Bill Text: NY A03149 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Authorizes the department of veterans' affairs to provide eligible veterans with financial assistance for purchasing, training and the upkeep of service dogs and emotional support dogs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to veterans' affairs [A03149 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A03149-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3149 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 2, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. HUNTER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs AN ACT to amend the veterans' services law, in relation to authorizing the department of veterans' services to provide eligible veterans with financial assistance for purchasing, training and the upkeep of service dogs and emotional support dogs The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The veterans' services law is amended by adding a new 2 section 29-b to read as follows: 3 § 29-b. Service dog and emotional support dog grant assistance. 1. 4 For the purposes of this section, the term "service dog" shall have the 5 same meaning as provided for in subdivision seven of section forty-sev- 6 en-b of the civil rights law. 7 2. For the purposes of this section, the term "emotional support dog" 8 shall mean a dog providing therapeutic support to an owner. 9 3. The department shall provide eligible veterans with: (a) grant 10 assistance of up to seven thousand five hundred dollars for the purchase 11 and training of a service dog from an organization providing service 12 dogs for post-traumatic stress disorder and/or traumatic brain injury; 13 or (b) grant assistance of up to five thousand dollars for the purchase 14 and training of a service dog from a professional service dog trainer or 15 an owner-trainer. The department shall provide eligible veterans receiv- 16 ing grant assistance pursuant to this subdivision with an amount of not 17 less than fifty dollars a month for the continued upkeep of the service 18 dog as long as the eligible veteran is in possession of the service dog. 19 4. The department shall provide eligible veterans with grant assist- 20 ance of up to five hundred dollars for the purchase and training of an 21 emotional support dog, as well as an amount of not less than thirty-five 22 dollars a month for the continued upkeep of the emotional support dog as EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07812-01-3A. 3149 2 1 long as the eligible veteran is in possession of the emotional support 2 dog. 3 5. To be eligible to receive grant assistance under this section, an 4 individual must: 5 (a) be a veteran, which, for the purposes of this section, shall mean 6 resident of this state who served on active duty in the United States 7 army, navy, marine corps, air force, coast guard or the reserves compo- 8 nent, or who served in active military service of the United States as a 9 member of the army national guard, air national guard, New York guard or 10 New York naval militia, who was released from such service other than by 11 dishonorable discharge; 12 (b) receive a diagnosis from a licensed physician or licensed mental 13 health professional of post-traumatic stress disorder, a traumatic brain 14 injury, or both, causing a disability as that term is defined in subdi- 15 vision twenty-one of section two hundred ninety-two of the executive 16 law; 17 (c) receive a letter from a licensed physician or licensed mental 18 health provider certifying that the individual would benefit from the 19 use of a service dog or emotional support dog; and 20 (d) have an annual income of fifty thousand dollars or less. 21 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 22 it shall have become a law; provided however, if section 2 of part PP of 23 chapter 56 of the laws of 2022 shall not have taken effect on or before 24 such date, this act shall take effect on the same date and in the same 25 manner as such section of such part of such chapter of the laws of 2022 26 takes effect. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 27 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 28 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 29 on or before such effective date.