74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 2230
Senate Bill 4
Sponsored by Senators MONNES ANDERSON, DEVLIN; Senators AVAKIAN,
BATES, BURDICK, CARTER, COURTNEY, METSGER, MORRISETTE, WALKER,
WESTLUND, Representatives BERGER, BONAMICI, BOONE, BRUUN,
ESQUIVEL, GARRARD, GELSER, GIROD, GREENLICK, HUNT, KRIEGER,
MERKLEY, ROBLAN, ROSENBAUM, SCHAUFLER, SCOTT, WITT
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Declares nursing workforce shortage. Includes increasing
nursing workforce as goal of Nursing Shortage Coalition
Committee. Authorizes committee to make grants for training and
retaining nursing faculty members. Renames Nursing Education
Grant Fund as Nursing Shortage Grant Fund.
Allows exception for nurses receiving service retirement
allowance to 1,040 hours of employment limitation by public
employer and to requirement that employee must be employed at
least half-time to be eligible to participate in group benefit
plan.
Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Nursing Shortage Grant
Fund.
Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Nursing Services
Program.
Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Portland State
University for Oregon Center for Nursing.
Declares emergency, effective July 1, 2007.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to nursing; creating new provisions; amending ORS
238.082, 243.105, 353.603, 353.609 and 353.612; appropriating
money; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. { + There is declared a nursing workforce shortage
in Oregon. The declaration of the nursing workforce shortage
shall remain in effect until the Governor suspends the
declaration by executive action. + }
SECTION 2. ORS 353.603 is amended to read:
353.603. (1) Oregon Health and Science University shall
distribute grants to post-secondary education institutions to
support nursing education programs based on the selections of the
Oregon Nursing Shortage Coalition Committee and in accordance
with appropriate university policies and procedures. If the
university is not able to distribute a grant to a post-secondary
education institution selected by the committee, the university
shall report to the committee the reason for not distributing the
grant.
(2) Grants distributed under this section to a community
college or state institution of higher education may be based on
an intergovernmental agreement entered into by Oregon Health and
Science University and the college or institution.
(3) Oregon Health and Science University may not use more than
{ - five - } { + three + } percent of the amount received from
the Nursing
{ - Education - } { + Shortage + } Grant Fund established in
ORS 353.612 for the grant program in any biennium for
administrative expenses incurred in administering ORS 353.600 to
353.612.
(4) Oregon Health and Science University may accept
contributions of funds and assistance from the United States
Government or its agencies, or from any other source, public or
private, and agree to conditions placed on the funds not
inconsistent with the purposes of ORS 353.600 to 353.612. The
university shall use funds and assistance received under this
subsection for grants distributed under this section or for
administering ORS 353.600 to 353.612.
(5) Oregon Health and Science University shall deposit moneys
received by the university for purposes of ORS 353.600 to 353.612
in the Nursing { - Education - } { + Shortage + } Grant Fund.
The total amount of grants distributed under this section may not
exceed the amount of moneys available for distribution in the
fund.
SECTION 3. ORS 353.609 is amended to read:
353.609. (1) The Oregon Nursing Shortage Coalition Committee
shall:
(a) Adopt criteria for awarding grants to post-secondary
education institutions under this section;
(b) Based on the criteria, select post-secondary education
institutions to receive grants to support nursing education
programs; and
(c) Determine the amounts of the grants to be distributed under
ORS 353.603.
(2) The goal of the committee in adopting criteria and
selecting grant recipients shall be to increase { + the nursing
workforce and + } the capacity of nursing education programs
statewide.
(3) The criteria adopted by the committee shall include, but
not be limited to, consideration for:
(a) Whether the grant funds will be used to increase the
capacity of a nursing education program;
(b) Whether the grant funds will be matched with funds from
other sources or used to leverage additional funds from other
sources;
(c) Ensuring that grant funds are awarded for nursing education
programs in both urban areas and rural areas of the state;
(d) Ensuring that grant funds are used to increase the capacity
for all levels of nursing education; and
(e) Ensuring that grant funds are used to increase the
diversity of people who enter nursing education programs,
including targeting underrepresented groups of people in the
nursing profession.
(4) The total amount of grants awarded by the committee may not
exceed the amount of moneys available for distribution as grants.
(5) A post-secondary education institution awarded a grant
under this section may use the grant funds to:
(a) Develop nursing education program infrastructure;
(b) Train { + and provide scholarships to students to
develop + } additional nurse educators;
{ + (c) Recruit and retain nursing faculty through grants for
student loan repayments, endowments to fund faculty positions and
salary bonuses for faculty members; + }
{ - (c) - } { + (d) + } Develop regional learning
laboratories;
{ - (d) - } { + (e) + } Provide technical support to
nursing education programs;
{ - (e) - } { + (f) + } Create learning materials that
supplement available faculty expertise;
{ - (f) - } { + (g) + } Coordinate student clinical
experiences statewide; and
{ - (g) - } { + (h) + } Expand the capacity of nursing
education programs to train new nurses across the state.
SECTION 4. ORS 353.612 is amended to read:
353.612. (1) The Nursing { - Education - } { + Shortage + }
Grant Fund is established separate and distinct from the General
Fund. All moneys received by the Oregon Department of
Administrative Services or Oregon Health and Science University
for purposes of ORS 353.600 to 353.612 shall be deposited into
the State Treasury and credited to the Nursing
{ - Education - } { + Shortage + } Grant Fund.
(2) Interest earned from the Nursing { - Education - }
{ + Shortage + } Grant Fund shall be credited to the fund.
(3) All moneys in the Nursing { - Education - } { +
Shortage + } Grant Fund are continuously appropriated to the
department for allocation to the university for the purposes of
ORS 353.600 to 353.612.
SECTION 5. { + Section 6 of this 2007 Act is added to and made
a part of ORS 353.600 to 353.612. + }
SECTION 6. { + If a state agency proposes to expend public
moneys to address nursing workforce shortages in Oregon, the
agency shall submit the proposal to the Oregon Nursing Shortage
Coalition Committee for approval prior to expending the
funds. + }
SECTION 7. ORS 243.105 is amended to read:
243.105. As used in ORS 243.105 to 243.285, unless the context
requires otherwise:
(1) 'Benefit plan' includes, but is not limited to:
(a) Contracts for insurance or other benefits, including
medical, dental, vision, life, disability and other health care
recognized by state law, and related services and supplies;
(b) Comparable benefits for employees who rely on spiritual
means of healing; and
(c) Self-insurance programs managed by the Public Employees'
Benefit Board.
(2) 'Board' means the Public Employees' Benefit Board.
(3) 'Carrier' means an insurance company or health care service
contractor holding a valid certificate of authority from the
Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, or
two or more companies or contractors acting together pursuant to
a joint venture, partnership or other joint means of operation,
or a board-approved guarantor of benefit plan coverage and
compensation.
(4)(a) 'Eligible employee' means an officer or employee of a
state agency who elects to participate in one of the group
benefit plans described in ORS 243.135. The term includes state
officers and employees in the exempt, unclassified and classified
service, and state officers and employees, whether or not
retired, who:
(A) Are receiving a service retirement allowance, a disability
retirement allowance or a pension under the Public Employees
Retirement System or are receiving a service retirement
allowance, a disability retirement allowance or a pension under
any other retirement or disability benefit plan or system offered
by the State of Oregon for its officers and employees;
(B) Are eligible to receive a service retirement allowance
under the Public Employees Retirement System and have reached
earliest retirement age under ORS chapter 238;
(C) Are eligible to receive a pension under ORS 238A.100 to
238A.245, and have reached earliest retirement age as described
in ORS 238A.165; or
(D) Are eligible to receive a service retirement allowance or
pension under another retirement benefit plan or system offered
by the State of Oregon and have attained earliest retirement age
under the plan or system.
(b) 'Eligible employee' does not include individuals:
(A) Engaged as independent contractors;
(B) Whose periods of employment in emergency work are on an
intermittent or irregular basis;
(C) Who are employed on less than half-time basis unless the
individuals are employed in positions classified as job-sharing
positions { - or - } { + , + } unless the individuals are
defined as eligible under rules of the board { + or unless the
individual is employed as a nurse or nursing educator + };
(D) Appointed under ORS 240.309;
(E) Provided sheltered employment or make-work by the state in
an employment or industries program maintained for the benefit of
such individuals; or
(F) Provided student health care services in conjunction with
their enrollment as students at the state institutions of higher
education.
(5) 'Family member' means an eligible employee's spouse and any
unmarried child or stepchild within age limits and other
conditions imposed by the board with regard to unmarried children
or stepchildren.
(6) 'Payroll disbursing officer' means the officer or official
authorized to disburse moneys in payment of salaries and wages of
employees of a state agency.
(7) 'Premium' means the monthly or other periodic charge for a
benefit plan.
(8) 'State agency' means every state officer, board,
commission, department or other activity of state government.
SECTION 8. ORS 238.082 is amended to read:
238.082. (1) Subject to the limitations in subsection (2) of
this section, any public employer may employ any person receiving
a service retirement allowance if the administrative head of such
employer is satisfied that such employment is in the public
interest.
(2) The period or periods of employment by one or more public
employers of any person receiving a service retirement allowance
may not total 1,040 hours or more in any calendar year; but if
the person is receiving old-age, survivors or disability
insurance benefits under the federal Social Security Act, the
person may be employed for the number of hours for which the
salary equals the maximum allowed for receipt of the full amount
of those benefits to which the person is entitled.
(3) The limitations on employment imposed by subsection (2) of
this section do not apply to a retired member who is employed as
a teacher or as an administrator, as those terms are defined in
ORS 342.120, if the retired member is employed by a school
district or education service district that has its
administrative office located within a county with a population
of not more than 35,000 inhabitants according to the latest
federal decennial census. A retired member who is employed as a
teacher, as defined in ORS 342.120, by the same public employer
that employed the member at the time of retirement remains in the
same collective bargaining unit that included the member before
retirement.
(4) The limitations on employment imposed by subsection (2) of
this section do not apply to a retired member who is employed:
(a) By the sheriff of a county with a population of fewer than
75,000 inhabitants, according to the latest federal decennial
census;
(b) By the municipal police department of a city with a
population of fewer than 15,000 inhabitants, according to the
latest federal decennial census;
(c) By the state or a county for work in a correctional
institution located in a county with a population of fewer than
75,000 inhabitants, according to the latest federal decennial
census;
(d) By the Black Butte Ranch Rural Fire Protection District,
the Black Butte Ranch Service District or the Sunriver Service
District; or
(e) By the Oregon State Police for work in a county with a
population of fewer than 75,000 inhabitants, according to the
latest federal decennial census.
(5) The limitations on employment imposed by subsection (2) of
this section do not apply to a retired member who is employed to
temporarily replace an employee who serves in the National Guard
or in a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United
States and who is called to federal active duty.
(6) The limitations on employment imposed by subsection (2) of
this section do not apply to a retired member who is employed by
a road assessment district organized under ORS 371.405 to
371.535.
{ + (7) The limitations on employment imposed by subsection
(2) of this section do not apply to a retired member who is a
nurse and is employed by a public employer as a nurse or for the
purpose of teaching nursing. + }
{ - (7) - } { + (8) + } Subsections (3) to { - (6) - }
{ + (7) + } of this section do not apply to any member who
retires under the provisions of ORS 238.280 (1) or (2).
{ - (8) - } { + (9) + } Employment under this section does
not affect the status of a person as a retired member of the
system and a recipient of retirement benefits under this chapter.
SECTION 9. { + There is appropriated to the Oregon Department
of Administrative Services, for the biennium beginning July 1,
2007, out of the General Fund, the amount of $2,000,000 for
deposit in the Nursing Shortage Grant Fund for the purpose of
recruiting and retaining nursing faculty under ORS 353.609. + }
SECTION 10. { + There is appropriated to the Department of
Higher Education, for the biennium beginning July 1, 2007, out of
the General Fund, the amount of $1,200,000 for distribution to
Portland State University for the Oregon Center for Nursing. + }
SECTION 11. { + There is appropriated to the Oregon Student
Assistance Commission, for the biennium beginning July 1, 2007,
out of the General Fund, the amount of $500,000 for the purpose
of the Nursing Services Program. + }
SECTION 12. { + This 2007 Act being necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an
emergency is declared to exist, and this 2007 Act takes effect
July 1, 2007. + }
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