New Legislation Would Forbid License Suspension Due to Student Loan Default

March 7, 2019

Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) reintroduced the Protecting JOBs Act (S. 609) on Feb. 28. Under the bill, any state that receives federal funding through the Higher Education Act would be barred from denying, suspending, or revoking an occupational license or a driver's license solely because a borrower defaulted on their federal student loans.

Although several states have rescinded laws that call for seizing or suspending licenses, barriers remain for some license holders. As of 2018, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) reports at least eight states—Alaska, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Texas—maintain laws requiring all occupational boards to revoke licenses for defaulting on any type of federal or state education loan. An additional five states—Arkansas, California, Mississippi, Minnesota, and Florida—revoke only the licenses of health care professionals for defaulting on education loans. In Arkansas and Mississippi, the laws apply only to state health care education loans and scholarship agreements.

Read more on ANA's Capitol Beat blog