as introduced - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 02/16/2015 01:35pm
Engrossments | ||
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Introduction | Posted on 02/16/2015 |
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:
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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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The purpose of the counseling is to assist borrowers to:
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(1) understand their loan and repayment options;
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(2) manage loan repayment; and
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(3) develop a workable budget based on the borrower's full financial situation
regarding income, expenses, and other debt.
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A qualified debt counseling
organization is an organization that:
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(1) has experience in providing individualized student loan counseling;
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(2) employs certified financial loan counselors; and
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(3) has offices at multiple rural and metropolitan area locations in the state to
provide in-person counseling.
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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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(1) the characteristics of borrowers to be served;
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(2) the services to be provided and a timeline for implementation of the services;
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(3) how the services provided will help borrowers manage loan repayment;
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(4) specific program outcome goals and performance measures for each goal; and
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(5) how the services will be evaluated to determine whether the program goals
were met.
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The commissioner shall select one grant recipient.
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(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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(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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(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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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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$....... 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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