Committee hears House Bill 28 to create three-year student loan repayment pilot to recruit Alaskans back to work

Representative Andy Storey told the House Education Committee on March 12 that House Bill 28 would establish a three-year student loan repayment pilot to recruit former Alaskans back to work in Alaska as classroom teachers or state employees.

The program would pay $8,000 per year, applied directly to a recipient’s student loan servicer, for up to three years (a maximum of $24,000) to eligible hires. Representative Storey said the pilot is designed to reach roughly 120 employees and that the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education (ACPE) had reviewed the bill’s proposed funding source, the Higher Education Investment Fund (HEIF).

Carrie Thomas, acting executive director of ACPE, told the committee that the fund’s current balance can support the pilot but cautioned that recent program additions — notably the Alaska Performance Scholarship and medical education appropriations — raised HEIF obligations and that ACPE has only one full cohort of Alaska Performance Scholarship data to forecast future impacts. ACPE’s letter, included in the committee packet, said a $3 million appropriation spread over three years would not “significantly alter long term sustainability” but noted the commission would need multiple years of APS data to improve projections.

The bill does not itself appropriate funds; Representative Storey and legislative finance staff clarified the program would be subject to appropriation. Storey said if the fiscal note is included in an operating budget it would remain in the base through fiscal year 2028 unless the Legislature removes it or the governor vetoes the fiscal note.

Members asked technical questions about program design, eligibility and how the pilot differs from the existing (but unfunded) teacher education loan forgiveness program in statute. ACPE said the earlier program provided loan forgiveness administered while students pursued education (with multi-year forgiveness schedules) and that forgiveness is administratively more complex; by contrast the proposed pilot provides repayment assistance to people who already hold loans and are entering the workforce.

Representative Storey said he seeks committee support to move the bill forward and set an amendment deadline for House Bill 28 of Friday, March 14 at 3 p.m. No committee vote on final passage was taken on March 12.

Key program details discussed in committee: - Payment amount: $8,000 per year, paid to lenders; up to three years, maximum $24,000 per participant. - Estimated slots: committee discussion referenced approximately 120 employees over the pilot. - Funding: proposed source is the Higher Education Investment Fund; ACPE asked for more years of Alaska Performance Scholarship data to refine projections. - Appropriation: the program requires legislative appropriation; passage of the policy would not automatically create funding.

The committee set an amendment deadline and asked ACPE to provide additional information about the historical teacher-loan programs and the HEIF cash-flow implications if the bill advances.