House Bill 2,148: lawmakers hear sponsor and large public support for state 'Pay It Forward' graduate aid program

The committee heard House Bill 2,148, a proposal to create a state‑run Pay It Forward program that would loan money to graduate students for tuition costs and require income‑based contributions after graduation to sustain the program for future cohorts.

Committee counsel summarized the bill: the program would lend for up to four years or 125% of program length, require contributions beginning one year after graduation, cap contribution rates by institution type (up to 5% of income for state universities and up to 3.5% for regional universities), require contributions to be prorated to the number of credits taken, and limit repayment periods to no more than 15 years. The Student Achievement Council would be tasked with developing and administering the program.

Prime sponsor Representative Reid framed the bill as a state response to pending federal changes (cited as HR 1 during the hearing) that will reduce or eliminate the graduate PLUS program and narrow which professional degrees qualify for federal loans. Reid said the proposal aims to preserve pipelines for nurses, therapists, teachers and researchers by offering a revolving fund in which graduates’ contributions support subsequent cohorts.

Committee members pressed the sponsor and counsel on key details that the bill does not specify. Counsel said the bill is silent on an interest rate; members asked whether the program has a per‑student loan cap, how capitalization would be handled, and how repayment would be enforced if graduates leave the state. Reid said repayment is structured as an income‑based obligation for up to 15 years, that statutory caps on loan amounts were not specified in the current draft, and that initial capitalization would likely require state treasury action or private contributions — details that could be refined in rulemaking or fiscal work.

Public testimony was strongly pro: Annika Peterson (student lobbyist for over 17,000 UW graduate/professional students) described students facing very high tuition and limited federal options; Ali Malecki (WSU graduate students), Colin Banister (Washington Student Association), Nathan Tippman (Evergreen students) and John Burbank all urged support. Witnesses stressed that disrupted federal loan access has pushed students toward private predatory loans or forced program withdrawals and described the Pay It Forward model as an income‑scaled, non‑predatory alternative. Burbank cited Indiana/Purdue’s 'Back a Boiler' program as an example and noted the bill expressly allows private contributions to capitalize the revolving fund.

The hearing produced no vote; the committee concluded the public testimony and moved to the next bill. Several members requested additional fiscal details from the bill’s fiscal note before further action.