Under Evers' plan — which allocates $50,000 for the study — the advisory group would be required to submit a report to the governor and lawmakers with recommendations for the refinancing authority by Oct. 1, 2020. The authority would then be included in the 2021-23 budget, based on the advisory group's recommendations.

"This is a real crisis," said Analiese Eicher, executive director of longtime refinancing advocate One Wisconsin Now. "This is not just for borrowers, but it's for their families, on affording homes, affording cars, affording retirement, affording a child's education in addition to all the other daily costs that folks have in their lives."

The amount of student loan debt currently held by borrowers exceeds $1.5 trillion nationally and $24 billion in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin in 2017 had the sixth-highest percentage in the nation of graduates with student debt, at 64 percent, according to the Institute for College Access and Success. The average debt for someone with a bachelor's degree was about $29,000.

"How can young people get ahead if they can’t even keep up?" asked state treasurer Sarah Godlewski. "It’s time to come up with a pragmatic solution that works for everyone."