Alaska committee hears bill to use higher-education fund for student loan repayment; sponsor to await revenue report

Rep. Story, co-chair of the House Education Committee, introduced House Bill 28 on Feb. 24, 2025, saying the bill would create a student loan repayment program administered by the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education (ACPE) and funded through the Higher Education Investment Fund (HEIF).

The sponsor told the committee the Department of Revenue had not yet provided a letter detailing the fund's current status and that she planned to set a later amendment deadline after receiving that information. “We have been the post secondary commission, Carrie Thomas, who's with us today, the interim director,” Rep. Story said while noting the Department of Revenue was still finalizing figures for the committee.

Carrie Thomas, acting executive director at ACPE, told the committee the Higher Education Investment Fund has been used for multiple education-related purposes and, at times, to address Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) indebtedness. “Most of those uses are education related in some form,” she said. Thomas said there has not been a prior appropriation from HEIF specifically for loan repayment and explained that repayments from the WWAMI physician program go to the general fund, not back into HEIF.

Committee members asked about past forgiveness programs and the fiscal mechanics of using HEIF for loan repayment. One member referred to recent repayments and what he recalled as a fund balance “418,000,000.” Thomas and members discussed that earlier forgiveness programs ended when borrowers failed to return to Alaska and repay loans, undermining fiscal sustainability.

The bill's sponsor said the program is designed to encourage Alaskans who left the state for college to return and fill high‑vacancy roles, such as teaching and state employment. The sponsor described program eligibility as including certification and a period living out of state before qualifying and said the Commission would work on regulations to operationalize those details.

Members raised questions about appropriation mechanics and whether a pilot (for example, $1 million per year) could offer more certainty to applicants. ACPE said it would develop policy and outcome measures—attraction, retention during the program and retention beyond it—if the bill advances.

After questioning, Rep. Story said she would hold HB 28 pending receipt of the Department of Revenue letter and set a later amendment deadline. No formal vote was taken.

What's next: The committee held HB 28 for follow-up, including a requested revenue/fund-status letter from the Department of Revenue and further regulatory details from ACPE.