Florida Senate - 2019                                    SB 1090
       
       
        
       By Senator Gruters
       
       
       
       
       
       23-01064-19                                           20191090__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Keep Our Graduates Working Act;
    3         creating s. 1009.951, F.S.; providing a short title;
    4         providing a purpose; defining terms; prohibiting a
    5         state authority from suspending or revoking a person’s
    6         professional license, certificate, registration, or
    7         permit solely on the basis of a delinquency or default
    8         in the payment of his or her student loan; prohibiting
    9         a state authority from suspending or revoking a
   10         person’s professional license, certificate,
   11         registration, or permit solely on the basis of a
   12         default in satisfying the requirements of his or her
   13         work-conditional scholarship; amending ss. 456.072,
   14         456.074, and 1009.95, F.S., and repealing s. 456.0721,
   15         F.S., relating to practitioners in default on student
   16         loan or scholarship obligations, to conform provisions
   17         to changes made by the act; providing an effective
   18         date.
   19          
   20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   21  
   22         Section 1. Section 1009.951, Florida Statutes, is created
   23  to read:
   24         1009.951 Keep Our Graduates Working Act.—
   25         (1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Keep Our
   26  Graduates Working Act of 2019.”
   27         (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this act is to ensure that
   28  Floridians who graduate from an accredited college or university
   29  can maintain their occupational licenses, as defined in
   30  subsection (3), and remain in the workforce while they struggle
   31  to pay off their student loan debt, thereby helping them avoid
   32  falling into poverty, which might necessitate their seeking
   33  public assistance.
   34         (3) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
   35         (a) “Default” means the failure to repay a student loan
   36  according to the terms agreed to in the promissory note.
   37         (b) “Delinquency” means the failure to make a student loan
   38  payment when it is due.
   39         (c) “License” means any professional license, certificate,
   40  registration, or permit granted by the applicable state
   41  authority.
   42         (d) “State authority” means any department, board, or
   43  agency with the authority to grant a license to any person in
   44  this state.
   45         (e) “Student loan” means a federal-guaranteed or state
   46  guaranteed loan for the purposes of postsecondary education.
   47         (f) Work-conditional scholarship” means an award of
   48  financial aid for a student to further his or her education
   49  which imposes an obligation on the student to complete certain
   50  work-related requirements to receive or to continue receiving
   51  the scholarship.
   52         (4) STUDENT LOAN DEFAULT; DELINQUENCY.—A state authority
   53  may not suspend or revoke a license that it has issued to any
   54  person who is in default on or delinquent in the payment of his
   55  or her student loans solely on the basis of such default or
   56  delinquency.
   57         (5) WORK-CONDITIONAL SCHOLARSHIP DEFAULT.—A state authority
   58  may not suspend or revoke a license that it has issued to any
   59  person who is in default on the satisfaction of the requirements
   60  of his or her work-conditional scholarship solely on the basis
   61  of such default.
   62         Section 2. Paragraph (k) of subsection (1) of section
   63  456.072, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   64         456.072 Grounds for discipline; penalties; enforcement.—
   65         (1) The following acts shall constitute grounds for which
   66  the disciplinary actions specified in subsection (2) may be
   67  taken:
   68         (k) Failing to perform any statutory or legal obligation
   69  placed upon a licensee; however, the board or department, as
   70  applicable, may not violate s. 1009.951. For purposes of this
   71  section, failing to repay a student loan issued or guaranteed by
   72  the state or the Federal Government in accordance with the terms
   73  of the loan or failing to comply with service scholarship
   74  obligations shall be considered a failure to perform a statutory
   75  or legal obligation, and the minimum disciplinary action imposed
   76  shall be a suspension of the license until new payment terms are
   77  agreed upon or the scholarship obligation is resumed, followed
   78  by probation for the duration of the student loan or remaining
   79  scholarship obligation period, and a fine equal to 10 percent of
   80  the defaulted loan amount. Fines collected shall be deposited
   81  into the Medical Quality Assurance Trust Fund.
   82         Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 456.074, Florida
   83  Statutes, is amended to read:
   84         456.074 Certain health care practitioners; immediate
   85  suspension of license.—
   86         (4) Upon receipt of information that a Florida-licensed
   87  health care practitioner has defaulted on a student loan issued
   88  or guaranteed by the state or the Federal Government, the
   89  department shall notify the licensee by certified mail that he
   90  or she shall be subject to immediate suspension of license
   91  unless, within 45 days after the date of mailing, the licensee
   92  provides proof that new payment terms have been agreed upon by
   93  all parties to the loan. The department shall issue an emergency
   94  order suspending the license of any licensee who, after 45 days
   95  following the date of mailing from the department, has failed to
   96  provide such proof. Production of such proof shall not prohibit
   97  the department from proceeding with disciplinary action against
   98  the licensee pursuant to s. 456.073.
   99         Section 4. Subsection (1) of s. 1009.95, Florida Statutes,
  100  is amended to read:
  101         1009.95 Delinquent accounts.—
  102         (1) The Department of Education is directed to exert every
  103  lawful and reasonable effort to collect all delinquent unpaid
  104  and uncanceled scholarship loan notes, student loan notes, and
  105  defaulted guaranteed loan notes; however, in all such efforts,
  106  the department shall comply with s. 1009.951.
  107         Section 5. Section 456.0721, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
  108         Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.