Bill Text: NJ A2171 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires State agencies to enroll State employees into federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A2171 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A2171-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman CHRIS TULLY
District 38 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Requires State agencies to enroll State employees into federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the enrollment of certain State employees into federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Each State agency shall notify and enroll any qualified State employee into the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF), established under the "College Cost Reduction and Access Act" (20 U.S.C. s.1087e).
b. (1) Each State agency shall, not later than 180 days following the agreement reached between the New Jersey Department of Education and federal Department of Education pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection, identify and enroll into the PSFL program those State employees who meet the qualifications for enrollment under the program.
(2) Each State agency shall develop standards and practices to identify and enroll individuals that meet the qualifications under the PSLF program at the start of the individual's employment with the State agency.
(3) The New Jersey Department of Education shall enter into an agreement with the United States Department of Education to match information in the State's employment database with the federal database on qualified federal student loans. The information received by the New Jersey Department of Education shall be distributed to the appropriate State agencies to accurately identify those individuals qualified for enrollment in the PSLF program.
c. When a qualified State employee enrolled in the PSLF program ends employment at a State Agency and begins employment at a different State agency, the State agency of original employment shall transfer any applicable PSLF program information to the employee's new employer in a timely manner. The new employer shall take the necessary steps to update the employee's Public Service Loan Forgiveness form and notify the employee of such changes.
d. As used in this act:
"Public Service Loan Forgiveness form" means the form used by the United States Department of Education to certify an individual's employment at a public service organization and determine eligibility for the purposes of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
"Qualified federal student loans" means the loans that are considered eligible for forgiveness under the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, established under the "College Cost Reduction and Access Act" (20 U.S.C. s.1087e).
"Qualified State employee" means an employee who is employed full-time by a State agency and who meets the criteria for enrollment into the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
"State agency" means any of the principal departments in the Executive Branch of the State Government, and any division, board, bureau, office, commission, or other instrumentality within or created by such department, the Legislature of the State, and any office, board, bureau, or commission within or created by the Legislative Branch, and, to the extent consistent with law, any interstate agency to which New Jersey is a party and any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality, or agency. A county or municipality shall not be deemed an agency or instrumentality of the State.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires State agencies to enroll State employees into the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
The federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) was established by Congress under the "College Cost Reduction and Access Act." The program forgives the remaining balance on a borrower's federal Direct Loans after 120 qualifying month payments have been made under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer, such as the New Jersey State government. The federal government recently temporarily expanded the eligibility of the PSLF program to increase the number of borrowers who are eligible for loan relief regardless of the type of federal loan or repayment plan they have.
On average, New Jersey student loan borrowers carry $36,500 in student loan debt, which is among the highest amounts in the country. In total, New Jersey student loan borrowers carry a debt load of over $40 billion. The PSLF program is one way in which borrowers have found relief from the rising costs of student loans. According to a press conference held by the Governor and federal Department of Education officials, more than 2,500 State residents have had $167 million in debt canceled at an average waiver of over $65,000 per person. Additionally, approximately 31,000 New Jersey residents are enrolled in the PSLF program.
This bill requires each State
agency to notify and enroll any qualified State employee into the PSLF
program. Each agency will take the necessary steps to identify and enroll into
the PSFL program those State employees who meet the qualifications for
enrollment under the program. The New Jersey Department of Education will
enter into an agreement with the United States
Department of Education to match information in the State's employment database
with the federal database on qualified federal student loans. The information
received by the New Jersey Department of Education will be distributed to the
appropriate State agencies to accurately identify those individuals qualified
for enrollment in the PSLF program. The bill also establishes a process to
ensure new hires would be automatically enrolled as well as State employees who
move from one State agency to another.
