The General Assembly finds that many attorneys graduate from law school with substantial education debt; that the debt that saddles law school graduates prohibits many from considering public interest work; that Georgia law firms, on average, pay first year associates more than twice the entry level salary for public interest work; that a need exists for public interest entities to hire competent attorneys; that the public is better served by competent and qualified attorneys working in the area of public interest; and that programs providing for education loan forgiveness to encourage law students and other attorneys to seek employment in the area of public interest would better enable public interest entities to attract and retain experienced and qualified attorneys.Added by 2002 Ga. Laws 914, § 1, eff. 7/1/2002.