ASSEMBLY HIGHER EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 2158

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 3, 2024

      The Assembly Higher Education Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 2158.

      This bill requires institutions of higher education and government employers to provide information to certain students and employees, as applicable, concerning the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

      The PSLF program, run by the United States Department of Education, offers student loan forgiveness to individuals who have spent 10 years working full time in the public service sector and made 120 qualifying monthly payments on their federal student loans.

      The bill requires institutions of higher education to provide all students who have outstanding federal student loan debt with information about the PSLF program.  This information is to be distributed once during the second-to-last academic semester of a student’s program of study and once during the academic semester in which a student is scheduled to graduate from the institution.

      Additionally, the bill requires any employer that is considered a qualifying government employer under the PSLF program to provide employees with information about the PSLF program.  Employees hired after the date of enactment of this bill are to be provided with the employee’s explanation of benefits at the beginning of employment.  The United States Department of Education advises an annual submission of the PSLF application, therefore employers will also be required to provide employees with information about the PSLF program at least once per calendar year.

      The information provided to students and employees is to include notification of potential eligibility for the PSLF program, provide the Internet address for the PSLF program, and explain the eligibility requirements for the PSLF program pursuant to federal law, 20 U.S.C. s.1087e. Additionally, an employer is required to provide any information about the employer that is necessary to fill out the application for the PSLF program. The information about the PSLF program may be distributed in writing electronically, by regular mail, or in person.  Finally, the bill requires the executive director of the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority and Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development to develop a model format for the information.

      This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 2024-2025 session pending technical review.  As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.