Nevada Senate Bill SB271

Nevada 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/4/25
• Refer: 3/4/25
• Failed: 6/3/25

Caption

Makes an appropriation for a nurse apprentice program. (BDR S-1054)

Summary

SB271 appropriates $12 million from the State General Fund to the Division of Public and Behavioral Health within the Department of Health and Human Services to support a nurse apprentice program. The money may be awarded to another entity to administer the program and is limited to reimbursing participating health care entities for apprentice wages, supervision costs, and retention bonuses tied to post-graduation employment agreements. The appropriation may also cover travel expenses for apprentices who live more than 50 miles from their employing health care entity, and up to $500,000 may be used for administrative costs. The bill defines key terms such as “health care entity,” “nurse apprentice,” and “nursing student,” and it sets a sunset for the spending authority. Any unspent balance must stop being committed after June 30, 2027, and must be reverted to the State General Fund by September 17, 2027. The act becomes effective upon passage and approval.

Impact

SB271 would create a new state-funded workforce support program for nursing education and clinical training, but it does not amend existing regulatory statutes beyond authorizing the appropriation and defining program terms. Its practical effect would be to channel state general fund dollars to hospitals, clinics, and health maintenance organizations that employ nurse apprentices, helping offset labor, supervision, and retention costs while also assisting apprentices with travel expenses. The Division of Public and Behavioral Health would be responsible for administering or overseeing the grant program, subject to the bill’s spending limits and deadline for reversion of unused funds.

Sentiment

The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded votes, so there is no documented debate or formal legislative sentiment in the materials provided. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears designed to address nursing workforce shortages and support training pipelines, which typically suggests a policy goal likely to be viewed favorably by health care and education stakeholders. However, without hearing records or vote history, support or opposition cannot be reliably characterized beyond that general inference.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. Potential areas of debate, based on the bill’s structure, could include the size of the $12 million appropriation, whether state funds should subsidize private or quasi-private health care employers, the $500,000 cap on administrative costs, and the requirement that apprentices enter employment agreements to trigger retention bonuses. The bill also concentrates benefits on nursing students already in accredited programs, which could raise questions about eligibility and program reach, but no actual objections are recorded here.