The Connecticut House of Representatives passed H.B. 5241, an act requiring a study of a Pay it Forward college payment plan.
The bill gained bipartisan support Monday night, passing with of a vote of 103 to 40.
H.B. 5241 would study ‘Pay It Forward’, an innovative policy to reduce student debt. Students at public universities and community colleges would pay no tuition up-front. In exchange, they would “pay forward” the cost of instruction for the next generation of students by paying a small percentage of their income for a set period of years.
Americans have more than $1.2 trillion in student debt, and seven million borrowers are currently in default.
The Connecticut Working Families has worked to pass H.B. 5241. Last year, Oregon Working Families introduced the idea of the Pay it Forward plan and passed a similar study bill.
Currently, Oregon is working to develop a pilot program to test a Pay it Forward style funding program. Connecticut would be the second state to study a Pay it Forward system.