1.__Rules established.__The president of the system shall adopt rules to establish:

A.__Criteria for eligible health care businesses and organizations;

B.__Guidelines for the award of grants through a request- for-proposal procedure; and

C.__Procedures for establishing a matching grant program allowing state funds to match contributions from the private sector.

2.__Program lapses.__The Health Workforce Retraining Program is based on a 50-50 partnership between the State and the private sector.__If there are no funds from the private sector to be matched by state funds, the program lapses.

§12744.__Health Care Training Fund

1.__Establishment.__The Health Care Training Fund, referred to in this section as the "program fund," is established as a nonlapsing fund to be directed and administered by the president of the system and held by the Treasurer of State.__The Treasurer of State shall keep the program fund segregated from all other funds held by the Treasurer of State and shall invest and reinvest the program fund for the benefit of the Health Workforce Retraining Program and the Health Careers Incentive Program.

2.__Sources of money.__The following sources of money must be paid into the program fund:

A.__All money appropriated for inclusion in the program fund;

B.__All interest, dividends or other pecuniary gains from investment of money in the program fund;

C.__All money received pursuant to participation agreements; and

D.__Any grants, gifts and other money from the State and from any unit of federal, state or local government or from

any person, firm, partnership or corporation for deposit to the program fund.

3.__Application of program fund.__Money in the program fund must be continuously applied by the president of the system to carry out this section and may not be used for any other purpose.

§12745.__Rulemaking

The president of the system shall adopt rules to implement this chapter.__Rules adopted pursuant to this chapter are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A.

SUMMARY

This bill directs the establishment of the Health Careers Incentive Program to encourage students to pursue a career in the field of health care. The program is to award scholarships to students at Maine's technical colleges in return for working in communities in need of health care workers.

The bill directs the establishment of the Health Workforce Retraining Program to make grants available to eligible health care businesses and organizations to provide training and retraining of health care employees to address changes in the health care workforce.

The bill also establishes the Health Care Training Fund to be used for the purposes of the Health Careers Incentive Program and the Health Work Force Retraining Program.