(1) The Commission on Public Advocacy shall accept applications for loan repayment assistance on an annual basis from qualified persons and shall present those applications to the board for its consideration. The board shall make recommendations for loans to the commission, and the commission shall certify the eligible recipients and the loan amount per recipient. The loans awarded to the recipients shall come from funds appropriated by the Legislature and any other funds that may be available from the Legal Education for Public Service and Rural Practice Loan Repayment Assistance Fund.

(2) Loans under this section awarded on or after July 1, 2026, shall be awarded to recipients in the following order of priority:

(a) Recipients that practice in a county with no other licensed attorney actively practicing in such county;

(b) Recipients that practice in a county with three or fewer licensed attorneys actively practicing in such county; and

(c) Recipients that practice in a county with a population of no more than seventy-five thousand inhabitants.

(3) Nothing in this section shall affect awards previously made to recipients on or before June 30, 2026.