A bill is being introduced in the Ohio Legislature that would halt the collection of student and medical debt owed to the state's universities and hospitals.
HB32 would mirror what is already being done with federal student loans and some federal debt: put collection on hold.
State Rep. Jessica Miranda (D-Forest Park) says many Ohioans who owe those debts are suffering during this pandemic and need the relief.
“It wouldn’t keep compounding this debt for folks who have it, in terms of interest and penalties, because we know people are going through a hard time right now," Miranda says. "The least we can do as a state is make sure this debt doesn’t become insurmountable where we can never get out from underneath it."
Miranda says she doesn’t yet know how much it will cost the state, but expects to have those figures when the bill gets consideration by a legislative committee. State Rep. Catherine Ingram (D-Cincinnati) is a co-sponsor of the bill.
The bill faces little chance of passage in Ohio's Republican-dominated legislature.
