Senate 98

WEST virginia legislature

2024 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 998

By Senator Fuller

[Introduced February 19, 2026; referred
to the Committee on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on Finance]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new article, designated §16-5EE-1, §16-5EE-2, §16-5EE-3, §16-5EE-4, §16-5EE-5, §16-5EE-6, §16-5EE-7, and §16-5EE-8,  relating to recruitment of mental health professionals focusing on children and adolescents; setting forth purpose; defining terms; setting forth eligibility criteria; setting required loan repayment documents and procedure; designating the Department of Health to administer the program; setting forth award requirements and procedure; creating a fund; requiring record retention; and requiring rulemaking.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 5EE. LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM RECRUITMENT PROGRAM.

§16-5EE-1. Purpose.

Mental health professionals who focus their practice on children or adolescents shall assess, diagnose, and treat behavioral, cognitive, and developmental issues. There is a persistent shortage of mental health professionals that focus their practice on children or adolescents both locally and nationally and this problem has only grown worse. The purpose of this article is to incentivize people to enter the profession by alleviating their student loan burden.

§16-5EE-2. Definitions.

For purpose of this article:

"Department" means the Department of Health

"License” or “Licensed" means an applicant who currently has a full and unrestricted license to practice in West Virginia with a focus on the care and treatment of children or adolescents in any of the following fields: Doctoral level clinical psychologist, Master's level clinical psychologist, licensed independent clinical social worker, licensed graduate social worker, licensed professional counselor, licensed psychiatric or mental health nurse practitioner.

§16-5EE-3. Eligibility for loan repayment program.

To be eligible for the loan repayment program the participant shall:

(1) Have a degree from an accredited school;

(2) Be licensed in West Virginia;

(3) Be employed as a full-time as a licensed provider as defined in this article;

(4) Fulfill 12 consecutive months of employment in the state of West Virginia for each year of loan repayment award requested and are subject to the following requirements:

(A)  Employment prior to the start date cannot be used to fulfill the 12 consecutive months employment service requirement;

(B) Twelve consecutive months of employment service cannot be used for more than one loan repayment from the Loan Repayment Recruitment Program;

(C) No partial year employment service may be considered for loan repayment;  

(D) The Department of Health shall confirm an applicant’s employment service dates and job position; and

(E) Applicants may qualify for up to 10 years of the Loan Repayment Recruitment Program with 10 years of eligible employment service.  This eligibility determination shall be conducted on a year-to-year basis and is subject to the other provisions of this article.

(5) The applicant shall have an outstanding balance on one or more eligible student loans;

(6) The student loan shall be an eligible loan and in the name of the applicant;

(7) The student loan shall be in good standing; and

(8) The applicant shall continue to make their loan payments as directed by the lender agreements.

§16-5EE-4. Loan repayment documents and procedure to request loan repayment; and Department of Health to administer program.

(a) An applicant seeking loan repayment shall submit the required documentation to the Department of Health by July 1 each year, which documentation shall include at a minimum an application seeking loan repayment, an employer verification, and a lender verification.

(1) The application, employer verification, and lender verification shall be completed and submitted for each year the applicant wishes to be considered for the Loan Repayment Recruitment Program.  The award shall only be made on a year-to-year basis.

(2) The applicant shall submit, an account number, loan balance, and loan status for a loan repayment to be made on an applicant’s behalf.

(b) The Department of Health shall administer the loan repayment program and shall:

(1) Review completed requests for loan repayment and all supporting documentation to verify and determine an applicant’s eligibility for a loan repayment program;

(2) Notify applicants regarding the status of their loan repayment requests;

(3) Publicize the program, particularly to maximize participation among individuals expected to experience the greatest growth in the workforce;

(c) Recipients shall be approved based upon eligibility on a first come first served basis, as funds are available.

§16-5EE-5. Award requirements and procedures for dispersing funds.

(a) Annual graduated loan repayment amounts are based on a recipient’s year of eligibility and participation and the program;

(b) The maximum loan payment amount for each year may not exceed 10 percent of the total amount of the loan, including interest as provided in the lender verification form;

(c)  The aggregate loan repayment limit, for each recipient, is $50,000 over the 10-year eligibility period;

(d) A loan repayment award shall be submitted directly to the lender, indicated on the lender verification form, for payment toward eligible outstanding student loans; and

(e) Recipients may not be issued a refund from the lender based on the loan repayments made from the loan program.

§16-5EE-6. Creation of fund.  

There is created in the State Treasury a general revenue fund known as the Loan Repayment Recruitment Program Fund. The fund shall be comprised of moneys appropriated by the Legislature and moneys deposited into the fund to support the Loan Repayment Recruitment Program Fund. The funds do not expire to the General Revenue Fund but shall remain in the account and be available for expenditure in succeeding fiscal years. Expenditures from the Loan Repayment Recruitment Program Fund shall be for the purposes set forth in this article. If there a lack of funding, there is no obligation to administer a loan repayment program.  The loan repayment program is limited to funding availability.

§16-5EE-7. Record retention.  

The Department of Health shall maintain accurate records, books, and other evidence concerning the Loan Repayment Recruitment Program and its related fund, including but not limited to individual applicant files for whichever is longer;

(1) Six years after the award year in which the loan repayment was awarded; or

(2) For such other period as required by applicable, statute, rule, or regulation.

§16-5EE-8. Rulemaking.  

The Department of Health shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code to administer this program and which are consistent with this article, including but not limited to setting for a listing of eligible loans.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a student loan repayment program for mental health professionals focusing on children and adolescents.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.