Senate Bill sb0096c1

    Florida Senate - 2003                             CS for SB 96

    By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senators Campbell and
    Fasano




    308-1046-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to student loans; creating s.

  3         43.201, F.S.; providing for a financial

  4         assistance program administered by the Justice

  5         Administrative Commission to provide assistance

  6         to qualified assistant state attorneys and

  7         assistant public defenders for the repayment of

  8         eligible student loans; defining the term

  9         "eligible student loan"; providing for the

10         elements of the program; providing for funding;

11         providing an effective date.

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

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15         Section 1.  Section 43.201, Florida Statutes, is

16  created to read:

17         43.201  Justice Administrative Commission; student loan

18  program administration.--

19         (1)  The commission shall administer a student loan

20  program for career assistant state attorneys and assistant

21  public defenders as described in chapter 27. The purpose of

22  the program shall be to provide financial assistance to

23  assistant state attorneys and assistant public defenders with

24  eligible student loans.

25         (2)  As used in this section, the term "eligible

26  student loan" means a loan that was issued pursuant to the

27  Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, to an assistant

28  state attorney or assistant public defender to fund his or her

29  law school education.

30         (3)  The program shall be administered in the following

31  manner:

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2003                             CS for SB 96
    308-1046-03




 1         (a)  An assistant state attorney or public defender is

 2  not eligible for assistance under the program until the

 3  assistant state attorney or public defender has been employed

 4  as an assistant state attorney or assistant public defender

 5  for 3 years of continuous service on his or her employment

 6  anniversary date.

 7         (b)  After completing 3 years of continuous service, an

 8  affidavit of certification on a form approved by the

 9  commission shall be submitted to the state attorney's office

10  or the public defender's office as the case may be. The

11  affidavit of certification shall, upon approval of the state

12  attorney or public defender, be submitted to the commission.

13         (c)  Upon receipt of the certificate, the commission

14  may begin yearly payments in the amount of $3,000 to the

15  lender that services the eligible student loan. These payments

16  shall be made for the benefit of the qualified assistant state

17  attorney or assistant public defender named in the certificate

18  and for the purpose of satisfying the eligible student loan

19  obligation.

20         (d)  Upon completion of 6 years of continuous service,

21  the loan assistance payment amount shall increase to $5,000.

22  After 12 years of continuous service or upon completion of the

23  payment of the eligible student loan, whichever occurs first,

24  loan assistance shall cease. The total amount of loan

25  assistance permitted under the program for any one assistant

26  state attorney or assistant public defender may not exceed

27  $44,000.

28         (4)  The program shall be funded by appropriations from

29  the Legislature out of the General Revenue Fund to the Justice

30  Administrative Commission on an annual basis.

31         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2003                             CS for SB 96
    308-1046-03




 1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 2                          Senate Bill 96

 3                                 

 4  -    Corrects improper nomenclature by replacing the word
         "Judicial" with "Justice" when used in reference to the
 5       Justice Administrative Commission.

 6  -    Clarifies, by providing a definition for the term
         "eligible student loan," that the bill only covers
 7       student loans that were borrowed for law school and only
         those law school loans that were issued pursuant to the
 8       Higher Education Act of 1965.

 9  -    Clarifies that loan payments made on behalf of qualified
         assistant state attorneys and assistant public defenders
10       shall be paid to the lender that services the student
         loan.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.