Maine students studying science, technology, engineering or mathematics in college would get a break on student loans through a program endorsed 9-3 Tuesday by the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.

The governor’s bill, L.D. 1655, would offer interest-free Finance Authority of Maine loans to Maine residents who study in any of those fields in any college – including out of state – and go on to work in a related job in Maine.

The loans would be capped at $7,500 a year over five years, roughly the same amount as the average student loan debt carried by Maine graduates.

Rep. Matthew Pouliot, R-Augusta, said he voted against the bill because the loan could apply to students studying out of state.

The bill does not include any financing, but the governor’s office is separately proposing a $10 million bond to take to voters this fall that would launch the program, according to former Maine Education Commissioner Tom Desjardin, who spoke on behalf of the governor’s office on the bill. Passing the bill would mean the language would be in place whenever funding is approved.

Desjardin said the bond would be a way to jump-start the program.

“If the program is wildly successful, we can find other sources of funding and it can expand to lots of other (non-STEM) areas,” he told the committee.

The loans would have a tiered interest rate, and students who went on to work outside the STEM fields would pay 5 percent, and students who left the state would pay 8 percent.

Lawmakers on the committee added language to the bill to spell out that the loans would cover students who become teachers of STEM subjects.

Maine’s need for STEM workers is expected to rise sharply in the coming years, according to a 2015 report by the state Department of Labor. The number of science- and technology-related jobs is expected to increase by almost 7,000, or 6.5 percent, from 2012 to 2022.

In-state tuition and fees at the University of Maine in Orono total $10,600 a year, plus an additional $100 per engineering course.

FAME is a quasi-independent state agency that distributes funds authorized by the state to Maine residents for business and education opportunities.

FAME already offers several student loan programs that offer loan forgiveness if graduates work in the state in specific fields, such as dentistry or education. It also offers low-interest loan programs for particular fields, such as postgraduate medical, dental and veterinary education.

 

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