Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) and his Assembly Minority colleagues today released their plan to make college more affordable for hardworking students and their families.

“The amount of debt we see students leaving school with today isn’t good for anyone. It isn’t good for our young people, it isn’t good for their families, and it isn’t good for our economy. We want to make the process of securing and paying back student loans more transparent, more flexible and more fair,” said Palmesano.

The Palmesano-backed bills will tackle student loan debt by:

• Establishing the “Learning for Work” program in New York high schools, which will accelerate career readiness by offering apprenticeships and enhanced professional degrees. This legislation encourages businesses to take on apprentices by offering a $1,500 tax credit (A.8695);
• Increasing transparency by requiring colleges and universities disclose certain financial statistics to students (A.8681);
• Creating a Student Loan Payment Tax Deduction of up to $4,000 for single filers; $6,000 for head of household filers; and $8,000 for married filers (A.8675);
• Endowing the Community College Merit and Mobility Scholarship Program, which offers the state’s top high school graduates $1,000/year scholarships to attend a New York State community college (A.8691); and
• Petitioning the federal government to sanction more options for refinancing federal student loan debt (K.00903).

“We need to make things easier for young people to further their education and start their careers. We want them to stay in New York and contribute to our local communities. We want them to raise their families here. This is a small step that we can take here in Albany that could have a big impact on their quality of life,” said Palmesano.

This package of bills is Palmesano’s latest effort to make higher education more cost effective and accessible. He is a staunch supporter of the Firemen’s Association of New York (FASNY) HELP Program, an initiative that provides tuition reimbursement as a recruitment and retention incentive for members of volunteer fire departments.