(AP) — A legislative panel will consider a bill this year that would make college loans for graduate degrees tax-deductible in Nebraska.

Sen. Paul Schumacher introduced a measure Friday that would allow taxpayers to deduct the principal paid on loans used to obtain a graduate degree. The deduction would only apply for the first 10 years after a resident had earned the degree.

Schumacher says he proposed the bill after talking with a young woman who grew up in Nebraska, earned a law degree out-of-state, and returned with about $100,000 in student debt.

He argues that a similar deduction was given to Nebraska’s state-sponsored college savings plan, but that plan assumes that parents and grandparents have enough money to save ahead of time.