Senate Bill 21, introduced by Senator Bill Gannon, would create a student‑loan assistance program to recruit and retain New Hampshire State Troopers by paying up to $10,000 annually toward qualifying student loan debt for eligible new hires. The sponsor said the program is modeled on a recent nursing retention program and meant to attract college‑educated recruits.

Senator Gannon said his original drafting sought $40,000 in total assistance (roughly $10,000 a year for four years) but that a printed draft contained different numbers; he asked the committee and staff to clarify the intended dollar amounts. He said the measure’s focus was new hires for the State Police because current vacancies for troopers were an immediate problem; he noted roughly 62 trooper vacancies as of the hearing and said including all municipal police in the proposal would greatly increase cost.

Supporters and fiscal questions: Jonathan Melanson, representing the New Hampshire Troopers Association, and a State Police representative testified in support and urged full funding of the program so it operates as an effective recruitment and retention tool rather than a limited dollar appropriation that could create confusion. State Police testimony supplied staffing data: the department said it is fully staffed at 362 troopers when at capacity, currently shows about 62 vacancies, recorded 67 retirements and 52 resignations over the past four years (119 total losses), and hired 109 probationary troopers in that period. Over the last two years the State Police hired 61 troopers, of whom 43 had at least 60 college credits (the department’s minimum hiring standard includes two years prior LE experience, two years active military or 60 college credits).

Opposition and concerns: A private citizen testified in opposition to industry‑specific loan forgiveness, calling it preferential treatment that could create moral‑hazard concerns and arguing broader pay and working‑condition changes are a better long‑term solution. Committee members asked technical questions about whether payments would be treated as taxable income and whether the program would pay loans directly to servicers or to recruits; witnesses said those details and a funding appropriation would be decided in Finance and through implementation rules and existing program models for nursing were available to guide administration.

Committee action: The committee held the public hearing and took testimony; no committee vote on the measure was recorded at the session’s close. The bill will proceed to finance and further committee consideration where funding and administrative details would be resolved.