Juneau — Monday, Representative Matt Claman (D-Anchorage) introduced legislation that limits state power by repealing statutes that allow the state to not renew occupational licenses for defaulting on a student loan.

“This bill supports students and limits government overreach by eliminating unnecessary statutes that are not in use currently and should not be used,” said Rep. Claman.

The Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education (ACPE) works with individuals who are delinquent or in default on their Alaska student loans.  The ACPE is very effective collecting these debts by garnishing wages and Permanent Fund Dividends.  Alaska law allows the ACPE to prevent renewal of an occupational license for failure to pay on a student loan.  However, the Commission has not exercised this power for many years because the garnishment methods are effective.  The loan repayment statutes cover occupational licenses for nursing, teachers (K-12), and correctional officers.

“Fortunately, the ACPE is not currently putting holds on professional licenses, but these laws could have the very negative consequence of actually limiting opportunities for Alaskans who are working hard to pay off their student loan,” said Rep. Claman.  “Statutes that allow a state agency to threaten the nonrenewal of an occupational license is unfair to hard-working Alaskans.”[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

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