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H 3349

Student Loan Forgiveness

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Wendell Gilliard

Mass. H 3349 would move the Department of Correction and Parole Board from EOPSS to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, reshaping oversight and priorities.

Referred to Committee on Invitations and Memorial Resolutions
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Bill Summary · H 3349

Summary — H 3349 (Student Loan Forgiveness / Agency Realignment)

Note: The filing for H 3349 contains two distinct items interleaved in the legislative text: (A) a Massachusetts bill titled “An Act to return DOC and Parole to Health and Human Services” that would reorganize executive agencies, and (B) a separate house resolution urging the U.S. Congress to forgive student loan debt for registered nurses and doctors (the resolution text appears to match a South Carolina-style memorial resolution). The entry below describes both components, and flags inconsistencies in jurisdiction and text.

Purpose

  • Primary statutory proposal (Massachusetts): Transfer administrative jurisdiction of the Department of Correction (DOC) and the Parole Board from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS).
  • Separate resolution (memorial): Urge the U.S. Congress to enact federal legislation forgiving student loan debt for all registered nurses and doctors.

Key provisions — statutory reorganization (Massachusetts)

  • Amends section 16 of chapter 6A (Mass. Gen. Laws) to list agencies included in EOHHS and explicitly add “the department of correction, including the parole board” to EOHHS.
  • Replaces section 18 of chapter 6A to enumerate agencies that remain within EOPSS (fire services; grants/research and highway safety division; municipal police training committee; criminal justice information services; state 911; state police; chief medical examiner; emergency management agency; military department; sex offender registry board; and related boards/agencies).
  • Amends chapter 27 (sections 1, 2, 4 and 7) by replacing references to “public safety” with “health and human services” where specified (shifting statutory cross-references to reflect the transfer).

Key provisions — resolution on student loan forgiveness

  • Non‑binding house resolution urging members of the U.S. Congress to enact federal legislation to forgive student loan debt for all registered nurses and doctors.
  • Rationale in text: high education costs for clinicians, national need for healthcare workers, and using loan relief to encourage careers in medicine/nursing.

Who would be affected

  • DOC employees, Parole Board members, and agencies that work with corrections/parole would move administratively from EOPSS oversight to EOHHS oversight; this could affect reporting lines, policy priorities, budgeting processes, and interagency coordination.
  • The resolution would primarily signal the state legislature’s support for federal loan-forgiveness legislation for nurses and doctors; it does not itself change federal student loan policy or create a state program.

Procedural status & timeline (as filed)

  • Prefiled: 12/05/2024
  • Introduced / Filed: Jan–Feb 2025 (document lists 1/14/2025 and 2/27/2025 entries)
  • Referred to: Committee on Invitations and Memorial Resolutions (and to State Administration and Regulatory Oversight per one entry)
  • Senate concurred: 02/27/2025 (per docket)
  • Hearing(s) scheduled: 10/14/2025 (listed twice; 01:00 PM–05:00 PM, room B‑2)

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Administrative: Moving DOC and the Parole Board under EOHHS could shift emphasis toward health, reentry, and rehabilitation policy frameworks and change oversight and accountability structures.
  • Fiscal: The bill text does not include specific budget or staffing changes; practical impacts (budget transfers, IT/system alignment, collective bargaining implications) would require follow‑up analysis and appropriation actions.
  • Resolution effect: Symbolic; could be used to support federal advocacy but does not alter loan obligations.

Notes and inconsistencies

  • The filing mixes Massachusetts statutory amendment language with a separate memorial/resolution text urging federal student loan forgiveness that appears modeled on a South Carolina house resolution (duplicate text and dates appear). The docket shows varied referral committees and dates, suggesting conflation of multiple measures or clerical duplication. Further clerk verification is recommended to determine the official single-bill text and jurisdictional intent.

Related bill reference: HD 1689 (replaces).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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