1-1     By:  Uher (Senate Sponsor - Patterson)                H.B. No. 2099

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 8, 1997;

 1-3     May 9, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on Health

 1-4     and Human Services; May 16, 1997, reported favorably by the

 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 10, Nays 0; May 16, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to student loan reimbursements for physician assistants

 1-9     practicing in certain areas.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 24(a), Physician Assistant Licensing Act

1-12     (Article 4495b-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as amended by

1-13     Section 1, Chapter 365, and Section 1, Chapter 783, Acts of the

1-14     74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, is amended to read as

1-15     follows:

1-16           (a)  The board [council] shall designate annually a portion

1-17     of the revenue generated under this Act from physician assistant

1-18     licensing fees to be set aside to provide student loan

1-19     reimbursement for graduates of physician assistant training

1-20     programs from any [in this] state who practice in rural health

1-21     professional shortage areas and  [or rural] medically underserved

1-22     areas identified by the Texas Department of Health.

1-23           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-24           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-25     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-26     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-27     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-28     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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