(1) (a) The general assembly finds and declares that: (I) Many Coloradans have federal student loans made through the United States department of education's direct loan program or the federal family education loan program; (II) Large amounts of student loan debt and insecurity in the job market have resulted in high student loan default rates; (III) However, many borrowers qualify for loan repayment programs that allow for lower monthly payments; (IV) In addition, there are federal programs that allow borrowers to have their loans forgiven after working for a certain period of time in the public sector, as a teacher, or for a nonprofit public service organization; (V) The federal consumer financial protection bureau has a toolkit and resources to help employers assist their employees in accessing the federal programs; (VI) As a public sector employer, Colorado can help qualified employees access federal loan repayment and loan forgiveness programs for which they may qualify by providing information to its employees about these federal programs; and (VII) Further, school districts, the state charter school institute, local governmental entities, and nonprofit public service organizations can assist their employees by providing information about these federal programs. (b) Therefore, the general assembly declares that employees will benefit from receiving information about federal student loan programs that provide assistance through loan repayment options or loan forgiveness. (2) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Public service loan forgiveness program" means the loan forgiveness program set forth in 34 CFR 685.219. (b) "Teacher loan forgiveness program" means the loan forgiveness program set forth in 34 CFR 685.217. (3) (a) On or before December 31, 2019, the department of personnel shall develop informational materials described in subsection (3)(e) of this section to increase awareness of the public service loan forgiveness program, the teacher loan forgiveness program, and federal student loan repayment options, including income-sensitive repayment programs. In lieu of developing the informational materials, the department of personnel may provide materials published by a federal agency that include the required information. (b) On or before January 1, 2020, and on or before January 1 each year thereafter, the department of personnel shall facilitate the distribution of the informational materials to: (I) All state employees; (II) The department of education, for distribution to each school district and board of cooperative services and to the state charter school institute for the benefit of teachers employed by a school district, a district charter school, a board of cooperative services, or by an institute charter school; (III) The department of higher education, for distribution to the governing board for each state institution of higher education for the benefit of employees of state institutions of higher education; (IV) The secretary of state, for posting the informational materials on the secretary of state's website for distribution to nonprofit public service organizations, as defined in 34 CFR 685.219, for the benefit of the employees of nonprofit public service organizations; and (V) The division of local government in the department of local affairs, for distribution to local governmental entities, as defined in section 24-32-104 (1)(m)(II). (c) In addition to annual distribution, the department of personnel shall facilitate the distribution of the informational materials to newly hired state employees as part of its employee orientation process. (d) The department of personnel may distribute the informational materials to state employees or human resources directors through an e-mail or as part of a mailing or regular communication to state employees. (e) The information provided pursuant to this section must include a summary of the public service loan forgiveness program, the teacher loan forgiveness program, and federal student loan repayment programs, including who may be eligible for the programs, steps that an eligible employee must take in order to participate in the programs, and a recommendation that employees contact their student loan servicer or private education lender or an ombudsman at the state, if one exists, for additional information. (f) The department of personnel shall make the informational materials available on the department of personnel's website. The department of personnel shall verify the information's accuracy at least annually and update the informational materials as necessary. The department of personnel shall distribute updated informational materials to the entities included in subsection (3)(b) of this section.
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