Senate Bill sb0196c1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 196
By the Committee on Governmental Operations; and Senators
Aronberg, Joyner, Fasano and Ring
585-2426-07
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 assist a career assistant
7 state attorney, assistant public defender,
8 assistant attorney general, or assistant
9 statewide prosecutor in the repayment of
10 eligible student loans; providing definitions;
11 providing elements of the program; requiring
12 the administering body to make a payment of a
13 certain amount; providing for funding;
14 requiring the Justice Administrative Commission
15 to develop procedures; requiring the Office of
16 the Attorney General to adopt rules; providing
17 an effective date.
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19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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21 Section 1. Section 43.45, Florida Statutes, is created
22 to read:
23 43.45 Student loan assistance program;
24 administration.--
25 (1) The administering body shall implement a student
26 loan assistance program for eligible career attorneys. The
27 purpose of the program is to provide financial assistance to
28 eligible career attorneys for the repayment of eligible
29 student loans.
30 (2) As used in this section, the term:
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 196
585-2426-07
1 (a) "Administering body" means the Justice
2 Administrative Commission when the eligible career attorney is
3 employed as an assistant state attorney or assistant public
4 defender or the Office of the Attorney General when the
5 eligible career attorney is employed as an assistant attorney
6 general or assistant statewide prosecutor.
7 (b) "Eligible attorney" means an assistant state
8 attorney, assistant public defender, assistant attorney
9 general, or assistant statewide prosecutor.
10 (c) "Eligible career attorney" means an eligible
11 attorney who has completed at least 3 years but not more than
12 12 years of continuous service on his or her employment
13 anniversary date. However, eligibility for student loan
14 repayment assistance may not be lost due to a break in
15 employment of less than 2 weeks while an eligible attorney
16 transfers to another employer of eligible attorneys.
17 (d) "Eligible student loan" means a loan that was
18 issued pursuant to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as
19 amended, to an eligible career attorney to fund his or her law
20 school education and which is not in default.
21 (e) "Maximum available amount" means, in the event
22 that the amount of an appropriation from the General Revenue
23 Fund to an administering body is less than the amount
24 necessary to fund total payments by the administering body,
25 the amount that results from multiplying the percentage of
26 total funding appropriated by the payment amount of $3,000 or
27 $5,000 as provided in paragraph (3)(b). The percentage of
28 total funding appropriated is the amount that results from
29 dividing the amount of the appropriation by the amount
30 necessary to fund total payments under paragraph (3)(b).
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 196
585-2426-07
1 (3) The student loan assistance program shall be
2 administered in the following manner:
3 (a) Within 30 days after the employment anniversary
4 date of an individual, the individual may submit to his or her
5 employer a certification affidavit on a form authorized by the
6 administering body, which certifies that he or she, as of his
7 or her last employment anniversary date, is an eligible career
8 attorney with one or more eligible student loans. Upon
9 approval by the employing state attorney, public defender,
10 Attorney General, or statewide prosecutor, the certification
11 affidavit shall be submitted to the administering body within
12 60 days following the last employment anniversary date of the
13 eligible career attorney.
14 (b) The administering body that receives a
15 certification affidavit for an eligible career attorney
16 having:
17 1. Three to five years of continuous service shall
18 make a payment in the amount of $3,000 or in the maximum
19 available amount, whichever is less.
20 2. Six to twelve years of continuous service shall
21 make a payment in the amount of $5,000 or in the maximum
22 available amount, whichever is less.
23 (c) A payment under paragraph (b) shall be made by the
24 administering body:
25 1. For the benefit of the eligible career attorney
26 named in the certification affidavit and for the purpose of
27 satisfying his or her eligible student loan obligation.
28 2. To the lender that services the eligible student
29 loan between July 1 and July 31 of the next fiscal year
30 following receipt of the certification affidavit by the
31 administering body.
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 196
585-2426-07
1 3. For the eligible student loan that has the highest
2 current interest rate if the eligible career attorney holds
3 more than one eligible student loan.
4 (d) Payments under paragraph (b) shall cease upon
5 totaling $44,000 per eligible career attorney or upon full
6 satisfaction of the eligible student loan, whichever occurs
7 first.
8 (4) The student loan assistance program may be funded
9 annually contingent upon a specific appropriation in the
10 General Appropriations Act for student loan repayment
11 assistance to eligible assistant state attorneys, assistant
12 public defenders, assistant attorney generals, and assistant
13 statewide prosecutors.
14 (5) The Justice Administrative Commission shall
15 develop procedures to administer this section. The Office of
16 the Attorney General shall adopt rules pursuant to ss.
17 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this section.
18 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
19
20 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
21 Senate Bill 196
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23 Provides that the Justice Administrative Commission will
develop procedures, not rules, to administer the program.
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Provides that the student loan assistance program may be
25 funded annually contingent upon a specific appropriation in
the General Appropriations Act.
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