Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MILA M. JASEY
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)
Assemblyman TIM EUSTACE
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblywoman PAMELA R. LAMPITT
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Directs Higher Education Student Assistance Authority to forgive certain student loans in event of student borrower’s death or total and permanent disability.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning student loans under the New Jersey College Loans to Assist State Students (NJCLASS) Loan Program and supplementing chapter 71C of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. In the event of the death of an eligible student borrower under the NJCLASS Loan Program, the authority shall fully discharge the obligation of the student borrower and a parent or guardian who cosigned the loan.
b. The executor or administrator of the student borrower’s estate shall provide written notification to the authority of the student borrower’s death and shall provide the authority with a certified copy of the death certificate within 120 days of the student’s borrower’s death.
2. a. In the event that an eligible student borrower under the NJCLASS Loan Program becomes totally and permanently disabled, the authority shall fully discharge the obligation of the student borrower and a parent or guardian who cosigned the loan. To qualify for the loan discharge, the student borrower shall provide the authority with a written statement from a physician, who is a doctor of medicine or osteopathy and is legally authorized to practice, certifying that the student borrower is totally and permanently disabled.
b. As used in this section, “totally and permanently disabled” means the condition of a student borrower who is unable to work and earn money or attend school because of an injury or illness that is expected to continue indefinitely or result in death. A student borrower shall be considered totally and permanently disabled even if the student borrower continues to receive an equal or greater amount of income from the source of income that was used to meet the minimum income requirements at the time the loan was approved.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) to forgive student loans offered through the New Jersey College Loans to Assist State Students (NJCLASS) Loan Program in the event of a student borrower’s death or total and permanent disability.
The bill provides that in the event of the student borrower’s death or total and permanent disability, HESAA must fully discharge the obligation of the student borrower and a parent or guardian who cosigned the loan. In the case of the death of a student borrower, the executor or administrator of the student’s estate must provide HESAA with a certified copy of the student’s death certificate within 120 days of the death. In the case of a student borrower who becomes totally and permanently disabled, the student must provide HESAA with a written statement from a licensed physician certifying that the student borrower is totally and permanently disabled.