New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation that ended the practice of charging those with student loans an additional fee when collecting outstanding debts.
The legislation (S.7862B/A.10261) ends the 22% fee which was added by states in addition to the total amount of debt due. Before this law, state law said that the Attorney General’s Civil Recoveries Bureau recover its costs of pursuing collections of education-related debt by means of the additional fee.
“When students across New York spoke up about the difficulties of digging out of debt, my administration listened,” Governor Hochul said on Oct. 13. “By signing this legislation, we are removing a barrier to higher education and ensuring that students can graduate without debilitating debt that has disproportionately hurt students least able to afford it. Every New Yorker deserves access to a quality education without fear of getting trapped in a cycle of debt.”
