| 1 | The Criminal Justice Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to student loans; creating s. 43.45, F.S.; |
| 7 | providing for a financial assistance program administered |
| 8 | by the Justice Administrative Commission and the Office of |
| 9 | the Attorney General to provide assistance to career |
| 10 | assistant state attorneys, assistant public defenders, |
| 11 | assistant attorneys general, and assistant statewide |
| 12 | prosecutors for the repayment of eligible student loans; |
| 13 | defining terms; providing elements of the program; |
| 14 | providing loan assistance payment amounts; providing for |
| 15 | funding; requiring rulemaking; providing an effective |
| 16 | date. |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Section 1. Section 43.45, Florida Statutes, is created to |
| 21 | read: |
| 22 | 43.45 Student loan assistance program; administration.-- |
| 23 | (1) The administering body shall implement a student loan |
| 24 | assistance program for eligible career attorneys. The purpose of |
| 25 | the program is to provide financial assistance to eligible |
| 26 | career attorneys for the repayment of eligible student loans. |
| 27 | (2) As used in this section, the term: |
| 28 | (a) "Administering body" means the Justice Administrative |
| 29 | Commission when the eligible career attorney is employed as an |
| 30 | assistant state attorney or assistant public defender or the |
| 31 | Office of the Attorney General when the eligible career attorney |
| 32 | is employed as an assistant attorney general or assistant |
| 33 | statewide prosecutor. |
| 34 | (b) "Eligible career attorney" means an assistant state |
| 35 | attorney, assistant public defender, assistant attorney general, |
| 36 | or assistant statewide prosecutor who has been employed in that |
| 37 | capacity for 3 to 12 years of continuous service on his or her |
| 38 | employment anniversary date. |
| 39 | (c) "Eligible student loan" means a loan that was issued |
| 40 | pursuant to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, to an |
| 41 | eligible career attorney to fund his or her law school education |
| 42 | and that is not in default. |
| 43 | (d) "Maximum available amount" means, in the event an |
| 44 | appropriation is less than the amount necessary to fund total |
| 45 | payments by the administering body under paragraph (3)(b), the |
| 46 | amount that results from multiplication of the percentage of |
| 47 | total funding appropriated by the payment amount of $3,000 or |
| 48 | $5,000, as appropriate under paragraph (3)(b). The percentage of |
| 49 | total funding appropriated is the amount that results from |
| 50 | division of the amount of the appropriation by the amount |
| 51 | necessary to fund total payments under paragraph (3)(b). |
| 52 | (3) The student loan assistance program shall be |
| 53 | administered in the following manner: |
| 54 | (a) Within 30 days after an individual's employment |
| 55 | anniversary date, the individual may submit to his or her |
| 56 | employer a certification affidavit on a form authorized by the |
| 57 | administering body, which certifies that he or she, as of his or |
| 58 | her last employment anniversary date, is an eligible career |
| 59 | attorney with one or more eligible student loans. Upon approval |
| 60 | by the employing state attorney, public defender, Attorney |
| 61 | General, or statewide prosecutor, the certification affidavit |
| 62 | shall be submitted to the administering body within 60 days |
| 63 | following the eligible career attorney's last employment |
| 64 | anniversary date. |
| 65 | (b) The administering body that receives a certification |
| 66 | affidavit for an eligible career attorney with: |
| 67 | 1. Three to five years of continuous service shall make a |
| 68 | payment in the amount of $3,000 or in the maximum available |
| 69 | amount, whichever is less. |
| 70 | 2. Six to twelve years of continuous service shall make a |
| 71 | payment in the amount of $5,000 or in the maximum available |
| 72 | amount, whichever is less. |
| 73 | (c) A payment under paragraph (b) shall be made by the |
| 74 | administering body: |
| 75 | 1. For the benefit of the eligible career attorney named |
| 76 | in the certification affidavit and for the purpose of satisfying |
| 77 | his or her eligible student loan obligation. |
| 78 | 2. To the lender that services the eligible student loan |
| 79 | between July 1 and July 31 of the next fiscal year following |
| 80 | receipt of the certification affidavit by the administering |
| 81 | body. |
| 82 | 3. For the eligible student loan with the highest current |
| 83 | interest rate if the eligible career attorney has more than one |
| 84 | eligible student loan. |
| 85 | (d) Payments under paragraph (b) shall cease upon totaling |
| 86 | $44,000 per eligible career attorney or upon full satisfaction |
| 87 | of the eligible student loan, whichever occurs first. |
| 88 | (4) The student loan assistance program shall be funded |
| 89 | annually by an appropriation from the General Revenue Fund to |
| 90 | the administering body. |
| 91 | (5) The administering body shall adopt rules to implement |
| 92 | this section. |
| 93 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |