Bill > A1057

Introduced Session

This bill would establish the "Succeed in New Jersey" student loan reimbursement program within the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA). The purpose of the program is to alleviate the burden of student loan debt for recent college graduates who are residents of New Jersey and are employed in certain fields designated as eligible for the program by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Loan reimbursement under the program will be used to reimburse an applicant for a portion of his student loan payments under a federal or New Jersey student loan program for a maximum period of three years. To be eligible to receive loan reimbursement under the program, an applicant must: (1) be a resident of New Jersey and have resided in the State for at least 3 months; (2) be a United States citizen or eligible noncitizen; (3) have earned an undergraduate degree in or after December 2014; (4) apply for the program within four years of obtaining an undergraduate degree; (5) have an outstanding student loan balance under a federal or New Jersey student loan program; (6) be employed in one of the designated fields with a primary work location in New Jersey; and (7) have an income that does not exceed 500 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Under the program, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development will designate up to five fields of employment that qualify an eligible applicant for student loan reimbursement. Each field must meet at least one of the following criteria: (1) the field currently has an unmet workforce need in the State; or (2) the field provides a public good or benefit to the citizens of the State and is a low wage field. Every three years, the department will conduct a reassessment of the eligible fields of employment under the program. The amount of a loan reimbursement award for an eligible applicant will be determined by a sliding scale based on income, as follows: (1) up to $6,000 in loan reimbursement per year for an eligible applicant with an income that is less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines; (2) up to $4,000 in loan reimbursement per year for an eligible applicant with an income that is greater than 300 percent but less than or equal to 400 percent of the federal poverty guidelines; and (3) up to $2,000 in loan reimbursement per year for an eligible applicant with an income that is greater than 400 percent but less than or equal to 500 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. The bill caps total State expenditures for student loan reimbursement awards under the program at $10 million per year. As a condition of continued participation in the program for a maximum period of three years, a program participant must maintain residency in the State and remain current with payments on student loans. Participants also must submit documentation each year to HESAA verifying their employment and income. The bill requires HESAA to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature three years after the establishment of the "Succeed in New Jersey" program and every three years thereafter. The report will include information on the total number of participants receiving loan reimbursement under the program; the number of participants employed in each of the eligible fields under the program; and the total amount of loan reimbursement awards issued under the program each year.

Committee Categories

Bill Moen (D)*,  Raj Mukherji (D)*,  Gary Schaer (D)*,  Britnee Timberlake (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee (on 01/11/2022)

Official Document