House File 16 



                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  HUNTER


    Passed House, Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act providing for a worker shortage loan forgiveness program.
  2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  3 TLSB 1619HH 83
  4 kh/nh/14

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  261.115  WORKER SHORTAGE LOAN
  1  2 FORGIVENESS PROGRAM.
  1  3    1.  A worker shortage loan forgiveness program is
  1  4 established to be administered by the commission.  An
  1  5 individual is eligible for the program if the individual
  1  6 graduated from a school district or accredited nonpublic
  1  7 school in this state on or after January 1, 2008, is a
  1  8 resident of the state, and successfully completed a
  1  9 vocational=technical or career option program or graduated
  1 10 with an associate degree from a community college established
  1 11 pursuant to chapter 260C or graduated with a baccalaureate
  1 12 degree or postbaccalaureate degree from an institution of
  1 13 higher education governed by the state board of regents or
  1 14 from an accredited private institution, and the individual
  1 15 meets either of the following conditions:
  1 16    a.  Is employed and residing in this state and has been
  1 17 employed and residing in this state for not less than two
  1 18 consecutive years within three years of successfully
  1 19 completing a vocational=technical or career option program or
  1 20 achieving an associate degree from a community college.
  1 21    b.  Is employed and residing in this state and has been
  1 22 employed and residing in this state for not less than four
  1 23 consecutive years within five years of graduating with a
  1 24 baccalaureate degree or postbaccalaureate degree from an
  1 25 institution of higher education governed by the state board of
  1 26 regents or from an accredited private institution.
  1 27    2.  Each applicant for loan forgiveness shall, in
  1 28 accordance with the rules of the commission, do the following:
  1 29    a.  Complete and file an application for worker shortage
  1 30 loan forgiveness.  The individual shall be responsible for the
  1 31 prompt submission of any information required by the
  1 32 commission.
  1 33    b.  File a new application and submit information as
  1 34 required by the commission annually on the basis of which the
  1 35 applicant's eligibility for the renewed loan forgiveness will
  2  1 be evaluated and determined.
  2  2    c.  Complete and return on a form approved by the
  2  3 commission an affidavit of eligibility verifying that the
  2  4 applicant met the requirements of subsection 1.
  2  5    3.  The annual amount of worker shortage loan forgiveness
  2  6 shall not exceed the following:
  2  7    a.  For an individual who meets the conditions of
  2  8 subsection 1, paragraph "a", the combined resident tuition
  2  9 rate established for the two years following the individual's
  2 10 successful program completion or graduation from the community
  2 11 college, or one hundred percent of the individual's total
  2 12 federally guaranteed Stafford loan amount under the federal
  2 13 family education loan program or the federal direct loan
  2 14 program and any private student loan issued by a lender that
  2 15 meets standards prescribed by the commission including
  2 16 principal and interest, whichever amount is less.
  2 17    b.  For an individual who meets the conditions of
  2 18 subsection 1, paragraph "b", the combined resident tuition
  2 19 rate established for institutions of higher learning governed
  2 20 by the state board of regents for the four years following the
  2 21 individual's graduation from the regents university or
  2 22 accredited private institution, or one hundred percent of the
  2 23 individual's total federally guaranteed Stafford loan amount
  2 24 under the federal family education loan program or the federal
  2 25 direct loan program and any private student loan issued by a
  2 26 lender that meets standards prescribed by the commission
  2 27 including principal and interest, whichever amount is less.
  2 28    4.  The commission shall submit in a report to the general
  2 29 assembly by January 1, annually, the number of individuals who
  2 30 received loan forgiveness pursuant to this section, the
  2 31 postsecondary institutions from which the individuals
  2 32 graduated or successfully completed a vocational=technical or
  2 33 career options program, where in the state program
  2 34 participants are employed, program participants' employment
  2 35 classifications or types of employment, the amount paid to
  3  1 each program participant, and other information identified by
  3  2 the commission as indicators of outcomes from the program.
  3  3    5.  The commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter
  3  4 17A to administer this section.
  3  5                           EXPLANATION
  3  6    This bill creates a worker shortage loan forgiveness
  3  7 program to be administered by the college student aid
  3  8 commission.  The program is open to individuals who graduated
  3  9 from an Iowa high school in 2008 or later, are employed and
  3 10 reside in the state, and successfully completed a
  3 11 vocational=technical or career option program or received a
  3 12 degree from an accredited postsecondary institution in the
  3 13 state.
  3 14    The individual must also have been employed and resided in
  3 15 this state for a period of two consecutive years within three
  3 16 years of successfully completing a vocational=technical or
  3 17 career option program or achieving an associate degree from a
  3 18 community college, or must have been employed and resided in
  3 19 this state for a period of four consecutive years within five
  3 20 years of graduating with a baccalaureate degree or
  3 21 postbaccalaureate degree from a regents university or
  3 22 accredited private institution.
  3 23    In the case of an individual who attended a community
  3 24 college, the total amount of worker shortage loan forgiveness
  3 25 shall not exceed the combined resident tuition rate
  3 26 established for the two years following the individual's
  3 27 successful program completion or graduation from the community
  3 28 college, or 100 percent of the individual's total federal loan
  3 29 program and private student loan amount including principal
  3 30 and interest, whichever amount is less.
  3 31    In the case of an individual who attended a regents
  3 32 university or accredited private institution, the annual
  3 33 amount of worker shortage loan forgiveness shall not exceed
  3 34 the combined resident tuition rate established for regents
  3 35 universities for the four years following the individual's
  4  1 graduation, or 100 percent of the individual's total federal
  4  2 loan program and private student loan amount including
  4  3 principal and interest, whichever amount is less.  The
  4  4 individual is eligible for the loan forgiveness program for
  4  5 not more than four consecutive years.
  4  6    The bill requires the commission to submit a report to the
  4  7 general assembly by January 1, annually, with information
  4  8 identified as indicators of outcomes from the program.
  4  9 LSB 1619HH 83
  4 10 kh/nh/14