Florida HB 1325: Linking Industry to Nursing Education Fund

Bill Text

CS/CS/HB 1325 2026

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hb1325-02-c2
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Linking Industry to Nursing 2
Education Fund; amending s. 1009.8962, F.S.; revising 3
the Legislative intent for the Linking Industry to 4
Nursing Education (LINE) Fund; revising the definition 5
of the term "health care partner"; authorizing the 6
inclusion of nonmonetary contributions to institutions 7
for purposes of proposals for LINE Fund matching 8
funds; requiring monetary contributions to receive 9
priority in the award of matching funds; revising the 10
authorized uses of awarded funds; requiring proposals 11
for participation in the fund to be submitted by 12
specified persons; providing allowable nonmonetary 13
contributions; providing requirements for the 14
acceptance of nonmonetary contributions as health care 15
matching funds; prohibiting a proposal to participate 16
in the fund from being comprised solely of nonmonetary 17
contributions; revising the criteria the Board of 18
Governors and the Department of Education must use to 19
review proposals; requiring grant funds awarded based 20
on nonmonetary contributions to be based on such 21
contribution's fair market value; authorizing the 22
Board of Governors and the Department of Education to 23
provide multiyear awards under certain circumstances; 24
providing notification requirements for such awards; 25

CS/CS/HB 1325 2026

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providing an effective date. 26
27
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 28
29
Section 1. Section 1009.8962, Florida Statutes, is amended 30
to read: 31
1009.8962 Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) 32
Fund.— 33
(1) This section shall be known and may be cited as the 34
"Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) Fund Act." 35
(2) Recognizing that the state has a persistent and 36
growing nursing shortage, it is the intent of the Legislature to 37
address this critical workforce need by incentivizing 38
collaboration between nursing education programs and health care 39
partners that contribute monetary or nonmonetary contributions 40
through the establishment of the LINE Fund. This fund is 41
intended to meet local, regional, and state workforce demand by 42
recruiting faculty and clinical preceptors, increasing the 43
capacity of high-quality nursing education programs, and 44
increasing the number of nursing education program graduates who 45
are prepared and licensed to enter the workforce. 46
(3) As used in this section, the term: 47
(a) "Health care partner" means a health care provider as 48
defined in s. 768.38(2) which is licensed to operate in this 49
state. 50

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(b) "Institution" means a school district career center 51
under s. 1001.44; a charter technical career center under s. 52
1002.34; a Florida College System institution; a state 53
university; an independent nonprofit college or university 54
located and chartered in this state and accredited by an agency 55
or association that is recognized by the database created and 56
maintained by the United States Department of Education to grant 57
baccalaureate degrees; or an independent school, college, or 58
university with an accredited program as defined in s. 464.003 59
which is located in this state and licensed by the Commission 60
for Independent Education pursuant to s. 1005.31, or an 61
institution authorized under s. 1009.521, which has a nursing 62
education program that meets or exceeds the following: 63
1. For a certified nursing assistant program, a completion 64
rate of at least 70 percent for the prior year. 65
2. For a licensed practical nurse, associate of science in 66
nursing, and bachelor of science in nursing program, a first-67
time passage rate on the National Council of State Boards of 68
Nursing Licensing Examination of at least 75 percent for the 69
prior year based on a minimum of 10 testing participants. 70
(c) "Student" means a person who is a resident for tuition 71
purposes pursuant to s. 1009.21 and enrolled in a nursing 72
education program at an institution. 73
(4) The LINE Fund shall be administered by the Board of 74
Governors for state universities and the Department of Education 75

CS/CS/HB 1325 2026

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for all other institutions. 76
(5) Subject to available funds, for every monetary or 77
nonmonetary contribution dollar contributed to an institution by 78
a health care partner, the fund shall provide