The board [commission [department]] shall be the guarantor under the Student Loan Guarantee Act [21-21-14 to 21-21-24 NMSA 1978] and shall have the following powers in furtherance of the guarantee loan [guaranteed-loan] program:

A. to guarantee the loan of money, upon such terms and conditions as the board may prescribe, to residents of this state who are attending or have been accepted for enrollment at an institution of higher education in this state or elsewhere, for the purpose of meeting expenses of higher education; provided, that such guarantees shall not be payable from funds received or to be received from state taxation. Loans may be guaranteed in amounts not to exceed the yearly or aggregate totals authorized by the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended;

B. to sue and be sued in the name of the board;

C. to adopt rules and regulations governing the guarantee of loans and any other matters relating to the activities of the board in connection with the Student Loan Guarantee Act;

D. to perform such other acts as may be necessary or appropriate in connection with the guarantee of loans;

E. to require that any loan guaranteed under the Student Loan Guarantee Act shall be repaid in such manner and at such time as the board prescribes;

F. to enter into such participation contracts, contracts for administrative services and guarantee agreements with the fiscal agent, with any other governmental agency of this state and any agency of the United States, including agreements for federal reinsurance of losses resulting from the bankruptcy, death, default or total and permanent disability of student borrowers, as are necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and to carry out its functions under the Student Loan Guarantee Act;

G. to receive and accept from any agency of the United States or from any individual, association or corporation, gifts, grants or donations of money for the purposes of the guaranteed-loan program;

H. to participate in any federal governmental program for guaranteed loans or subsidies to students and to receive, hold and disburse funds made available by any agency of the United States for the purpose or purposes for which they are made available;

I. to pay the federal government a portion of those funds obtained by the board from collection and recoupment of losses on defaulted loans in such amounts and in such manner as provided by any federal reinsurance agreement; and

J. to contract with private business concerns in any attempt to make recovery on defaulted loans.

History: 1978 Comp., § 21-21-17, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 110, § 4.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.

For designation of the commission on higher education as the higher education department, see 9-25-4.1 NMSA 1978.

Cross references. — For the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, see 20 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.