A Resolution on Occupational Licensing and Student Loan Defaults

Model Bill Info
Bill Title	A Resolution on Occupational Licensing and Student Loan Defaults
Date Introduced	November 5, 2019
Type	Model Policy
Status	Final
Task Forces	Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development

A Resolution on Occupational Licensing and Student Loan Defaults

Whereas, upwards of 30 percent of Americans must have an occupational license to work in their profession; and

Whereas, nearly one out of every four Americans under the age of 30 has student loan debt, and outstanding American student loans total around $1.4 trillion; and

Whereas, in the 1980s and 1990s, many states enacted laws permitting licensing boards to strip workers of their licenses including occupational licenses, commercial driver’s license and other job-related licenses, and therefore their jobs, if they fell behind on their student loan payments; and

Whereas, this policy creates unemployment, makes it more difficult for defaulters to repay their debts, pushes individuals into poverty and hurts their families; and

Whereas, the jobless are more likely to seek state-funded assistance, increasing the taxpayer burden; and

Whereas, analyses show that this is an unreliable means of deterring student loan defaults; and

Whereas, no less than ten states have repealed this power since 2018;

Therefore, be it resolved that California, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota ought to follow suit and abolish this authority.