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| To require the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of | 1 |
| Regents to consider creating a pilot program | 2 |
| called "Pay Forward, Pay Back" to replace the | 3 |
| current tuition system at state institutions of | 4 |
| higher education and to declare an emergency. | 5 |
| Section 1. (A) The Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, | 6 |
| in consultation with the Ohio Board of Regents, shall consider the | 7 |
| creation of a pilot program called "Pay Forward, Pay Back" in this | 8 |
| state that does all of the following: | 9 |
| (1) Replaces the current system of charging students tuition | 10 |
| and fees for enrollment at state institutions of higher education, | 11 |
| as that term is defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code; | 12 |
| (2) Allows a student who is a resident of the state, as | 13 |
| defined by rule adopted under section 3333.31 of the Revised Code, | 14 |
| and who qualifies for admission to a state institution of higher | 15 |
| education to enroll in the institution without paying tuition or | 16 |
| fees; | 17 |
| (3) Provides that, in lieu of paying tuition or fees, the | 18 |
| student must sign a binding contract to pay to the state or to the | 19 |
| student's institution a certain percentage of the student's annual | 20 |
| adjusted gross income upon graduation from the institution for a | 21 |
| specified number of years. | 22 |
| (B) If the Chancellor, in consultation with the Board, | 23 |
| determines that such a pilot program is warranted, the Chancellor | 24 |
| shall submit a proposal for the pilot program to the General | 25 |
| Assembly on the first day of the first regular session of the | 26 |
| 131st General Assembly. The proposal shall be developed in | 27 |
| consultation with the Board and shall do all of the following: | 28 |
| (1) Identify one or more state institutions of higher | 29 |
| education to participate in the pilot program; | 30 |
| (2) Specify the number of years and the percentage of annual | 31 |
| adjusted gross income for contracts at participating institutions, | 32 |
| which may vary by institution depending on the total cost of | 33 |
| education at the institution and the portion of the cost that is | 34 |
| paid by the state, and base those specifications on current | 35 |
| research; | 36 |
| (3) Identify an immediate funding source for the first | 37 |
| fifteen to twenty years of the pilot program and a method for | 38 |
| collecting payments for the program. | 39 |
| Section 2. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency | 40 |
| measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public | 41 |
| peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity is to | 42 |
| eliminate the growing burden of student loan debt carried by many | 43 |
| of Ohio's college graduates. Therefore, this act shall go into | 44 |
| immediate effect. | 45 |