1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to corrections; appropriating money for a higher education liaison at the 
1.3 	Department of Corrections; requiring informational outreach about the federal 
1.4 	Fresh Start program; requiring a report.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. FRESH START PROGRAM; APPROPRIATION.
 1.7 	(a) $....... in fiscal year 2025 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner 
1.8 	of the Department of Corrections to support a higher education liaison position to coordinate 
1.9 	between the Minnesota Department of Corrections and the Minnesota Office of Higher 
1.10 	Education.
1.11 	(b) The commissioner of the Department of Corrections shall provide outreach in each 
1.12 	correctional facility in Minnesota to apprise incarcerated persons about the federal Fresh 
1.13 	Start program and encourage eligible persons to enroll in the program. The commissioner 
1.14 	shall work with a student loan debt counseling grantee under Minnesota Statutes, section 
1.15 	136A.1788, to assist Fresh Start applicants to enroll in an income-driven repayment plan 
1.16 	when the borrower is in repayment status.
1.17 	(c) The commissioner shall report by January 15, 2025, to the legislative committees 
1.18 	with jurisdiction over corrections and higher education. The report must include a summary 
1.19 	of the outreach efforts in each correctional facility in Minnesota to enroll eligible incarcerated 
1.20 	persons in the federal Fresh Start program, the efforts to assist Fresh Start applicants in 
1.21 	enrolling in income-driven repayment plans, the number of incarcerated persons served by 
1.22 	the student loan debt counseling grantee referenced under paragraph (b), and the number 
2.1 	of incarcerated persons who contacted the United States Department of Education about 
2.2 	enrolling in the federal Fresh Start program in the previous year.