A state lawmaker from Tulsa is proposing legislation to help with a student debt crisis.
Rep. Melissa Provenzano’s bill would establish a set of ethical guidelines for lenders, including not misleading borrowers about the terms and conditions of their student loans, correctly applying payments to outstanding balances, and informing borrowers about repayment options before offering forbearance, a period where payments are paused but interest accumulates.
"What we have here is people who are paying and paying and paying for years but barely seeing a drop in the amount they owe because of these practices that are currently running amok," Provenzano said.
Oklahomans carry more than $14 billion in student loan debt, with nearly $2.3 billion of that in delinquency. The average borrower owes around $30,000.
"Many are putting off buying homes or saving for emergencies and even waiting to start families, and not investing in our local economy the way that we could," Provenzano said.
Fellow Tulsa Rep. John Waldron supports the measure. He said he knows teachers who are still paying off their loans after 20 years in the classroom.
"We let 18-year-olds make complex lending arrangements to pay for a college education we told them was necessary, and they don’t always understand what happens when they graduate from college and how long they’re going to be saddled with debt," Waldron said.
The bill does not involve student loan debt forgiveness. Provenzano said her bill has bipartisan support.
