TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Spectrum News investigation could result in the passage of one of the first laws of the 2020 legislative session: ending the state’s ability to revoke or suspend professional licenses simply because of student loan default.

Spectrum News first reported in 2019 about a surge of many low wage health care workers being suspended, because they were defaulting on student loans.

“We actually, as a state, are serving as a de facto credit collection agency for student loan companies, and my reaction was, ‘Wow, we are spending resources to go after people to hinder their ability to make a living,' ” Democratic state Rep. Nick Duran of Miami said.

Duran is a main sponsor on House Bill 115 “Keep our Graduates Working Act,” which passed the House and Senate and is now headed for Gov. Ron DeSantis's desk for his signature into law.

“It’s a very simple concept,” Duran said. “The reason we decided to do this across the board is because it’s explicitly in law for the Department of Health, but we wanted to clearly state that is the case across the state of Florida, whatever the profession. We shouldn’t be doing this, and this just doesn’t make sense as a state.”

Both Democrats and Republicans support the bill as cosponsors, including Central Florida Rep. Kamia Brown (D-Orange), Anna Eskamani (D-Orange), Margaret Good (D-Sarasota), Dianne Hart (D-Hillsborough), Adam Hattersley (D-Hillsborough), Amy Mercado (D-Orange), Anthony Sabatini (R-Lake), Jennifer Webb (D-Pinellas), and Joy Goff-Marcil (D-Orange/Seminole).

Duran’s bill expands on a related proposal filed by Democratic state Rep. Joy Goff-Marcil of District 30, which includes parts of Orange and Seminole counties.

“I couldn’t believe this was in the law,” Goff-Marcil said. “It doesn’t make any sense at all.”

By The Numbers

Spectrum News spent more than five months analyzing publicly available data through the Florida Department of Health’s Discipline and Administration Actions database as well as annual and quarterly reports.

Those records revealed from July 2017 until January 30, 2020, the agency issued at least 478 Emergency Suspension Orders. Of those, at least 161 licenses were revoked because of student loan default.

The Health Department said about 900 licensed health care professionals were at risk of losing their licenses in the past two years because of loan defaults.

Spectrum News also found Florida is one of 12 states with a law allowing license revocations, but seemingly the only state actively enforcing the measure.

Officials in the 12 other states that allow license revocations due to student loan default — Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah — all told Spectrum News they have not revoked any medical licenses for student loan defaults in the past two years.