House File 36 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 36 BY HUNTER A BILL FOR An Act establishing a worker shortage loan forgiveness program 1 to be administered by the college student aid commission. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 1227HH (2) 86 kh/nh
H.F. 36 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 261.118 Worker shortage loan 1 forgiveness program. 2 1. A worker shortage loan forgiveness program is 3 established to be administered by the commission. An 4 individual is eligible for the program if the individual 5 graduated from a school district or accredited nonpublic school 6 in this state on or after January 1, 2014, is a resident of 7 the state who successfully completed a vocational-technical or 8 career option program or graduated with an associate degree 9 from a community college established pursuant to chapter 260C 10 or graduated with a baccalaureate degree or postbaccalaureate 11 degree from an institution of higher education governed by 12 the state board of regents or from an accredited private 13 institution, and meets either of the following conditions: 14 a. Is employed and residing in this state and has been 15 employed and residing in this state for not less than two 16 consecutive years within three years of successfully completing 17 a vocational-technical or career option program or achieving an 18 associate degree from a community college. 19 b. Is employed and residing in this state and has been 20 employed and residing in this state for not less than four 21 consecutive years within five years of graduating with a 22 baccalaureate degree or postbaccalaureate degree from an 23 institution of higher education governed by the state board of 24 regents or from an accredited private institution. 25 2. Each applicant for loan forgiveness shall, in accordance 26 with the rules of the commission, do the following: 27 a. Complete and file an application for worker shortage 28 loan forgiveness. The individual shall be responsible for 29 the prompt submission of any information required by the 30 commission. 31 b. File a new application and submit information as 32 required by the commission annually on the basis of which the 33 applicant’s eligibility for the renewed loan forgiveness will 34 be evaluated and determined. 35 -1- LSB 1227HH (2) 86 kh/nh 1/ 4
H.F. 36 c. Complete and return on a form approved by the commission 1 an affidavit of eligibility verifying that the applicant meets 2 the requirements of subsection 1. 3 3. The annual amount of worker shortage loan forgiveness 4 shall not exceed the following: 5 a. For an individual who meets the conditions of 6 subsection 1, paragraph “a” , the combined resident tuition 7 rate established for the two years following the individual’s 8 successful program completion or graduation from the community 9 college, or one hundred percent of the individual’s total 10 federally guaranteed Stafford loan amount under the federal 11 family education loan program or the federal direct loan 12 program and any private student loan issued by a lender 13 that meets standards prescribed by the commission including 14 principal and interest, whichever amount is less. 15 b. For an individual who meets the conditions of 16 subsection 1, paragraph “b” , the combined resident tuition 17 rate established for institutions of higher learning governed 18 by the state board of regents for the four years following 19 the individual’s graduation from the regents university or 20 accredited private institution, or one hundred percent of the 21 individual’s total federally guaranteed Stafford loan amount 22 under the federal family education loan program or the federal 23 direct loan program and any private student loan issued by 24 a lender that meets standards prescribed by the commission 25 including principal and interest, whichever amount is less. 26 4. The commission shall submit in a report to the general 27 assembly by January 1, annually, the number of individuals 28 who received loan forgiveness pursuant to this section, the 29 postsecondary institutions from which the individuals graduated 30 or successfully completed a vocational-technical or career 31 options program, where in the state program participants are 32 employed, program participants’ employment classifications 33 or types of employment, the amount paid to each program 34 participant, and other information identified by the commission 35 -2- LSB 1227HH (2) 86 kh/nh 2/ 4
H.F. 36 as indicators of outcomes from the program. 1 5. The commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 2 to administer this section. 3 EXPLANATION 4 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 5 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 6 This bill creates a worker shortage loan forgiveness program 7 to be administered by the college student aid commission. The 8 program is open to individuals who graduated from an Iowa 9 high school in 2014 or later, are employed and reside in the 10 state, and successfully completed a vocational-technical or 11 career option program or received a degree from an accredited 12 postsecondary institution in the state. 13 The individual must also have been employed in and a resident 14 of this state for a period of two consecutive years within 15 three years of successfully completing a vocational-technical 16 or career option program or achieving an associate degree 17 from a community college, or must have been employed in and 18 a resident of this state for a period of four consecutive 19 years within five years of graduating with a baccalaureate 20 degree or postbaccalaureate degree from a regents university or 21 accredited private institution. 22 In the case of an individual who attended a community 23 college, the total amount of worker shortage loan forgiveness 24 shall not exceed the combined resident tuition rate established 25 for the two years following the individual’s successful program 26 completion or graduation from the community college, or 100 27 percent of the individual’s total federal loan program and 28 private student loan amount including principal and interest, 29 whichever amount is less. 30 In the case of an individual who attended a regents 31 university or accredited private institution, the annual 32 amount of worker shortage loan forgiveness shall not exceed 33 the combined resident tuition rate established for regents 34 universities for the four years following the individual’s 35 -3- LSB 1227HH (2) 86 kh/nh 3/ 4
H.F. 36 graduation, or 100 percent of the individual’s total federal 1 loan program and private student loan amount including 2 principal and interest, whichever amount is less. The 3 individual is eligible for the loan forgiveness program for not 4 more than four consecutive years. 5 The bill requires the commission to submit a report to the 6 general assembly by January 1, annually, with information 7 identified as indicators of outcomes from the program. 8 -4- LSB 1227HH (2) 86 kh/nh 4/ 4