Grant Wallace, director of the Employee Benefits Division, presented a proposed three‑year contract for a student loan forgiveness adviser to assist state employees with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

Wallace told the committee the contract would provide advisers to help employees navigate PSLF verification and compliance, including on‑site visits, agency town halls, one‑on‑one sessions and virtual options. He described the program as complicated: "I will personally attest to the complexity of it because I thought I was doing the right thing, and I completely messed up my ability to participate in this program," Wallace said, explaining why the state is seeking outside expertise.

Under the terms Wallace described, the initial one‑year payment is $304,000; the initial three‑year cost is $917,000; and the full seven‑year potential cost is $2,100,000 if the contract were extended that long. Wallace said the contract contains a contingent provision: if Congress were to end PSLF through legislation, the contract would also end.

Committee members asked how many state employees might be eligible. Wallace said the working estimate was about 6,000 employees who could participate, and he said roughly 10% historically "make it all the way through" the program without external assistance; the proposed adviser would aim to improve that outcome. When Senator Bryant asked whether a federal allocation exists for PSLF participation by state, Wallace said he did not have information on an allocation and that PSLF operates on an individual participation basis rather than a state block allocation.

A member asked whether internal state audit or payroll divisions could perform these services. Wallace said the contracted firm’s expertise and capacity would be preferable to hiring additional state staff. The chair then asked for a motion to approve agenda item 3; at the end of the transcript provided, a motion had not been recorded and no vote tally appears.