Right now, if a doctor or nurse falls behind on paying their student loans, Florida can revoke their license. Rep. Mike Beltran (R-Valrico) says the practice doesn’t make sense.
“First I want to note the fairly obvious problem that the current state of the law causes, which is you’re taking away the livelihood of people who are already have trouble paying their debts," Beltran says. "The proper way to collect on a debt if there’s a problem is to sue on the note, get a judgement and then garnish the wages of the professional who is hopefully gainfully employed."
During a meeting of the House Health Quality Subcommittee several lawmakers expressed surprised at the practice. The committee voted in favor of a bill prohibiting state agencies from denying, suspending, or revoking a professional’s license based on their student loan payments.
