AL SB227

Creates the Alabama Loan-Repayment Program for Advanced-Practice Nursing administered by the Alabama Board of Nursing and funded through direct appropriation from the Education Trust Fund.

Awards annual loans up to $15,000 (adjustable annually based on tuition increases) to qualified applicants pursuing graduate degrees to become certified registered nurse practitioners (CRNP), certified nurse midwives (CNM), or certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA), for up to 3 years for master's degrees or 4 years for doctorates.

Requires participants to repay loans through 18 months of full-time clinical practice per year of loans received in designated "areas of critical need" (medically underserved regions within primary care health professional shortage areas or federally qualified health centers with specific HPSA scores).

Provides a $5,000 annual state income tax credit for participants working in areas of critical need, usable for up to 10 total tax years, and allows the credit to continue after loan repayment if the participant remains in the same area.

Imposes penalties for contract default ranging from 20-100 percent of principal loan amount depending on how many years of loans were received, plus interest at 8 percent or prime lending rate (whichever is greater), and allows license revocation for non-compliance.