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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6901
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 5451
Referred to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS
Introduced by:
(APP)
AN ACT CONCERNING A STUDENT LOAN REIMBURSEMENT
PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN PROFESSIONALS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) (a) On or before October 1, 1
2023, the executive director of the Office of Higher Education shall 2
establish a pilot program to reimburse certain professionals for student 3
loan payments. The Office of Higher Education shall approve the 4
participation of any person in the student loan reimbursement pilot 5
program who (1) attended a state college or university and graduated 6
with a bachelor's degree or left such college or university in good 7
standing before graduation; (2) is currently a resident of the state, and 8
has been a resident of the state for not less than five consecutive years 9
after graduation from a state college or university, as shown on the 10
person's Connecticut income tax return; (3) earns the majority of such 11
person's income through employment in the state, as evidenced on such 12
person's Connecticut income tax return, for two years prior to 13
participation in the program; (4) is employed full-time as a nurse, 14
teacher or in the field of child care, mental health or social services; (5) 15
has (A) a Connecticut adjusted gross income of not more than one 16 Raised Bill No. 6901
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hundred thousand dollars and files a return under the federal income 17
tax as an unmarried individual or a married individual filing separately, 18
or (B) a Connecticut adjusted gross income of not more than one 19
hundred twenty-five thousand dollars and files a return under the 20
federal income tax as a head of household, a married individual filing 21
jointly or a surviving spouse, as defined in Section 2(a) of the Internal 22
Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal 23
revenue code of the United States, as amended from time to time; and 24
(6) has a student loan. For the purposes of this section "state college or 25
university" means any public or private college or university in the state. 26
(b) Persons who qualify under subsection (a) of this section may 27
apply to the Office of Higher Education to participate in the student loan 28
reimbursement pilot program at such time and in such manner as the 29
executive director of said office prescribes. 30
(c) Each person approved to participate in the student loan 31
reimbursement pilot program shall annually submit receipts of 32
payment on student loans to the Office of Higher Education in the 33
manner prescribed by the executive director. The Office of Higher 34
Education shall (1) reimburse such person for such student loan 35
payments an amount of not more than five thousand dollars, annually, 36
provided no person shall participate in the student loan reimbursement 37
pilot program for more than four years or receive more than twenty 38
thousand dollars in aggregate reimbursement for student loan 39
payments, and (2) require such person to volunteer for an approved 40
nonprofit organization in the state for not less than fifty unpaid hours 41
for each year of participation in the student loan reimbursement 42
program. For purposes of this section, volunteer hours may include 43
service on the board of directors for a nonprofit organization or military 44
service. 45
(d) Reimbursement payments under the program shall not be 46
considered income for purposes of the state's personal income tax law. 47
(e) The Office of Higher Education may use up to two and one-half 48 Raised Bill No. 6901
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per cent of the funds appropriated for purposes of this section, annually, 49
for program administration, promotion and recruitment activities. 50
(f) Not later than January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the 51
executive director of the Office of Higher Education shall report, in 52
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, 53
to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having 54
cognizance of matters relating to higher education and employment 55
advancement and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies on 56
the operation and effectiveness of the pilot program and any 57
recommendations to expand the pilot program. 58
Sec. 2. (Effective July 1, 2023) (a) The sum of ____ dollars is 59
appropriated to the Office of Higher Education from the General Fund, 60
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, for the student loan 61
reimbursement pilot program, as described in section 1 of this act. 62
(b) Any unexpended funds appropriated for purposes of section 1 of 63
this act shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal year but shall be available 64
for expenditure during the next fiscal year. 65
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2023 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To establish a loan reimbursement pilot program for Connecticut
residents in certain professions who graduated from a state college or
university.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]