SENATE BILL 11
57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026
INTRODUCED BY
Linda M. López and Micaelita Debbie O’Malley and Cindy Nava
and Angel M. Charley and Antoinette Sedillo Lopez
AN ACT
RELATING TO HIGHER EDUCATION; ENACTING THE NURSE LOAN REPAYMENT ACT; PROVIDING POWERS AND DUTIES; ESTABLISHING SELECTION CRITERIA AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS; PROVIDING FOR CONTRACTS BETWEEN RECIPIENTS AND THE HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT; CREATING A FUND; PRESCRIBING A PENALTY; 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 "Nurse Loan Repayment Act".
SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Nurse Loan Repayment Act:
A. "award" means the loan repayment award granted to a recipient;
B. "committee" means the nurse selection committee;
C. "department" means the higher education department;
D. "designated underserved area" means a municipality or county designated by the committee that does not have a sufficient number of nurses for the needs of the service area;
E. "loan" means a grant of money to defray the cost of tuition and fees for a nursing education pursuant to a contract between the federal government or a commercial lender and a nursing student requiring repayment of principal and interest;
F. "nurse" means a person licensed as a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse pursuant to the Nursing Practice Act; and
G. "recipient" means a nurse selected to participate in the nurse loan repayment program.
SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] DEPARTMENT--POWERS AND DUTIES--DESIGNATED UNDERSERVED AREAS--COMMITTEE--ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION--APPLICANT QUALIFICATIONS.--
A. The department may:
(1) promulgate rules to implement the provisions of the Nurse Loan Repayment Act, including the factors to be used to identify designated underserved areas of the state;
(2) delegate to other agencies or contract for the performance of services required by the Nurse Loan Repayment Act; and
(3) grant an award to repay loans to a recipient on such terms and conditions as determined by rule of the department.
B. The department, delegated agency or contractor shall participate in any federal programs that support the repayment of education loans incurred by nurses and agree to the conditions of a federal program.
C. The department shall appoint an ongoing "nurse selection committee" composed of the secretary of health care authority, the secretary of health, the dean of the New Mexico college of nursing producing the highest number of graduates and the chair of the board of nursing, or their respective designees, who all serve ex officio. The committee shall:
(1) identify designated underserved areas of the state and rank them as to need; and
(2) assist the department in determining eligibility and selection criteria for applicants and recipients.
D. An applicant shall:
(1) be a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States;
(2) be licensed as a nurse in New Mexico; and
(3) either:
(a) provide nursing services in designated underserved areas; or
(b) be employed as a faculty member in clinical nursing or serve as a nursing student preceptor for a post-secondary educational institution in New Mexico offering nursing degrees or certifications.
E. The department, with the assistance of the board of nursing, shall make a full and careful investigation of the training, ability, character and other pertinent qualifications of each applicant and determine fitness to be a recipient.
F. The board of nursing shall maintain and make available on a public website a database of employment opportunities for nurses in designated underserved areas.
SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] AWARD CRITERIA--CONTRACT--TERMS--PAYMENT--PENALTY.--
A. Award criteria shall provide that:
(1) preference in making awards shall be to persons who have graduated from a post-secondary educational institution that gives preferential enrollment to New Mexico residents;
(2) award amounts may be modified based on available funding or other special circumstances;
(3) an award shall not exceed the total nursing education indebtedness of the recipient; and
(4) awards shall be paid on an annual basis over a period not to exceed four years.
B. The following education debts are not eligible for repayment pursuant to the Nurse Loan Repayment Act:
(1) amounts incurred as a result of participation in state loan-for-service programs or other state financial aid programs that require that service be provided in exchange for financial assistance;
(2) scholarships;
(3) personal loans; and
(4) loans that exceed individual standard school expense levels.
C. The award shall be evidenced by a contract between the recipient and the department acting on behalf of the state. The general form of the contract required shall be approved by the attorney general and signed by the recipient and the department or the designated representative of the department on behalf of the state.
D. The contract shall provide for the payment by the state of a stated sum to the recipient's debtors and shall state the obligations of the recipient under the program, including a minimum four-year period of service, quarterly reporting requirements and any other obligations established by department rule.
E. Recipients shall serve a complete calendar year in order to receive credit for that year. The annual award shall be established by the department but shall not exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) for each of the first two years and ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each of the second two years, for a total not to exceed thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) over a total of not more than four years per contract; provided, however, that a recipient may apply for a second four-year contract.
F. If a recipient does not comply with the terms of the contract, the department shall assess a penalty of up to the amount of the award disbursed plus fifteen percent interest, unless the department finds acceptable extenuating circumstances as to why the recipient cannot serve or comply with the terms of the contract. If the department does not find acceptable extenuating circumstances for the recipient's failure to comply with the contract, the department shall require immediate repayment plus the amount of the penalty.
G. A recipient of an award shall not be in violation of the recipient's contract if the recipient transitions to part-time employment, which part-time employment shall be at least fifty percent of full-time employment. A recipient who transitions to part-time employment shall be required to extend the recipient's contract for the period of time necessary to make up for the time period of less-than- full-time employment due to the part-time employment.
H. The department shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of this section. The rules may provide for the disbursement of awards to the lenders of recipients in annual or other periodic installments.
SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] CONTRACT CANCELLATION--ENFORCEMENT.--
A. The department may cancel the contract between the department and the nurse for any reasonable cause deemed sufficient by the department.
B. A decision regarding the cancellation of a contract is a final agency decision and may be appealed to the district court as provided in Section 39-3-1.1 NMSA 1978.
C. The department is vested with full and complete authority and power to sue in its own name for the balance due the state from any recipient on a loan repayment contract.
SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] FUND CREATED.--The "nurse loan repayment fund" is created as a nonreverting fund in the state treasury. The fund consists of appropriations, gifts, grants, donations and income from investment of the fund. Money in the fund is appropriated to the department to make awards to recipients who are in compliance with the recipients' contracts, the Nurse Loan Repayment Act and rules promulgated in accordance with that act. Expenditures from the fund shall be on 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 7. [NEW MATERIAL] REPORTS.--The department shall make annual reports to the governor and the legislature prior to each regular legislative session of the department's activities, including cohort data and annual and total program data that shows:
A. the number and amount of awards given;
B. the service period completion rate of recipients in the program and, as of the date of the report, the number of recipients who completed the program and remain in New Mexico and the number of those recipients who are practicing in a designated underserved area;
C. the amounts repaid and amounts owed on educational loans and the total number and total amount of penalties assessed against and collected from recipients who left the program;
D. the service locations of current and former recipients in New Mexico;
E. for each designated underserved area in the state, the number of recipients who are serving or have served in the area and whether there are recipients who are not employed or not employed full time in the area; and
F. other information determined by the department.
SECTION 8. APPROPRIATION.--Five million dollars ($5,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the nurse loan repayment fund for expenditure in fiscal year 2027 and subsequent fiscal years to carry out the purposes of the fund. Any unexpended balance remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund.
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