On Jan. 14, Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, Higher Education Commissioner Larry Pogemiller and several state lawmakers held a conference call statewide about student loan debt.

The state officials discussed with the media their new bill to save college graduates potentially hundreds of dollars a month on their student debt.

This bill, passed in 2014, aims to repair the damage done to the 882,000 Minnesota borrowers by the 2008 recession. This comes after another effort to help ease the burden of student loan debt, freezing tuition in many Minnesota schools.

“This [freezing tuition] helped a little with the debt, and we’re hoping that this bill will help even more,” said one state lawmaker.

Of course, this potential for savings comes with requirements. In order to save, one must be a current Minnesota resident with a finished degree. They must have established credit and a FICO score of 720 or better or a co-signer with that score.

This potential does not apply to current college students, nor does it apply to one who does not live in Minnesota.

Minnesota is fourth or fifth in the nation for student debt, and someone with $70,000 in debt with a 9 percent interest rate can save up to $350 dollars in debt.

The application is available online and officials say that they are test-driving the application right now.

Writers of the bill say that Minnesota is on the leading edge of helping relieve college debt in the nation with the passing of this bill.

“Minnesota’s number one asset is our educated workforce,” said Pogemiller. “If the threat of drowning in debt is a hindrance to getting educated, then we must do all we can to alleviate that threat.”

Overall, this bill will help college graduates with the crushing debt that they can face, and will hopefully expand in the future to help those who do not meet the criteria.