SENATE, No. 674

SECTION 1.  (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, there is hereby established and set up on the books of the Commonwealth a separate trust fund to be known as the Massachusetts Nursing and Allied Health Workforce Development Trust Fund, hereinafter referred to as the health care workforce trust fund, to which shall be credited any appropriations, bond proceeds or other monies authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited thereto, and additional funds including federal grants or loans, or private donations made available to the chancellor of higher education for this purpose. The board of higher education shall hold the health workforce trust fund in an account or accounts separate from other funds or accounts. Amounts credited to the health care workforce trust fund shall be expended by the chancellor of higher education to carry out the purposes set forth in subsection (b).  Any balance in the trust fund at the close of a fiscal year shall be available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years and shall not revert to the general fund.

(b) The public purposes of the Massachusetts Nursing and Allied Health Workforce Development Trust Fund shall be to develop and support, in consultation with the Massachusetts Nursing and Allied Health Workforce Development Advisory Committee, short and long-term strategies that increase the number of Massachusetts public and private higher education faculty and students who participate in programs that support careers in fields related to nursing and allied health.  The chancellor of higher education may expend from the health care workforce trust fund such administrative monies as may be necessary for the administration of the Massachusetts Nursing and Allied Health Workforce Development Initiative.  In furtherance of these public purposes, the chancellor of higher education shall expend the health care workforce trust fund monies on activities that are calculated to increase the number of qualified nursing and allied health faculty and students in the commonwealth and improve the nursing and allied health educational offerings available in public higher education institutions.  Grants and other disbursements and activities may involve, without limitation, the University of Massachusetts, state and community colleges, private higher education institutions in partnership with public higher education institutions, business and industry partnerships, regional alliances, workforce investment boards, 501(c)(3) organizations and other community groups which promote the nursing profession. Grants and other disbursements and activities may support, without limitation: (i) the goal of rapidly increasing the number of nurses and allied health workers (ii) enhancing the role of the system of public higher education, as institutions and in partnerships with other stakeholders, in meeting the short and long-term workforce challenges in the nursing and allied health professions and; (iii) the development and use of innovative curricula, courses, programs and modes of delivering education in nursing and allied health professions for faculty and students in these fields and; (iv) activities with the growing network of stakeholders in the nursing and allied health professions to create, implement, share and make broadly and publicly available best practices and innovative programs relative to instruction, development of partnerships and expanding and maintaining faculty and student involvement in careers in these fields; and (v) strengthening the institutional capacity to develop and implement long-term programs and policies to respond effectively to these challenges.