House unanimously endorses "Opportunity Maine" legislation

Bill will help college graduates pay off student loans if they stay in Maine

June 19, 2007

AUGUSTA – The Maine House of Representatives gave unanimous approval on Tuesday to a bill designed to encourage Maine college graduates to stay in the state by creating a new tax credit for graduates or their employers to pay off student loans.

LD 1856, also known as the “Opportunity Maine” bill, came to the Legislature as the result of a signature drive by Opportunity Maine, a diverse organization of people from across the state who were concerned with the cost of higher education and the difficulties that young Maine graduates face in paying for their loans without having to leave the state. The group collected more than 73,000 signatures throughout the winter supporting a proposal to help graduates pay for their loans through a tax credit.

“There has never been a generation graduating with more educational debt – an average of about $23,000 per student – than the generation graduating now,” said Rep. Herb Adams, D-Portland, who worked with Opportunity Maine to guide the bill though the legislative process. “This is the G.I. Bill for 'Generation Next.'”

Adams submitted the bill on his own in December, in case Opportunity Maine was not able to collect the necessary number of signatures in time to initiate a bill this year. He later withdrew his bill after the group’s signatures were verified and worked for months to lead the bill toward unanimous support from the Taxation Committee and Legislature.

Adams’s district, made up of the Bayside and Parkside neighborhoods of Portland, is home to many USM students and graduates.

Under the bill, Mainers who earn an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree from an accredited Maine junior college, college or university may take advantage of the credit. The graduate’s employer can also choose to make the loan payments for their employee and take advantage of the credit themselves.

The credit is limited to what the person actually pays in loan payments or to what would be necessary to pay for an education in the University of Maine System or Maine Community College System, whichever is less.

“This proposal will have a tremendous effect on our state’s economy,” said House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven. “Young professionals bring fresh ideas, new energy and limitless long-term potential to Maine businesses and communities. They’re also generally healthy, they’re active consumers and they contribute to the economy without needing to use much state services.”

Adams said that only five citizen-initiated bills have been enacted directly into law by the Maine Legislature in the past 100 years, and he believes that the Opportunity Maine bill is the first one to pass with unanimous support from the entire Legislature.

The proposed measure will cost the state around $150,000 over the next two years, and legislators predict that they will be able to secure the funding. Opportunity Maine representatives and some young legislators say that the economic benefits will outweigh the program’s costs, as more young people secure jobs in state and invest the money that they’re saving on loan payments into the economy.

A lot of the people that I graduated from college with have told me that their primary concern is paying off their student loans,” said Rep. Bryan Kaenrath, D-South Portland, a recent graduate of the University of Maine and the youngest member of the Legislature. “This measure will not only help them address this concern, but it will also encourage them to stay in Maine and contribute to the state’s economy. It’s a great step toward making Maine one of the best states in the country for young people to live, work and thrive.”

Contact:

Travis Kennedy, Communications Director, 287-1433