HF 952

as introduced - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 02/16/2015 01:35pm

A bill for an act
relating to higher education; creating a pilot grant program for student loan debt
repayment counseling; appropriating money.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. new text begin COUNSELING FOR COLLEGE STUDENT LOAN DEBTORS.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Pilot program created. new text end

new text begin The commissioner of the Office of Higher
Education shall make a grant to a nonprofit qualified debt counseling organization to
provide individual student loan debt repayment counseling to borrowers who are Minnesota
residents concerning loans obtained to attend a Minnesota postsecondary institution. The
counseling shall be provided to borrowers who are 30 to 60 days delinquent when they are
referred to or otherwise identified by the organization as candidates for counseling.
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new text begin The purpose of the counseling is to assist borrowers to:
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new text begin (1) understand their loan and repayment options;
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new text begin (2) manage loan repayment; and
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new text begin (3) develop a workable budget based on the borrower's full financial situation
regarding income, expenses, and other debt.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Qualified debt counseling organization. new text end

new text begin A qualified debt counseling
organization is an organization that:
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new text begin (1) has experience in providing individualized student loan counseling;
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new text begin (2) employs certified financial loan counselors; and
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new text begin (3) has offices at multiple rural and metropolitan area locations in the state to
provide in-person counseling.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Grant application. new text end

new text begin Applications for a grant shall be on a form created by
the commissioner and on a schedule set by the commissioner. Among other provisions,
the application must include a description of:
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new text begin (1) the characteristics of borrowers to be served;
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new text begin (2) the services to be provided and a timeline for implementation of the services;
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new text begin (3) how the services provided will help borrowers manage loan repayment;
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new text begin (4) specific program outcome goals and performance measures for each goal; and
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new text begin (5) how the services will be evaluated to determine whether the program goals
were met.
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new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Grant. new text end

new text begin The commissioner shall select one grant recipient.
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new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Program evaluation. new text end

new text begin (a) The grant recipient must submit a report to the
Office of Higher Education by January 15, 2017. The report must evaluate and measure
the extent to which program outcome goals have been met.
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new text begin (b) The grant recipient must collect, analyze, and report on participation and
outcome data that enable the office to verify the outcomes.
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new text begin (c) The evaluation must include information on the number of borrowers served with
on-time student loan payments, the number who brought their loans into good standing,
the number of student loan defaults, the number who developed a monthly budget plan,
and other information required by the commissioner. Recipients of the counseling must be
surveyed on their opinions about the usefulness of the counseling and the survey results
must be included in the report.
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new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Report to legislature. new text end

new text begin By February 1, 2017, the commissioner must
submit a report to the committees in the legislature with jurisdiction over higher education
finance regarding grant program outcomes.
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Sec. 2. new text begin APPROPRIATION.
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new text begin $....... in fiscal year 2016 and $....... in fiscal year 2017 are appropriated from the
general fund to the commissioner of the Office of Higher Education for the purpose of
section 1.
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