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A2369
ASSEMBLY, No. 2369
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman CHRIS TULLY
District 38 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires State agencies to enroll State employees
into federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning the enrollment of certain State employees
into federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and supplementing Title 52
of the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.� Each State agency
shall notify and enroll any qualified State employee into the federal Public
Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF), established under the �College Cost
Reduction and Access Act� (20 U.S.C. s.1087e).�
���� b.��� (1)� Each State agency
shall, not later than 180 days following the agreement reached between the New
Jersey Department of Education and federal Department of Education pursuant to
paragraph (3) of this subsection, identify and enroll into the PSFL program
those State employees who meet the qualifications for enrollment under the
program.
���� (2)�� Each State agency shall
develop standards and practices to identify and enroll individuals that meet
the qualifications under the PSLF program at the start of the individual�s
employment with the State agency.
���� (3)�� The New Jersey
Department of Education shall enter into an agreement with the United States
Department of Education to match information in the State�s employment database
with the federal database on qualified federal student loans.� The information
received by the New Jersey Department of Education shall be distributed to the
appropriate State agencies to accurately identify those individuals qualified
for enrollment in the PSLF program.
���� c.���� When a qualified State
employee enrolled in the PSLF program ends employment at a State Agency and
begins employment at a different State agency, the State agency of original
employment shall transfer any applicable PSLF program information to the employee�s
new employer in a timely manner.� The new employer shall take the necessary
steps to update the employee�s Public Service Loan Forgiveness form and notify
the employee of such changes.
���� d.��� As used in this act:
���� �Public Service Loan
Forgiveness form� means the form used by the United States Department of
Education to certify an individual's employment at a public service
organization and determine eligibility for the purposes of the Public Service
Loan Forgiveness program.
���� �Qualified federal student
loans� means the loans that are considered eligible for forgiveness under the
federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, established under the �College
Cost Reduction and Access Act� (20 U.S.C. s.1087e).
���� �Qualified State employee�
means an employee who is employed full-time by a State agency and who meets the
criteria for enrollment into the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Program.
���� �State agency� means any of
the principal departments in the Executive Branch of the State Government, and
any division, board, bureau, office, commission, or other instrumentality
within or created by such department, the Legislature of the State, and any
office, board, bureau, or commission within or created by the Legislative
Branch, and, to the extent consistent with law, any interstate agency to which
New Jersey is a party and any independent State authority, commission,
instrumentality, or agency.� A county or municipality shall not be deemed an
agency or instrumentality of the State.
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires State
agencies to enroll State employees into the federal Public Service Loan
Forgiveness Program.
���� The federal Public Service
Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) was established by Congress under the �College
Cost Reduction and Access Act.�� The program forgives the remaining balance on
a borrower�s federal Direct Loans after 120 qualifying month payments have been
made under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying
employer, such as the New Jersey State government.� The federal government
recently temporarily expanded the eligibility of the PSLF program to increase
the number of borrowers who are eligible for loan relief regardless of the type
of federal loan or repayment plan they have.
���� On average, New Jersey student
loan borrowers carry $36,500 in student loan debt, which is among the highest
amounts in the country.� In total, New Jersey student loan borrowers carry a
debt load of over $40 billion.� The PSLF program is one way in which borrowers
have found relief from the rising costs of student loans.� According to a press
conference held by the Governor and federal Department of Education officials,
more than 2,500 State residents have had $167 million in debt canceled at an
average waiver of over $65,000 per person.� Additionally, approximately 31,000
New Jersey residents are enrolled in the PSLF program.
���� This bill requires each State
agency to notify and enroll any qualified State employee into the PSLF
program.� Each agency will take the necessary steps to identify and enroll into
the PSFL program those State employees who meet the qualifications for
enrollment under the program.� The New Jersey Department of Education will
enter into an agreement with the United States Department of Education to match
information in the State�s employment database with the federal database on
qualified federal student loans.� The information received by the New Jersey
Department of Education will be distributed to the appropriate State agencies
to accurately identify those individuals qualified for enrollment in the PSLF
program.� The bill also establishes a process to ensure new hires would be
automatically enrolled as well as State employees who move from one State
agency to another.