Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 706 of the Regular Session
1 State of Arkansas
2 94th General Assembly A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2023 SENATE BILL 476
4
5 By: Senators Hill, Irvin, G. Leding
6 By: Representative Vaught
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO CREATE THE RURAL VETERINARY STUDENT
10 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM; TO CREATE THE AGRI SCHOLARSHIP
11 PROGRAM TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF
12 AGRICULTURE; AND TO CREATE THE AGRI SCHOLARSHIP
13 PROGRAM FUND WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE;
14 AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
15
16
17 Subtitle
18 TO CREATE THE RURAL VETERINARY STUDENT
19 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM; TO CREATE THE AGRI
20 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM TO BE ADMINISTERED BY
21 THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE; AND TO
22 CREATE THE AGRI SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FUND
23 WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
24
25
26 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
27
28 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 2-16-203(b)(4), concerning sums collected
29 under special revenue programs that are deposited into the Plant Board Fund
30 under the Arkansas Plant Act of 1917, is amended to read as follows:
31 (4)(A) All sums paid or recovered under this section shall be
32 deposited into the State Treasury.
33 (B)(i) Sums Except as provided under subsection (c) of
34 this section, sums collected under special revenue programs shall be
35 deposited into the Plant Board Fund.
36 (ii) Sums collected under general services programs
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1 shall be deposited into the Miscellaneous Agencies Fund Account.
2
3 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 2-16-203(c), concerning funds collected
4 through a civil penalty assessed by the Arkansas Plant Board under the
5 Arkansas Plant Act of 1917, is amended to read as follows:
6 (c) Moneys collected through a civil penalty assessed by the board
7 shall be distributed as follows:
8 (1) For amounts up to one thousand dollars ($1,000), as
9 currently used, including funding for the Arkansas State Plant Board
10 Scholarship program; and
11 (2) For amounts more than one thousand dollars ($1,000):
12 (A) The first one thousand dollars ($1,000) of the
13 assessed penalty for scholarships through the Arkansas State Plant Board
14 Scholarship program; and
15 (B) The remainder divided as follows:
16 (i) Sixty percent (60%) for scholarships through the
17 Arkansas State Plant Board Scholarship program; and
18 (ii) Forty percent (40%) deposited into the
19 University of Arkansas Fund to be used by the University of Arkansas
20 Cooperative Extension Service to the Agri Scholarship Program under § 25-38-
21 212.
22
23 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code Title 2, Chapter 16, Subchapter 2, is amended
24 to add an additional section to read as follows:
25 2-16-215. Scholarships — Degree programs related to agriculture —
26 Post-graduate degree programs related to agriculture or veterinary medicine.
27 (a) The Department of Agriculture may award scholarships to Arkansas
28 residents who are enrolled in or entering an institution of higher education
29 that offers:
30 (1) An undergraduate degree program at an institution of higher
31 education located in the State of Arkansas that is related to agriculture; or
32 (2) A post-graduate degree program at an institution of higher
33 education located either in the State of Arkansas or outside of the State of
34 Arkansas that is related to agriculture or veterinary medicine.
35 (b) The department may contract or otherwise cooperate with a state-
36 supported institution of higher education, state agency, nonprofit
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1 corporation, or other entity, as appropriate, to award scholarships under
2 this section.
3 (c)(1) A recipient of a scholarship under this section shall enter
4 into an agreement with the department that contains the following
5 requirements:
6 (A) The receipt of scholarship funds shall be contingent
7 upon the recipient's compliance with this section and with the agreement
8 required under this subdivision;
9 (B)(i) For a scholarship awarded to an individual enrolled
10 in a qualifying degree program under subdivision (a)(1) of this section, the
11 degree shall be obtained from an institution of higher education located in
12 the State of Arkansas within six (6) years of the receipt of a scholarship
13 under this section.
14 (ii) For a scholarship awarded to an individual
15 enrolled in a qualifying post-graduate degree program under subdivision
16 (a)(2) of this section, the post-graduate degree shall be obtained from an
17 institution of higher education located either in the State or Arkansas or
18 outside of the State of Arkansas within six (6) years of the receipt of a
19 scholarship under this section; and
20 (C) The scholarship recipient shall:
21 (i) Agree to work full time in the state for at
22 least two (2) years after his or her graduation from a degree program under
23 subsection (a) of this section; and
24 (ii) Begin in-state employment as required under
25 subdivision (c)(1)(C)(i) of this section not later than one (1) year after
26 his or her graduation from a degree program under subsection (a) of this
27 section.
28 (2) The agreement under subdivision (c)(1) of this section shall
29 include terms for repayment of the scholarship funds upon the breach of the
30 agreement under § 17-101-205(d)(4).
31 (d) This section shall not be construed to require the department to
32 endow or award any scholarship.
33 (e) Scholarships awarded under this section are contingent upon the
34 availability of funds.
35
36 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code Title 17, Chapter 101, Subchapter 2, is
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1 amended to add an additional section to read as follows:
2 17-101-205. Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship Program.
3 (a)(1) There is established the Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship
4 Program for rural Arkansas to be funded by the Agri Scholarship Program Fund.
5 (2) The Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship Program shall be:
6 (A) Developed and implemented to provide encouragement,
7 opportunities, and incentives to individuals pursuing a veterinary medicine
8 degree to:
9 (i) Locate their veterinary practices in rural
10 Arkansas communities; and
11 (ii) Receive specialized training targeted to meet
12 the needs of livestock producers and rural communities in this state; and
13 (B) Administered by the Department of Agriculture.
14 (b) The department may:
15 (1) Enter into Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship Program
16 agreements with veterinary students who have met the requirements of this
17 subchapter;
18 (2) Prescribe forms for and regulate the submission of Rural
19 Veterinary Student Scholarship Program applications;
20 (3) Determine the eligibility of applicants;
21 (4) Accept or reject Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship
22 Program applications;
23 (5) Contract, increase, decrease, terminate, and otherwise
24 regulate all Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship Program disbursements and
25 receipts for the repayment of Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship Program
26 disbursements;
27 (6) Manage, operate, and control all funds and property
28 appropriated for or otherwise contributed to the Rural Veterinary Student
29 Scholarship Program under this subchapter;
30 (7) Accept gifts, grants, bequests, or devises and apply them as
31 a part of the Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship Program under this
32 subchapter;
33 (8) Accept moneys from federal programs that may be used for
34 purposes permitted under this subchapter; and
35 (9) Contract or otherwise cooperate with institutions of higher
36 education, state agencies, nonprofit corporations, or other entities to award
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1 scholarships.
2 (c) The department shall give preference to students who:
3 (1) Are residents of this state; and
4 (2) Agree to serve in a county that has been determined to be an
5 underserved county for the practice of veterinary medicine, as determined by
6 the department.
7 (d) Each Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship Program agreement shall
8 require that a scholarship recipient:
9 (1) Complete:
10 (A) A veterinary medicine degree program;
11 (B) All required advanced training in public health,
12 livestock biosecurity, foreign animal disease diagnosis, regulatory
13 veterinary medicine, and zoonotic disease; and
14 (C) An externship and mentoring requirement with a
15 licensed and accredited veterinarian in rural Arkansas;
16 (2) Engage in the full-time practice of veterinary medicine:
17 (A) In a:
18 (i) County in Arkansas that has a population of
19 fewer than forty thousand (40,000) people; or
20 (ii) Registered veterinary premises under a licensed
21 veterinarian if food-animal patients make up at least fifty percent (50%) of
22 the veterinarian's practice at the time the person entered into the Rural
23 Veterinary Student Scholarship Program agreement; and
24 (B) For a period of at least twelve (12) continuous months
25 for each separate year a student receives an award under the Rural Veterinary
26 Student Scholarship Program, unless the obligation is otherwise satisfied
27 under this section;
28 (3) Commence a full-time practice of veterinary medicine within
29 ninety (90) days of completing a veterinary medicine degree program, or if
30 the person enters a post-degree training program, including a graduate
31 school, internship, or residency program, within ninety (90) days of
32 completing of the post-degree training program; and
33 (4)(A) Upon failure to satisfy the obligation to engage in the
34 full-time practice of veterinary medicine as required by subdivision (d)(2)
35 of this section, repay to the Veterinary Medical Examining Board, within
36 ninety (90) days of the failure to satisfy the obligation to engage in the
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1 full-time practice of veterinary medicine, the amount equal to the amount
2 awarded to the person, less a prorated amount based on any periods of
3 practice of veterinary medicine that meet the requirements of this section,
4 plus interest calculated at the prime rate of interest plus two percent (2%)
5 from the date the award was received.
6 (B) The interest under subdivision (d)(4)(A) of this
7 section shall be compounded annually.
8 (e) If a person is engaging in the full-time practice of veterinary
9 medicine under the Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship Program agreement in
10 a county that no longer meets the population requirement after the date that
11 the Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship Program agreement was entered into
12 by the department and the recipient, both parties to the agreement shall
13 continue to hold the terms of the agreement in full force and effect subject
14 to the other requirements of this section that are able to be met.
15 (f) An obligation to engage in the practice of veterinary medicine in
16 accordance with this section shall be postponed during:
17 (1) Any period of temporary medical disability during which an
18 individual obligated under the Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship Program
19 agreement is unable to practice veterinary medicine due to the temporary
20 medical disability; and
21 (2) Any other period of postponement agreed to or determined in
22 accordance with criteria agreed upon in the Rural Veterinary Student
23 Scholarship Program agreement.
24 (g) An obligation to engage in the practice of veterinary medicine in
25 accordance with the Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship Program agreement
26 and this section shall be satisfied:
27 (1) If the obligation to engage in the practice of veterinary
28 medicine in accordance with the Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship Program
29 agreement has been completed;
30 (2) If, due to a permanent disability, an individual obligated
31 under a Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship Program agreement is unable to
32 practice veterinary medicine; or
33 (3) An individual obligated under a Rural Veterinary Student
34 Scholarship Program agreement dies.
35 (h) This section does not require the department to endow or award any
36 scholarship.
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1 (i) Scholarship awards are contingent upon the availability of funds.
2
3 SECTION 5. Arkansas Code Title 19, Chapter 5, Subchapter 12, is
4 amended to add an additional section to read as follows:
5 19-5-1277. Agri Scholarship Program Fund.
6 (a) There is created on the books of the Treasurer of State, the
7 Auditor of State, and the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State a miscellaneous
8 fund to be known as the “Agri Scholarship Program Fund”.
9 (b) The fund shall consist of:
10 (1) Moneys obtained from private or public grants, gifts, or
11 donations that are designated to be credited to the fund; and
12 (2) Any other funds authorized or provided by law.
13 (c) The fund shall be used by the Department of Agriculture to create
14 and maintain the Agri Scholarship Program under § 25-38-212.
15 (d) Moneys remaining in the fund at the end of each fiscal year shall
16 carry forward and be made available for the purposes stated in this section
17 in the next fiscal year.
18
19 SECTION 6. Arkansas Code § 19-6-429 is amended to read as follows:
20 19-6-429. Veterinary Examiners Board Fund.
21 (a) The Veterinary Examiners Board Fund shall consist of those special
22 revenues as specified in § 19-6-301(95),.
23 (b) The fund shall there to be used:
24 (1) For for the operation, maintenance, and improvement of the
25 Veterinary Medical Examining Board in exercising the powers, functions, and
26 duties as set out in the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Practice Act, § 17-101-
27 101 et seq.; and
28 (2) To fund:
29 (A) The Agri Scholarship Program created under § 25-38-212
30 and administered by the Department of Agriculture, with deposits to the Agri
31 Scholarship Program Fund in the amount of up to thirty thousand dollars
32 ($30,000) per year; and
33 (B) The Rural Veterinary Student Scholarship Program, §
34 17-101-205.
35
36 SECTION 7. Arkansas Code Title 25, Chapter 38, Subchapter 2, is
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1 amended to add an additional section to read as follows:
2 25-38-212. Agri Scholarship Program.
3 (a) There is created the Agri Scholarship Program.
4 (b) The Department of Agriculture may:
5 (1) Establish and administer scholarship programs for students
6 seeking degrees in agriculture-related fields;
7 (2) Adopt rules as necessary to implement the Agri Scholarship
8 Program, including without limitation eligibility requirements; and
9 (3) Accept gifts and apply for and receive federal funds for the
10 Agri Scholarship Program.
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13 APPROVED: 4/11/23
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