CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - A bill before the 2013 Nevada Legislature seeks to help unemployed Nevadans with a new student loan program designed to provide a kind of quick fix that federal programs don't accommodate.

SB52 creates a student loan program for unemployed citizens working toward work certificates and training, but not for credit. Students pursuing certificates are not eligible for federal student loans. Nevada currently has the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 10.2 percent.

Members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Labor and Energy questioned the bill Wednesday for initially providing certificate programs solely in the health services sector. But officials say the plan is to expand the program to other sectors over time.

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