SECTION 1. (a) The Massachusetts General Court shall initiate a commission to study and draft policies to ease the burden of student loan debt on citizens on the Commonwealth.

(1)Said Commission shall have three members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House;

(2)Said Commission shall have three members of the Massachusetts Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate;

(3)Said commission shall have two attorneys, admitted to the Massachusetts Bar, who specialize in student loans for higher education;

(4)Said Commission shall have a representative from a consumer advocacy group, operating in Massachusetts, which has a history of advocating for student borrower protections; and

(5)Said Commission shall have a representative from an association or advocacy group, operating in Massachusetts, which has a history of advocating on behalf of lenders and banks.

(b)The commission will specifically study

(1)The economic impact of student loan debt on individuals and families in the Commonwealth;

(2)The lending and refinancing programs currently run by the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority and other private lenders;

(3)The possibility of a new state-run refinancing program that can offer refinancing loans to borrowers with lower credit scores who cannot currently get their loans refinanced through MEFA or private lenders;

(4)Repayment Assistance Programs for borrowers in high-need professions and locations in the Commonwealth;

(5)Tax relief programs for borrowers of student loans in the Commonwealth; and

(6)Any other programs or policies that would be beneficial for those working to repay student loan debt in the Commonwealth.

(c)Said commission shall file a report that includes policy recommendations to improve existing programs that seek to ease the burden of student loan debt, in addition to policy recommendations to establish new programs for the same purpose. They shall file their report with the clerk of either chamber, as well as the Chairmen of the Joint Committee on Higher Education and the Joint Committee on Financial Services, no later than December 31st, 2017.