Senate Bill sb0362c1

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    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 362

    By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Campbell





    590-866-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to student loans; creating s.

  3         43.45, F.S.; providing for a financial

  4         assistance program administered by the Justice

  5         Administrative Commission and the Office of the

  6         Attorney General to provide assistance to

  7         career assistant state attorneys, assistant

  8         public defenders, assistant attorneys general,

  9         and assistant statewide prosecutors for the

10         repayment of eligible student loans; defining

11         terms; providing elements of the program;

12         providing loan assistance payment amounts;

13         providing for funding; requiring rulemaking;

14         providing an effective date.

15  

16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

17  

18         Section 1.  Section 43.45, Florida Statutes, is created

19  to read:

20         43.45  Student loan assistance program;

21  administration.--

22         (1)  The administering body shall implement a student

23  loan assistance program for eligible career attorneys. The

24  purpose of the program is to provide financial assistance to

25  eligible career attorneys for the repayment of eligible

26  student loans.

27         (2)  As used in this section, the term:

28         (a)  "Administering body" means the Justice

29  Administrative Commission when the eligible career attorney is

30  employed as an assistant state attorney or assistant public

31  defender or the Office of the Attorney General when the

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    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 362
    590-866-06




 1  eligible career attorney is employed as an assistant attorney

 2  general or assistant statewide prosecutor.

 3         (b)  "Eligible career attorney" means an assistant

 4  state attorney, assistant public defender, assistant attorney

 5  general, or assistant statewide prosecutor who has been

 6  employed in that capacity for 3 to 12 years of continuous

 7  service on his or her employment anniversary date.

 8         (c)  "Eligible student loan" means a loan that was

 9  issued pursuant to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as

10  amended, to an eligible career attorney to fund his or her law

11  school education and that is not in default.

12         (d)  "Maximum available amount" means, in the event an

13  appropriation is less than the amount necessary to fund total

14  payments by the administering body under paragraph (3)(b), the

15  amount that results from multiplication of the percentage of

16  total funding appropriated by the payment amount of $3,000 or

17  $5,000, as appropriate under paragraph (3)(b). The percentage

18  of total funding appropriated is the amount that results from

19  division of the amount of the appropriation by the amount

20  necessary to fund total payments under paragraph (3)(b).

21         (3)  The student loan assistance program shall be

22  administered in the following manner:

23         (a)  Within 30 days after an individual's employment

24  anniversary date, the individual may submit to his or her

25  employer a certification affidavit on a form authorized by the

26  administering body, which certifies that he or she, as of his

27  or her last employment anniversary date, is an eligible career

28  attorney with one or more eligible student loans. Upon

29  approval by the employing state attorney, public defender,

30  Attorney General, or statewide prosecutor, the certification

31  affidavit shall be submitted to the administering body within

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    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 362
    590-866-06




 1  60 days following the eligible career attorney's last

 2  employment anniversary date.

 3         (b)  The administering body that receives a

 4  certification affidavit for an eligible career attorney with:

 5         1.  Three to five years of continuous service shall

 6  make a payment in the amount of $3,000 or in the maximum

 7  available amount, whichever is less.

 8         2.  Six to twelve years of continuous service shall

 9  make a payment in the amount of $5,000 or in the maximum

10  available amount, whichever is less.

11         (c)  A payment under paragraph (b) shall be made by the

12  administering body:

13         1.  For the benefit of the eligible career attorney

14  named in the certification affidavit and for the purpose of

15  satisfying his or her eligible student loan obligation.

16         2.  To the lender that services the eligible student

17  loan between July 1 and July 31 of the next fiscal year

18  following receipt of the certification affidavit by the

19  administering body.

20         3.  For the eligible student loan with the highest

21  current interest rate if the eligible career attorney has more

22  than one eligible student loan.

23         (d)  Payments under paragraph (b) shall cease upon

24  totaling $44,000 per eligible career attorney or upon full

25  satisfaction of the eligible student loan, whichever occurs

26  first.

27         (4)  The student loan assistance program shall be

28  funded annually by an appropriation from the General Revenue

29  Fund to the administering body.

30         (5)  The administering body shall adopt rules to

31  implement this section.

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    Florida Senate - 2006                            CS for SB 362
    590-866-06




 1         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

 2  

 3          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 4                              SB 362

 5                                 

 6  The committee substitute makes the following changes to the
    underlying bill:
 7  
    --   Creates definitions of "administering body," "eligible
 8       career attorney," and "maximum available amount;"

 9  --   Revises the definition of the term "eligible student
         loan;"
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    --   Provides for pro rata funding of loan repayment
11       assistance in the event that the loan repayment
         assistance program is not fully funded;
12  
    --   Creates procedures for processing applications for loan
13       repayment assistance;

14  --   Directs that loan repayment assistance be paid to the
         lender servicing the student loan with the highest
15       interest rate;

16  --   Provides that the Office of the Attorney General shall
         administer the program for assistant attorneys general
17       and assistant statewide prosecutors; and

18  --   Provides rulemaking authority to the Justice
         Administrative Commission and the Office of the Attorney
19       General to implement the program.

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