House File 565 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 565 BY STECKMAN , BRECKENRIDGE , OURTH , GASKILL , STAED , KURTH , DONAHUE , COHOON , FORBES , GAINES , McCONKEY , KURTZ , BENNETT , WOLFE , MAXWELL , BEARINGER , BROWN-POWERS , R. SMITH , and SHIPLEY A BILL FOR An Act establishing a first responders loan repayment program 1 and fund and making an appropriation. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 2576HH (5) 88 kh/jh

H.F. 565 Section 1. Section 261.2, subsection 8, Code 2019, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 8. Submit by January 15 annually a report to the general 3 assembly which provides, by program, the number of individuals 4 who received loan forgiveness or loan repayment in the previous 5 fiscal year, the amounts paid to or on behalf of individuals 6 under sections 261.73 , 261.112 , and 261.116 , and 261.117, and 7 the institutions from which individuals graduated, and that 8 includes any proposed statutory changes and the commission’s 9 findings and recommendations. 10 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 261.117 First responder loan repayment 11 program. 12 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section, unless the 13 context otherwise requires: 14 a. “Commission” means the college student aid commission. 15 b. “First responder” means a resident of Iowa who is 16 employed part-time or full-time in a service commitment area as 17 an emergency medical technician or advanced emergency medical 18 technician and who has met the requirements for an emergency 19 medical care provider certificate pursuant to section 147A.6 or 20 as a fire fighter certified in accordance with chapter 100B. 21 c. “Qualified student loan” means a loan that was made, 22 insured, or guaranteed under Tit. IV of the federal Higher 23 Education Act of 1965, as amended, or under Tit. VII or VIII 24 of the federal Public Health Service Act, as amended, directly 25 to the borrower for attendance at an approved postsecondary 26 educational institution. 27 d. “Service commitment area” means a city in Iowa with a 28 population of less than thirty thousand that is located more 29 than twenty miles from a city with a population of fifty 30 thousand or more. 31 2. Program established. A first responder loan repayment 32 program is established to be administered by the commission 33 for purposes of repaying the qualified student loans of 34 first responders living and working in Iowa who graduated 35 -1- LSB 2576HH (5) 88 kh/jh 1/ 4

H.F. 565 from a community college established under chapter 260C, an 1 institution of higher learning governed by the state board 2 of regents, or an accredited private institution as defined 3 in section 261.9, with an emergency medical care-related 4 certificate or degree or a fire science-related certificate or 5 degree. 6 3. Application requirements. Each applicant for loan 7 repayment shall, in accordance with the rules of the 8 commission, do all of the following: 9 a. Complete and file an application for loan repayment. 10 The individual shall be responsible for the prompt submission 11 of any information required by the commission, including an 12 affidavit of Iowa residency and employment as a first responder 13 in a service commitment area. 14 b. File a new application and submit information as 15 required by the commission annually on the basis of which the 16 applicant’s eligibility for the renewed loan repayment will be 17 evaluated and determined. 18 4. Loan repayment amounts. The annual amount of loan 19 repayment provided to a recipient under this section shall 20 not exceed four thousand dollars, or twenty percent of the 21 recipient’s total qualified student loan, whichever amount is 22 less. A recipient is eligible for the loan repayment program 23 for not more than five consecutive years. 24 5. Selection criteria. The commission shall establish 25 by rule the evaluation criteria to be used in evaluating 26 applications submitted under this section. 27 6. First responder loan repayment fund. A first responder 28 loan repayment fund is created for deposit of moneys 29 appropriated to or received by the commission for use under 30 the program. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys deposited 31 in the first responder loan repayment fund shall not revert to 32 any fund of the state at the end of any fiscal year but shall 33 remain in the loan repayment fund and be continuously available 34 for loan repayment under the program. Notwithstanding section 35 -2- LSB 2576HH (5) 88 kh/jh 2/ 4

H.F. 565 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys deposited 1 in the first responder loan fund shall be credited to the fund. 2 7. Rules. The commission shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 chapter 17A to administer this section. 4 Sec. 3. FIRST RESPONDER LOAN REPAYMENT FUND APPROPRIATION 5 —— FY 2019-2020. There is appropriated from the general fund 6 of the state to the college student aid commission for the 7 fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2020, 8 the following amount, or so much thereof as is necessary, to be 9 used for the purposes designated: 10 For deposit in the first responder loan repayment fund, as 11 enacted by this Act: 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 400,000 13 EXPLANATION 14 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 15 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 16 This bill establishes a first responder loan repayment 17 program and fund and appropriates $400,000 from the general 18 fund of the state for FY 2019-2020 to the college student aid 19 commission for deposit in the first responder loan repayment 20 fund. 21 The program is to be administered by the commission for 22 purposes of repaying the qualified student loans of residents 23 who are working as first responders in service commitment 24 areas in Iowa and who graduated from a community college, a 25 regents university, or an accredited private institution with 26 an emergency medical care-related certificate or degree or a 27 fire science-related certificate or degree. 28 “First responder” is defined to mean an Iowan who is employed 29 part-time or full-time in a service commitment area as an 30 emergency medical technician or advanced emergency medical 31 technician and who has met the requirements for an emergency 32 medical care provider certificate pursuant to Code section 33 147A.6, or as a fire fighter certified in accordance with Code 34 chapter 100B. “Service commitment area” means a city in Iowa 35 -3- LSB 2576HH (5) 88 kh/jh 3/ 4

H.F. 565 with a population of less than 30,000 that is located more than 1 20 miles from a city with a population of 50,000 or more. 2 The annual amount of loan repayment is limited to not more 3 than $4,000 or 20 percent of the recipient’s total qualified 4 student loan, whichever amount is less. A recipient is 5 eligible for loan repayment for not more than five consecutive 6 years. 7 Moneys in the loan repayment program carryover to be 8 available for the program in future years and interest or 9 earnings on the moneys are credited to the fund. 10 -4- LSB 2576HH (5) 88 kh/jh 4/ 4