1. The agency shall develop and administer a student loan consolidation program under which the agency may refinance state, federal, and alternative education loans for eligible physicians. In order to be eligible under this subsection, a physician must:
a. Be licensed in accordance with chapter 43-17; and b. Be a resident of and practice in a North Dakota city having a population that does not exceed four thousand five hundred.
2. The agency may expand the student loan consolidation program to serve individuals other than those referenced in subsection 1.