Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Chapter 589 of the acts of 1954 is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 6. As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:

"Payback by service", the practice of a health profession pursuant to the participant's contract for which each participant was trained under one of the health profession contract programs operated by the New England board of higher education.

There shall be a financial penalty for failure to perform payback by service within the commonwealth for all participants who are residents of the commonwealth in the regional medical, veterinary, and optometry student contract programs operated by the New England board of higher education. For residents of the commonwealth who participate in the contract programs graduating in nineteen hundred and eighty to nineteen hundred and eighty-five, inclusive, the penalty for failure to perform return service at the rate of six months for every one year of participation in one of the above contract programs shall be monetary payback to the commonwealth of that amount of contract funds credited against each participant's tuition while in school.

Participants shall have ten years, commencing from the date when all required internships, residencies, and fellowships are completed, to repay the total amount received. At least one-tenth of the total amount received shall be paid on November first in each year.

Payments shall be made payable to the commonwealth and forwarded to the New England board of higher education which shall in turn forward payments to the state treasurer.

Any default in the payment schedule shall be reported by the New England board of higher education to the attorney general who shall secure payment in the event of default. Any overdue payment shall bear interest at the annual rate of one per cent over the prime rate, and the attorney general may declare immediately due and payable the entire outstanding balance of principal and interest upon such default of payment.