure for determining
312312 the amount of the loan that will be repaid; and
313313 (2) may provide for the disbursement of awards
314314 to the lender in annual or other periodic installments."
315315 SECTION 5. A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is
316316 enacted to read:
317317 "[NEW MATERIAL] CONTRACTS--ENFORCEMENT--CANCELLATION.--
318318 A. The general form of a contract required pursuant
319319 to the Medical Residency Loan Repayment Act shall be
320320 prepared and approved by the department's general counsel, and
321321 each contract shall be signed by the medical resident or
322322 medical fellow and the secretary of higher education or the
323323 secretary's authorized representative on behalf of the state.
324324 The department is vested with full and complete authority and
325325 power to sue in its own name for any balance due to the state
326326 from a medical resident or medical fellow under a loan
327327 repayment contract.
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356356 B. The department may cancel a contract made
357357 between the department and a medical resident or medical fellow
358358 pursuant to the Medical Residency Loan Repayment Act for any
359359 reasonable cause deemed sufficient by the department."
360360 SECTION 6. A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is
361361 enacted to read:
362362 "[NEW MATERIAL] MEDICAL RESIDENCY LOAN REPAYMENT
363363 FUND CREATED.--The "medical residency loan repayment fund" is
364364 created in the state treasury. The fund consists of
365365 appropriations, repayment of awards and interest received by
366366 the department, income from investment of the fund, gifts,
367367 grants and donations. The fund shall be administered by the
368368 department, and money in the fund is appropriated to the
369369 department to make awards pursuant to the Medical Residency
370370 Loan Repayment Act. Money in the fund at the end of a fiscal
371371 year shall not revert to any other fund. All payments for
372372 awards shall be made on warrants of the secretary of finance
373373 and administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the secretary
374374 of higher education or the secretary's authorized
375375 representative."
376376 SECTION 7. A new section of Chapter 21 NMSA 1978 is
377377 enacted to read:
378378 "[NEW MATERIAL] REPORTS.--The department shall submit
379379 annual reports to the governor and the legislature prior to
380380 each regular legislative session of the department's
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409409 activities, the awards granted and the job title and duties of
410410 each loan recipient. The report shall also include any
411411 contract cancellations and enforcement actions the department
412412 has taken."
413413 SECTION 8. APPROPRIATION.--Three million dollars
414414 ($3,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the
415415 medical residency loan repayment fund for expenditure in fiscal
416416 year 2026 and subsequent fiscal years for the purposes of the
417417 medical residency loan repayment fund. Any unexpended or
418418 unencumbered balance remaining at the end of a fiscal year
419419 shall not revert to the general fund.
420420 SECTION 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
421421 provisions of this act is July 1, 2025.
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