Provides loan redemption for certain veterinarians who work at approved site for five years; annually appropriates $500,000.

A4472

ASSEMBLY, No. 4472

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 24, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Scharfenberger

SYNOPSIS

���� Provides loan redemption for certain veterinarians
who work at approved site for five years; annually appropriates $500,000.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning loan redemption for certain veterinarians
and supplementing chapter 71C of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

����� 1.�� a.
There is established a Veterinary Medicine Loan Redemption Program within the
Higher Education Student Assistance Authority to provide for the redemption of
eligible qualifying loan expenses of program participants who work in the State
for five years of service at an approved site in the State.

����� b.�
The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the New Jersey Horse
Council, the New Jersey Association of Equine Practitioners, and the New Jersey
Farm Bureau, shall annually establish a list of State designated veterinary
underserved areas.� The Secretary of Agriculture shall transmit the list of
State designated veterinary underserved areas to the authority by January 1 of
each year, except that the first list shall be transmitted not later than 90
days after the effective date of this act.

����� 2.�� As
used in this act:

����� "Approved
site" means a site located within a State designated veterinary
underserved area or within five miles of a State designated veterinary
underserved area.

����� "Authority"
means the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.

����� "Eligible
qualifying loan expenses" means the cumulative outstanding balance of
student loans covering the cost of attendance in an undergraduate degree
program of an institution of higher education and a graduate degree program of
an accredited school of veterinary medicine, including the following: tuition;
educational expenses and fees; and room and board.� Interest paid or due on
qualifying loans that an applicant has taken out for use in paying the cost of
attendance in an undergraduate degree program of an institution of higher
education and a graduate degree program of an accredited school of veterinary
medicine shall be considered an eligible qualifying loan expense for
reimbursement under the program.

����� "Executive
director" means the executive director of the Higher Education Student
Assistance Authority.

����� �Full-time�
means a minimum of 40 hours per week for a minimum of 45 weeks per year.

����� �Half-time�
means a minimum of 20 hours per week, not to exceed 39 hours per week, for a
minimum of 45 weeks per year.

�������
"Loan redemption benefits" mean any
benefits provided to a program participant under the Veterinary Medicine Loan
Redemption Program established pursuant to this act.

����� "Loan
redemption program" or "program" means the Veterinary Medicine
Loan Redemption Program established pursuant to this act.

����� "Program
participant" means a veterinarian who contracts with the authority to
engage in the practice of veterinary medicine, a majority of which activity is
dedicated to the protection and enhancement of large animal health and
productivity, at an approved site in exchange for the redemption of eligible
qualifying loan expenses provided under the program.�

����� "State
designated veterinary underserved area" means a geographic area designated
in this State by the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to subsection b. of
section 1 of this act, on the basis of a large animal veterinarian shortage
affecting the area.

���� "Total
and permanent disability" means a physical or mental disability that is
expected to continue indefinitely or result in death and renders a participant
in the program unable to perform that person's service obligation, as
determined by the executive director or the executive director�s designee.

���� 3.��� To be eligible to
participate in the program, a program participant shall:

���� a.���� be a resident of the
State;

���� b.��� be a graduate of an
accredited school of veterinary medicine approved by the State Board of
Veterinary Medical Examiners for the purpose of licensure and receive a
recommendation from the school�s veterinary medicine staff concerning
participation in the loan redemption program;

���� c.���� be a veterinarian
licensed to practice in this State; and

���� d.��� agree to practice at an approved
site.

���� Nothing in this section shall
prohibit a program participant from initiating the program�s application
process and identifying and committing to employment at an approved site prior
to the establishment of State residency or being issued a State veterinary
license.

���� 4.��� a. In administering the
program, the authority or its designated agent shall contract only with a
veterinarian.

���� b.��� The contract shall
require a program participant to serve at least a five-year period at an
approved site in the full-time or half-time service of a veterinary medicine
practice, of which a majority of the service at that practice is dedicated to
the protection and enhancement of large animal health and productivity.

���� c.���� The contract shall also
specify the applicant's dates of required service, the total amount of eligible
qualifying loan expenses to be redeemed by the State in return for service, and
the schedule of payments for the term of the contract.

����� 5.�� a.�
Maximum redemption of a loan under the loan redemption program shall be 100
percent of the eligible qualifying loan expenses for full-time service and 50
percent of the eligible qualifying loan expenses for half-time service in
return for five years of service at an approved site , except that the amount
of eligible qualifying expenses which may be redeemed for a participant under
the program shall not exceed $20,000 in any year for full-time service or
$10,000 in any year for half-time service.� No amount of eligible qualifying
loan expenses shall be redeemed for services performed for less than a full
year.

����� b.�
The principal and interest that are eligible qualifying loan expenses shall be
reimbursed as follows:

����� �(1)
with respect to full-time service:

����� (a)
first year of service, 12 percent of principal and interest;

����� (b)
second year of service, 20 percent of principal and interest;

����� (c)
third year of service, 20 percent of principal and interest;

����� (d)
fourth year of service, 24 percent of principal and interest; and

����� (e)
fifth year of service, 24 percent of principal and interest; and

����� (2)
with respect to half-time service:

����� (a)
first year of service, six percent of principal and interest;

����� (b)
second year of service, 10 percent of principal and interest;

����� (c)
third year of service, 10 percent of principal and interest;

����� (d)
fourth year of service, 12 percent of principal and interest; and

����� (e)
fifth year of service, 12 percent of principal and interest.

����� 6.�� The executive director
or the executive director�s designee, in consultation with the Secretary of
Agriculture, shall match program participants to State designated veterinary underserved
areas. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a program applicant or
participant from identifying an approved site for consideration and designation
as a State designated veterinary underserved area under the program.

���� 7.��� The executive director
or the executive director�s designee shall select the program participants from
among those applicants who meet the eligibility criteria established pursuant
to section 3 of this act, subject to available funds and available approved
sites.� The executive director or the executive director�s designee shall
accord priority to applicants in the following manner:

���� a.���� first, to any applicant
who is willing to fill openings at an approved site with the most significant
veterinary medicine shortages;

���� b.��� second, to any applicant
whose residence in the State at the time of initiating application was within a
State designated veterinary underserved area or within five miles of a State
designated veterinary underserved area; and

���� c.���� third, to any applicant
who graduated from a high school or institution of higher education located in
New Jersey.

���� In the event that there are
more applicants who have the same priority than there are program positions,
the executive director or the executive director�s designee shall select
program participants by means of a lottery or other form of random selection.

���� 8.��� a.� A program
participant, as a condition of participation, shall be required to adhere to
performance standards established by the executive director or the executive
director�s designee.

���� b.��� The standards shall
include, but not be limited to, requirements that a participant:

���� (1)�� maintain residency in
the State;

���� (2)�� maintain a license or
certification to practice veterinary medicine in the State;

���� (3)�� remain current with
payments on student loans;

���� (4)�� enter into a mutually
acceptable contract with an approved site;

���� (5)�� maintain satisfactory
performance of services rendered at an approved site; and

���� (6)�� report to the authority
or its designee, on a form and in a manner prescribed by the authority or its
designee, on the program participant's performance of services rendered at an
approved site prior to repayment of the annual amount eligible for redemption.

���� 9.��� A program participant
who has previously entered into a contract with the authority may nullify the
agreement by notifying the authority in writing and reassuming full
responsibility for the remaining outstanding balance of the loan debt.� In no
event shall service at an approved site for less than the full calendar year of
each period of service entitle the program participant to any benefits under
the program.� A program participant seeking to nullify the contract before
completing the fifth full year of service shall be required to pay 50 percent
of the redeemed portion of indebtedness in not more than one year following
nullification of the agreement.

���� 10.� In the case of a program
participant's death or total and permanent disability, the authority or its
designee shall nullify the service obligation of the program participant.� The
nullification shall terminate the authority's obligations under the loan
redemption contract. In the event of a program participant's death or total and
permanent disability, the authority shall not require repayment of the prior
redeemed portion of indebtedness.

���� 11.� A person who knowingly or
willfully furnishes any false or misleading information for the purpose of
receiving loan redemption benefits under the program is guilty of a crime of
the fourth degree.

����� 12.�
a.� The executive director or the executive director�s designee is authorized
to terminate the program participant's service in the program in the case of:

����� (1)�
a program participant's conviction of a crime or an act of gross negligence in
the performance of service obligations;

����� (2)� suspension
or revocation of the program participant's license or certification to
practice; or

����� (3)� a
program participant's breach of the performance standards established pursuant
to section 8 of this act.

����� b.�� A
program participant who fails to repay an amount due the authority under the
program may be subject to actions initiated by the authority or its designee,
which may include, but are not limited to:

����� (1)
recovery of the amount due by an action brought in a court of competent
jurisdiction or through the offset of State tax refunds or rebates;

����� (2)
making this information available to credit reporting agencies;

����� (3)
exclusion from eligibility for any student assistance benefits administered by
the authority;

����� (4)
action by the federal government, to the extent that any loan redemption
benefits are federally funded, to recover any amount due it as permitted by
federal law.

����� c.�
In any action brought by the authority or its designee in a court of competent
jurisdiction pursuant to subsection b. of this section, the program participant
shall be liable for:

����� (1)
the debt incurred;

����� (2)

�interest on the debt at the maximum legal
prevailing rate as determined by the United States Treasurer; and

����� (3)
�the administrative and court costs associated with collection of the debt.

����� 13.
A veterinarian who is participating in the federally administered Veterinary
Medicine Loan Repayment Program, established pursuant to section 1415a of the
National Veterinary Medical Services Act (7 U.S.C. s.3151a), shall not be
eligible to participate simultaneously in the Veterinary Medicine Loan
Redemption Program established pursuant to this act.

����� 14.�
a.� In Fiscal Year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter, there is appropriated
from the General Fund to the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority the
sum of $500,000 to effectuate the purposes of this act.

����� b.�� The
Higher Education Student Assistance Authority shall accept and use exclusively
for the program any donation of monies from private or nonprofit organizations.

����� 15.�
This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to Fiscal Year 2023,
except that the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority and the Secretary
of Agriculture may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance as
shall be necessary for the implementation of the act.

STATEMENT

����� This bill establishes a Veterinary Medicine Loan
Redemption Program to address the current large animal veterinarian shortage in
this State.� The program would be administered by the Higher Education Student
Assistance Authority (HESAA).

����� Specifically, the bill provides for redemption of
eligible qualifying loan expenses for veterinarians who work for no less than
five years at an approved site.� The bill defines �approved site� as a site
located within a State designated veterinary underserved area or within five
miles of a State designated veterinary underserved area.� The bill defines
�State designated veterinary underserved area� as a geographic area designated
in the State by the Secretary of Agriculture on the basis of a large animal veterinarian
shortage affecting the area.� The bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture, in
consultation with the New Jersey Horse Council, the New Jersey Association of
Equine Practitioners, and the New Jersey Farm Bureau, to annually establish a
list of State designated veterinary underserved areas and transmit that list to
HESAA.

����� Program participants would be required to:

����� (1)� be State residents;

����� (2)� have graduated from a veterinary school approved
by the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners for the purpose of licensure
and receive a recommendation from the school�s veterinary medicine staff
concerning participation in the loan redemption program;

����� (3)� be a veterinarian licensed to practice in this
State; and

����� (4)� agree to practice at an approved site.

����� In return for this commitment, the program
participant�s eligible qualifying loan expenses would be reimbursed.� The
maximum loan redemption under the bill is established at 100 percent of the
eligible qualifying loan expenses for full-time service and 50 percent of the
eligible qualifying loan expenses for half-time service in return for five
years of service at an approved site, except that the amount of qualifying
loans which may be redeemed for a participant under the program cannot not
exceed $20,000 in any year for full-time service or $10,000 in any year for
half-time service.� No amount of eligible qualifying loan expenses would be
redeemed for services performed for less than a full year.�

����� The loan principal and interest would be reimbursed
as follows with respect to full-time service:

����� (1)� first year of service, 12 percent of principal
and interest;

����� (2)� second year of service, 20 percent of principal
and interest;

����� (3)� third year of service, 20 percent of principal
and interest;

����� (4)� fourth year of service, 24 percent of principal
and interest; and

����� (5)� fifth year of service, 24 percent of principal
and interest.

����� The loan principal and interest would be reimbursed
as follows with respect to half-time service:

����� (1)� first year of service, six percent of principal
and interest;

����� (2)� second year of service, 10 percent of principal
and interest;

����� (3)� third year of service, 10 percent of principal
and interest;

����� (4)� fourth year of service, 12 percent of principal
and interest; and

����� (5)� fifth year of service, 12 percent of principal
and interest.

����� The bill provides that in the case of a program
participant's death or total and permanent disability, HESAA would nullify the
service obligation of the program participant.� The nullification would also
terminate HESAA's obligations under the loan redemption contract.� In the event
of a program participant's death or total and permanent disability, HESAA would
not require repayment of the prior redeemed portion of indebtedness.

����� The bill provides that in Fiscal Year 2024 and each
fiscal year thereafter, $500,000 would be appropriated from the General Fund to
HESAA for the Veterinary Medicine Loan Redemption Program.