HAP-Supported Nursing Education Bill Advances

April 21, 2026

The Pennsylvania Senate late Monday passed HAP-supported legislation to create the Nurse Education Capacity Expansion Grant Program.

The Senate voted 43–4 to advance Senate Bill 998, which heads to the House for consideration.

The legislation, sponsored by Senators Rosemary Brown (R-Monroe) and Maria Collett (D-Montgomery), would offer competitive grants to qualified nursing education programs to support strategies to expand training capacity and the nursing workforce pipeline including:

• Hiring new full- or part-time faculty or assistants
• Enhancing compensation packages to attract and retain instructors
• Strengthening clinical partnerships and preceptorship opportunities

HAP thanks Senate lawmakers for advancing this important legislation and will continue to call for support as the legislation heads to the House. Additional information for HAP members is available online in this HAP bulletin (login required).