H.B. 515 Graduate Student Supplemental Loans

What this bill does

This bill would create a state-run subsidized loan program for graduate students in professions the federal government left out of its higher loan limits, such as nursing, social work, and education. The program would cover the gap between what students can borrow federally and their program costs, and it would be funded through a revolving loan fund.

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Every vote

• 5 yes, 4 no, 2 absentHouse Revenue and Taxation Committee: vote, which it did not pass · Feb 19, 2026Who voted how

Hearings and debates

• Feb 19, 2026 House Revenue and Taxation Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (32 turns)

  1. Committee chair50:11

     Thank you for your time. Thank you. Okay. Uh, we will move on to our first item on the agenda. HB 515. First substitute graduate student supplemental loans. Uh, representative Provo, one of our fellow committee members.

  2. Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost50:33

     Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd love presenting in this committee. I'm glad to be here. Okay. So, um, HB five 15 seeks to address an issue that has come up recently. Um, federal government made the decision that only certain graduate programs in at the university level for students would be available for federally subsidized student loans to cover the cost of the programs. The federal government proactively carved out many graduate level programs and designated them as not professional degrees. Um, some really critical examples that were carved out of being eligible for higher student. Higher rates of sub subsidized student loans include nursing, social work, public health, um, sorry, I'm scanning, um, counseling, marriage and family therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, architecture, accounting and education. What this means in practical terms for students who wanna get graduate degrees in these critical professions is that if they need, if the cost of their program exceeds the 25, I think said it, $25,000 a year, which for some programs may cover costs. Um, but not for all of them, especially for advanced degrees like PhDs. Um, students either have to forego their graduate degree because they don't have, they're not wealthy enough to fund their own programs, or they have to borrow in the private market at much higher interest rates, which, when it comes to paying back student loans, post graduating can be catastrophic for these students. And so what this does is it just creates a state level subsidized student loan program that mirrors the federal program that would cover the dis the difference between what students could borrow, borrow under the federal program, and allows them to also have a subsidized student loan program in via a revolving loan fund that would be run by, by the state for students at UI schools. And that's what the bill does. And I, that's my presentation.

  3. Committee chair52:52

     Okay. Thank you, representative. Uh, bring it back to the committee for potential questions.

  4. Unknown speaker52:58speaker not certain

     Representative? No, when? Nope. I, sorry. Got the microphones mixed up. They're Representative Christofferson. Thank you. Let's see. They're both on now. I'll pick. Okay. I'll pick 'em Off. Um, thank you.

  5. Rep. Jill Koford53:19

     Um, so just to make sure I understand the program, so, so where's the, where's the money coming from then? What, uh, fund is that? So it would be the, the, the fund itself for the program. Let me just, I was looking at the fiscal note there. Um, pulls out, um, unspent funding at us, yet Yui that had, that they have at the end of the year. And so it puts it into a evolving loan fund, so it becomes self perpetuating. So For the principal of the loan fund, Yeah, I was looking at that and it looked like it brought in millions of dollars from all the school, like millions. Um, it could, but we're giving the, um, the program rulemaking authority to set limits on that as the, as yui feels, sees fit. And then do you, and then what rate do they charge for the, So The difference between what their needs are? The legislative intent is to match whatever the federal loan rate is. And that's why it's not to defined in statute, because that does fluctuate. Okay. Thanks. I just have a little concern about, you know, I mean, that's a lot of money that these schools would roll up into this fund, and then I'm just not sure what the guidelines are and who makes the rules of how that's spent. So it just, it makes me a little nervous. I don't know if, if you can help me understand how that control is gonna be handled. So if you look at the fiscal note fiscal year 2027, we're looking at a possible principle amount in that loan fund is of 1.5 million. So in the, so all of those, if I may continue all of those, yes. All of those schools that have the excess funds that they haven't used, can, that can all be rolled into this fund. Okay. So the fiscal note, is it okay if I just read the fiscal note note? I just wanna make sure that we're all clear. Um, so enactment of the legislation could result in a net sweep of unspent funds at degree granting institutions of 158 million. Yes. Which is a lot. And then it's broken down by the universities Enactment of the legislation could also cost the board of higher education 1.5 million in ongoing to administer the loan program. And that would be if they chose to sweep all of that money into the fund, but they have discretion about how much they want to sweep into the fund. So that would be set in rulemaking. Okay. Thank you. Appreciate it.

  6. Committee chair55:59

     Okay. Thank you, Representative Koford.

  7. Rep. Jill Koford56:02

     Yeah, Just a couple of questions.

  8. Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost56:03

     Where is Yushi on this policy? I don't know. There haven't been any conversations. They Haven't reached out to me in response to it. No, this actually came to committee a lot faster than I expected it to, so, okay. And, and the, I am assuming that the other universities on their unspent funding haven't weighed in on that. I haven't heard from anyone. Um, so a about three years ago, the state dq, the student loan program that we did have, I think it was about three or four years ago, we had a student loan program. We di divested ourselves of the student loan program. So we didn't want to be apparently in the student loan business. Um, well, four years ago, the federal government didn't put limits on the ability of students to borrow the cost of their degrees.

  9. Committee chair56:49

     Okay. Mr. Richard, thank you. Seeing no further lights from the committee, is there be heard from the public wishing to speak to this bill. Anybody on line? Okay. Um, seeing nobody from the public, we will close, uh, public comment and bring it back to the committee for further discussion or action.

  10. Committee chair57:16

      I, I will take the prerogative of the chair to make a comment on this. So, years ago, I worked on legislation that the legislature passed, creating funding for additional psychiatry residencies. I went on a quest to figure out why do we have a shortage of certain healthcare professionals? And I met with the chair of psychiatry at the University of Utah, and he says, it's not because there's not a lot of students wanting to go into this. In fact, it's the most subscribed to residency and has now exceeded dermatology. The problem is, in 1996, Congress quit funding additional residencies. So I think we've become so dependent on the federal government for so many years that we've become, it's almost a learned helplessness. We're like, well, the federal government will do this, they'll do that. So as the federal government tightens their belt, which, you know, they drastically need to do 'cause they overspend by trillions, rightly or wrongly, this program was cut. I think the fundamental question, um, is do we think that these degrees are important positions in our society, particularly in areas of healthcare shortage in our, particularly our rural areas? And do we want to help play a role in getting these critical healthcare professionals? Um, again, it's a loan. So ironically, you'll be actually making money on this money That would be, I guess maybe in some sort of interest reserve account. Anyway. Uh, we have these are generally would be swept back into the general fund and spent elsewhere. So, uh, but mine's just a, a comment that I, I commend you for, um, trying to figure out this is issue of healthcare shortage and, um, stepping in where the federal government has, uh, left off, which I think we could spend an a, a a decade of legislative sessions looking at areas run by the federal government that really should be run by the states. So that's my commentary, so, okay. And, and a commentary.

  11. Committee chair59:22

      Um, so, uh, Representative Shepherd, there you go. The sub's already been adopted, right? By rules?

  12. Rep. Lisa Shepherd59:31

      Yes, there's, yes. Mm-hmm. So I moved to Favorably move out. Sorry. Can you, can, is your microphone I turn Oh, I'm waiting guys. Just be a little closer. Yeah. I can't, can I go in? There we go. Yep. Okay. I move, uh, house Bill five 15. First substitute graduate student supplemental loans out to the house floor with favorable recommendation.

  13. Committee chair59:50

      Thank you. Would you like to speak to that?

  14. Rep. Lisa Shepherd59:53

      I, I actually think this is a really great idea. Maybe I'll go back to school.

  15. Committee chair59:56

      Okay. Okay, great. Never heard that summary before. Um, discussion. I commend Getting a PhD while you're serving as The religious leader. Discussion to that motion Representative Kyle.

  16. Rep. Jason B. Kyle1:00:07

      Yeah. I, I think when we subsidize things as a government, we end up increasing the costs. I mean, I look at, uh, I'm about to go back to school again and it's like a almost a hundred grand for a, a master's in business. And I, I think that's the only reason that it, it's that high is because they can get it. And so I, I think subsidizing this will just, I think that increases cost. If, if they want to, if they want people trained, we need to lower what it costs and letting the market drive it, what we're subsidizing it, which, which is increasing the cost for everybody. So I I I, I don't support, uh, subsidizing this, so, thanks.

  17. Committee chair1:00:39

      Okay. Thank you. Uh, scene? No fur. Oh, Representative Koford.

  18. Rep. Jill Koford1:00:46

      Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to make a substitute motion that we hold the bill.

  19. Committee chair1:00:50

      Okay. Uh, would you like that's an order we'd like to speak to that I would,

  20. Rep. Jill Koford1:00:53

      And I, I appreciate that. What you're trying to do and the reasons why. Um, my concern is that if you, she hasn't been to the table and our institutions of higher learning have not been to the table, and we're going to co-opt their funding, I just think that they need to be part of the conversation. The bill sponsor acknowledged that the bill would come a little bit faster than she'd wanted it to. So my recommendation is that we just hang onto it and get some other people to the table to talk about it.

  21. Committee chair1:01:17

      Okay. Thank you. Uh, back to Representative Shepherd who made the underlying motion to respond.

  22. Rep. Lisa Shepherd1:01:28

      I'm sorry, I don't wanna hold it. I just wanna pass it, but that's okay. Whatever the body decides.

  23. Committee chair1:01:33

      Okay. Uh, thank you, um, to the sponsor.

  24. Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost1:01:38

      Thank you, Mr. Chair. And yes, I, I, I acknowledge that that is, um, something that is absolutely valid, but I also wanna just point out that the, you know, the bill has been out and the, the silence is deafening. And, um, either way, I'll be reaching out to, to get some feedback, recognizing how late it is in the session. I, I do believe this is worthy of more discussion. Um, regardless, I, this is not the last time that I will present this, um, to, may I address the other comment, Mr. Chair? Or just the, the motion? From

  25. Committee chair1:02:16

      Just the motion. Okay. Back to Representative Koford

  26. Unknown speaker1:02:19speaker not certain

      for summation on her motion. Oh, I wasn't Done waive. Okay. I'll, I wasn't Done. I was just, I'm, I'm sorry. Go ahead.

  27. Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost1:02:26speaker not certain

      Sorry. I just wasn't sure which, which comments I was allowed to respond to if it was just Representative Koford comments, or all the comments made since the original motion.

  28. Committee chair1:02:35

      Uh, we're speaking specifically to the motion to hold.

  29. Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost1:02:38

      Okay. Um, I do, I do have concerns because of the, the timing in the session. I do believe that if Hui had a, a problem with this, then the fact that they didn't reach out to me and ask and ask questions is also concerning. But I also fully recognize that as the sponsor of the bill that is on me. Um, the problem that we, that we have with this idea that it, that students' responsibility to, To comp, to somehow compensate for the failures of the cost of higher education, um, frightens me just because we, I mean, we have a shortage of these professions, a desperate shortage of these professions. And it means that it students that otherwise would go into these fields will not, um, has a, a significant ripple effect. And I think, I also think that having a program like this, this is not free money. This is still money that is borrowed at an interest rate. It's just not borrowed. They just don't, we're just not requiring students to borrow at, you know, 18 or 20 or 25%, which is, you know, usy. Um, I think that this actually would function to drive demand for spots in the state of Utah if students know that they can access programs here in the state of Utah, but not in other states because they're more expensive just by nature of the loans they have to take. I think this also gives our higher education programs a competitive advantage. Um, I am happy to work with whatever the committee decides, but would very much like the opportunity to work on this, uh, continue to present some options that address concerns on the house floor.

  30. Committee chair1:04:35

      Okay. Thank you. I'm gonna give, uh, since I was slightly out of order there, Representative Koford, do you want to, to sum?

  31. Rep. Jill Koford1:04:42

      No. I'll, I'll waive. Okay. Alright. Okay.

  32. Committee chair1:04:43

      I'll, I'll, uh, chair will place the motion to hold the bill. All in favor of holding and say aye. Aye. Will the ayes raise their hand? Okay. All in favor or all opposed? Raise their hands. Okay. Okay. Motion to hold passes. Five four. That's always better than being tabled. Okay. Thank you.