Full Text of SB0387 095th General Assembly
SB0387enr 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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SB0387 Enrolled |
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| AN ACT concerning education.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Loan | 5 |
| Repayment Assistance for Dentists Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to establish | 7 |
| a program in the Department of Public Health to increase the | 8 |
| total number of dentists and dental specialists practicing in | 9 |
| designated shortage areas in this State by providing | 10 |
| educational loan repayment assistance grants to dentists and | 11 |
| dental specialists. | 12 |
| Section 10. Definitions. In this Act, unless the context | 13 |
| otherwise requires: | 14 |
| "Dental payments" means compensation provided to dentists | 15 |
| and dental specialists for services rendered under Article V of | 16 |
| the Illinois Public Aid Code. | 17 |
| "Dental specialist" means a person who has received a | 18 |
| license as a dentist in this State and who is trained and | 19 |
| qualified to practice in one or more of the following | 20 |
| specialties of dentistry: endodontics, oral and maxillofacial | 21 |
| surgery, orthodontics, pedodontics, periodontics, and | 22 |
| prosthodontics. |
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| "Dentist" means a person who has received a general license | 2 |
| pursuant to paragraph (a) of Section 11 of the Illinois Dental | 3 |
| Practice Act, who may perform any intraoral and extraoral | 4 |
| procedure required in the practice of dentistry, and to whom is | 5 |
| reserved the responsibilities specified in Section 17 of the | 6 |
| Illinois Dental Practice Act. | 7 |
| "Department" means the Department of Public Health. | 8 |
| "Designated shortage area" means a medically underserved | 9 |
| area or health manpower shortage area as defined by the United | 10 |
| States Department of Health and Human Services or as otherwise | 11 |
| designated by the Department of Public Health. | 12 |
| "Educational loans" means higher education student loans | 13 |
| that a person has incurred in attending a registered | 14 |
| professional dental education program in this State. | 15 |
| "Program" means the educational loan repayment assistance | 16 |
| program for dentists and dental specialists established by the | 17 |
| Department under this Act. | 18 |
| Section 15. Establishment of program. The Department shall | 19 |
| establish an educational loan repayment assistance program for | 20 |
| dentists and dental specialists who practice in designated | 21 |
| shortage areas in this State and who accept certain dental | 22 |
| payments as defined under this Act. The Department shall | 23 |
| administer the program and make all necessary and proper rules | 24 |
| not inconsistent with this Act for the program's effective | 25 |
| implementation. The Department may use up to 5% of the |
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| appropriation for this program for administration and | 2 |
| promotion of dentist and dental specialist incentive programs. | 3 |
| Section 20. Application. Beginning July 1, 2007, the | 4 |
| Department shall, each year, consider 4 applications for | 5 |
| assistance under the program. The form of application and the | 6 |
| information required to be set forth in the application shall | 7 |
| be determined by the Department, and the Department shall | 8 |
| require applicants to submit with their applications such | 9 |
| supporting documents as the Department deems necessary. | 10 |
| Section 25. Eligibility. To be eligible for assistance | 11 |
| under the program, an applicant must meet all of the following | 12 |
| qualifications: | 13 |
| (1) He or she must be a citizen or permanent resident
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| of the United States.
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| (2) He or she must be a resident of this State. | 16 |
| (3) He or she must be practicing full time in
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| State as a dentist or dental specialist.
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| (4) He or she must currently be repaying educational
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| loans.
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| (5) He or she must accept dental payments as defined in | 21 |
| this Act. | 22 |
| (6) He or she must continue full-time practice in this | 23 |
| State in a designated shortage area for 2 years. |
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SB0387 Enrolled |
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| Section 30. The award of grants. Under the program, for | 2 |
| each year that a qualified applicant practices full time in | 3 |
| this State in a designated shortage area as a dentist or dental | 4 |
| specialist, the Department shall, subject to appropriation, | 5 |
| award a grant to that person in an amount equal to the amount | 6 |
| in educational loans that the person must repay that year. | 7 |
| However, the total amount in grants that a person may be | 8 |
| awarded under the program must not exceed $25,000 per year for | 9 |
| a 4-year period. The Department shall require recipients to use | 10 |
| the grants to pay off their educational loans. | 11 |
| Section 35. Penalty for failure to fulfill obligation. Loan | 12 |
| repayment recipients who fail to practice full time in a | 13 |
| designated shortage area, as provided in this Act, shall repay | 14 |
| the Department a sum equal to the amount received under the | 15 |
| program, plus interest.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | 17 |
| 2007.
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