SB194: Bill Text

LRB-1144/1

ARG&MES:wlj

2015 - 2016 LEGISLATURE

2015 Senate BILL 194

June 11, 2015 - Introduced by Senators Hansen, Lassa, Bewley, Carpenter, Erpenbach, Harris Dodd, C. Larson, Miller, Ringhand, Risser, Shilling, L. Taylor, Vinehout and Wirch, cosponsored by Representatives Mason, Kolste, Barca, Barnes, Berceau, Billings, Bowen, Brostoff, Considine, Danou, Doyle, Genrich, Goyke, Hebl, Hintz, Johnson, Jorgensen, Kahl, Kessler, Meyers, Milroy, Ohnstad, Pope, Riemer, Sargent, Shankland, Sinicki, Spreitzer, Stuck, Subeck, C. Taylor, Wachs, Young, Zamarripa and Zepnick. Referred to Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges.

SB194,2,2 An Act to amend 13.172 (1), 13.48 (13) (a), 13.62 (2), 13.94 (4) (a) 1., 13.95 (intro.), 16.002 (2), 16.004 (4), 16.004 (5), 16.004 (12) (a), 16.045 (1) (a), 16.15 (1) (ab), 16.41 (4), 16.417 (1) (b), 16.52 (7), 16.528 (1) (a), 16.53 (2), 16.54 (9) (a) 1., 16.765 (1), 16.765 (2), 16.765 (5), 16.765 (6), 16.765 (7) (intro.), 16.765 (7) (d), 16.765 (8), 16.85 (2), 16.865 (8), 71.05 (6) (b) 28. (intro.), am. and h., 77.54 (9a) (a), 100.45 (1) (dm) and 230.03 (3); to repeal and recreate 230.03 (3); and to create 13.94 (1) (dt), 13.94 (1s) (c) 9., 19.42 (10) (t), 19.42 (13) (p), 20.195, 39.28 (7), 39.52, 39.54, 39.56, 40.02 (54) (n), 70.11 (38v), 71.05 (6) (b) 28. j., 224.30 (5) and chapter 239 of the statutes; relating to: student loans, the individual income tax subtract modification for tuition and student fees, creating an authority to be known as the Wisconsin Student Loan Refinancing Authority, granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

The Wisconsin Student Loan Refinancing Authority

This bill creates an authority, which is a public body corporate and politic, to be known as the Wisconsin Student Loan Refinancing Authority (WSLRA). The WSLRA is governed by a board that consists of four members of the legislature, three members who are students of an institution of higher learning, and two members with experience in making student loans. The five members of the board who are not members of the legislature are nominated by the governor, and with the advice and consent of the senate appointed, to serve two- or three-year terms. The board appoints the chief executive officer of WSLRA and annually elects the chairperson of the board. The board is given all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out its duties, as well as specific powers to conduct its corporate business, including the power to issue bonds for any corporate purpose.

Under the bill, the board must develop and implement a loan program under which state residents may refinance student loans. Under the program, WSLRA provides a loan to an individual to pay off some or all of his or her outstanding student loan debt. To qualify for the program, an individual must satisfy similar eligibility requirements to the criteria a private lender uses to make an unsecured personal loan at market rates. Under the bill, WSLRA must provide loans under the program at the lowest possible interest rate that is still sufficient to cover the expenses of the program. A loan issued under the program is not dischargeable in a bankruptcy proceeding.

Financial aid information

This bill requires the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) to compile data related to private student loans for the purpose of comparing private lending institutions' student loan interest rates and repayment plans. A "private student loan" is a loan issued by a private lending institution for the purpose of paying for or financing higher education expenses, including tuition and fees, books and supplies, and room and board. DFI must create and maintain a list of private lending institutions that provide the lowest rates and best repayment options on student loans. DFI must also compile a list of the top ten best private lending institutions based on rates and policies that are most favorable to the student borrower. DFI must place these lists on DFI's Internet site and update the Internet site monthly to ensure that the student loan information in these lists is current and accurate. DFI's Internet site must also contain information pertaining to lending institutions that do not make the top ten list, including identifying those lending institutions that provide the worst rates and strictest repayment options. DFI may satisfy its duties under the bill through a designee or third-party contractor.

The bill also requires an institution or college campus within the University of Wisconsin (UW) System, a technical college within the technical college system, a tribally controlled college, or a private, nonprofit institution of higher education located in this state (institution of higher education) to provide to a prospective or newly accepted student and to the student's parents clearly outlined and easy-to-understand information pertaining to all of the following:

1. The total cost of attendance at the institution of higher education.

2. The approximate or, if known, the actual total amount of financial aid that the student would receive from the institution of higher education, and the approximate or, if known, the actual total amount of student loan debt that the student would accumulate, over the course of four years, if the student were to attend the institution of higher education for four years (student loan debt).

3. Student loan rates, repayment plans, default rates, and the actual monthly payment that would be required to pay that student loan debt when the loan becomes due.

Finally, the bill requires an institution of higher education and the Higher Educational Aids Board (HEAB) to create on their Internet sites a link to that portion of DFI's Internet site containing the lists and other information required under the bill.

Student loan counseling

This bill requires any institution of higher education in this state that offers an associate degree or higher to provide loan counseling for its students. Under the bill, before a student enters into a student loan agreement, the institution must provide the student with comprehensive information on the terms and conditions of a loan and the responsibilities the student has with respect to the loan. A lender may not accept an application for a private student loan, or assess any fees for the loan, unless the lender has received certification from the applicant's institution of higher education that the applicant has received such counseling.

The bill also requires an institution of higher education to provide a student with information when the student leaves the institution, whether through graduation, transfer, or otherwise. The information must include available loan repayment plans, debt management strategies, options for prepayment of loans, and the consequences of defaulting on a loan.

Finally, the bill authorizes an institution of higher education to assess a lender a reasonable fee of up to $50 to defray the cost of the student counseling required under the bill.

Income tax subtraction

Under current law, there is an individual income tax subtraction for amounts paid by a claimant for tuition expenses and mandatory student fees for a student who is the claimant or the claimant's dependent under the Internal Revenue Code, to attend an institution of higher education that is approved by the Educational Approval Board and that is located in Wisconsin, or to attend certain postsecondary schools in Minnesota to which the Minnesota-Wisconsin reciprocity agreement applies. The tuition expenses and fees for which a subtraction may be claimed are calculated based on the amount of tuition charged by the UW System at four-year institutions.

Also under current law, the subtraction that a claimant may claim for such tuition expenses and mandatory student fees is reduced as the claimant's annual federal adjusted gross income (FAGI) increases until, at a certain point, no subtraction may be claimed. Currently, the allowable subtraction phases out, for a single person or a married person filing as a head of household, as the claimant's FAGI increases from $50,000 to $60,000. Once such a claimant's FAGI exceeds $60,000, he or she may not claim the subtraction. For a married person filing a joint return, the phaseout occurs as the married couple's joint FAGI increases from $80,000 to $100,000, and no subtraction is allowed once the married couple's joint FAGI exceeds $100,000. The phaseout for a married person filing a separate return occurs as the claimant's FAGI increases from $40,000 to $50,000, and no subtraction is allowed once the claimant's FAGI exceeds $50,000.

Under this bill, the phase-out provisions do not apply to a taxable year that begins after December 31, 2013.

This bill also expands the definition of tuition expenses to include any amount paid by a claimant in the year to which the claim relates on a student loan, the proceeds of which were used by the claimant to pay the claimant's expenses for tuition, fees, books, room and board, and educational supplies that were directly related to the claimant's attendance at an eligible institution. The bill defines eligible institution as a regionally accredited, nonprofit, postsecondary educational institution.

Student loan debt report

Under current law, HEAB administers certain grant and loan programs for resident students enrolled in institutions of higher education in this state.

This bill requires HEAB to submit an annual report to the Joint Committee on Finance regarding student loan debt incurred in the previous year by resident undergraduate students enrolled in institutions of higher education located in this state. The report must include that information, together with all of the following:

1. The statewide average amount of student loan debt incurred in the previous year by resident undergraduate students enrolled in institutions of higher education located in this state.

2. A comparison of that statewide average to the national average amount of student loan debt incurred in the previous year by undergraduate students enrolled in institutions of higher education in the United States.

3. A comparison of that statewide average to the statewide average amount of student loan debt incurred in the previous year by undergraduate students in the state with the lowest ratio of statewide average student loan debt to the lowest quintile of state per capita income.

Because this bill relates to an exemption from state or local taxes, it may be referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions for a report to be printed as an appendix to the bill.

For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SB194,1 Section 1. 13.172 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB194,5,7 13.172 (1) In this section, "agency" means an office, department, agency, institution of higher education, association, society, or other body in state government created or authorized to be created by the constitution or any law, that is entitled to expend moneys appropriated by law, including the legislature and the courts, and any authority created in subch. II of ch. 114 or in ch. 231, 233, 234, 238, 239, or 279.

SB194,2 Section 2. 13.48 (13) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB194,5,21 13.48 (13) (a) Except as provided in par. (b) or (c), every building, structure or facility that is constructed for the benefit of or use of the state, any state agency, board, commission or department, the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority, the Fox River Navigational System Authority, the Wisconsin Student Loan Refinancing Authority, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, or any local professional baseball park district created under subch. III of ch. 229 if the construction is undertaken by the department of administration on behalf of the district, shall be in compliance with all applicable state laws, rules, codes and regulations but the construction is not subject to the ordinances or regulations of the municipality in which the construction takes place except zoning, including without limitation because of enumeration ordinances or regulations relating to materials used, permits, supervision of construction or installation, payment of permit fees, or other restrictions.

SB194,3 Section 3. 13.62 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB194,6,5 13.62 (2) "Agency" means any board, commission, department, office, society, institution of higher education, council, or committee in the state government, or any authority created in subch. II of ch. 114 or in ch. 231, 232, 233, 234, 237, 238, 239, or 279, except that the term does not include a council or committee of the legislature.

SB194,4 Section 4. 13.94 (1) (dt) of the statutes is created to read:

SB194,6,11 13.94 (1) (dt) Biennially, beginning in 2017, conduct a financial audit of the Wisconsin Student Loan Refinancing Authority and a program evaluation audit of the programs administered by the Wisconsin Student Loan Refinancing Authority under ch. 239. The legislative audit bureau shall file a copy of each audit report under this paragraph with the distributees specified in par. (b).

SB194,5 Section 5. 13.94 (1s) (c) 9. of the statutes is created to read:

SB194,6,14 13.94 (1s) (c) 9. The Wisconsin Student Loan Refinancing Authority for the cost of the audit required to be performed under sub. (1) (dt).

SB194,6 Section 6. 13.94 (4) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB194,7,7 13.94 (4) (a) 1. Every state department, board, examining board, affiliated credentialing board, commission, independent agency, council or office in the executive branch of state government; all bodies created by the legislature in the legislative or judicial branch of state government; any public body corporate and politic created by the legislature including specifically the Fox River Navigational System Authority, the Lower Fox River Remediation Authority, the Wisconsin Aerospace Authority, the Wisconsin Student Loan Refinancing Authority, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, a professional baseball park district, a local professional football stadium district, a local cultural arts district, and a long-term care district under s. 46.2895; every Wisconsin works agency under subch. III of ch. 49; every provider of medical assistance under subch. IV of ch. 49; technical college district boards; every county department under s. 51.42 or 51.437; every nonprofit corporation or cooperative or unincorporated cooperative association to which moneys are specifically appropriated by state law; and every corporation, institution, association or other organization which receives more than 50% of its annual budget from appropriations made by state law, including subgrantee or subcontractor recipients of such funds.

SB194,7 Section 7. 13.95 (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read: