Bill Text: NY A01568 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Expands the eligibility period for indigent legal service attorneys to receive certain loan forgiveness; increases loan reimbursement for certain attorneys who work in legal services with indigent clients.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 32-4)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-25 - print number 1568d [A01568 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A01568-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1568--D 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 17, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SIMON, EPSTEIN, DINOWITZ, MAGNARELLI, TANNOUSIS, McDONOUGH, JACKSON, CRUZ, KELLES, BURGOS, STIRPE, WALKER, FORREST, RAGA, SEAWRIGHT, SHIMSKY, JACOBSON, LAVINE, HEVESI, LUNSFORD, ALVAREZ, REYES, CARROLL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommit- ted to said committee -- again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Higher Education in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the New York state district attorney and indigent legal services attorney loan forgive- ness program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph b of subdivision 2 of section 679-e of the 2 education law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56 of the 3 laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows: 4 b. "Eligible period" means the [six-year] eight-year period after 5 completion of the [third] second year and before the commencement of the 6 [tenth] eleventh year of employment as an eligible attorney. For 7 purposes of this section, all periods of time during which an admitted 8 attorney was employed as an eligible attorney and all periods of time 9 during which a law school graduate awaiting admission to the New York 10 state bar was employed by a prosecuting [or] agency, criminal defense 11 agency, non-profit indigent civil legal services corporation as permit- 12 ted by section four hundred eighty-four of the judiciary law shall be 13 combined. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02878-09-4A. 1568--D 2 1 § 2. Paragraph d of subdivision 2 of section 679-e of the education 2 law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56 of the laws of 3 2009, is amended to read as follows: 4 d. "Year of qualified service" means the twelve month period measured 5 from the anniversary of the attorney's employment as an eligible attor- 6 ney, or as a law school graduate awaiting admission to the New York 7 state bar employed by a prosecuting [or] agency, criminal defense 8 agency, non-profit indigent civil legal services corporation as permit- 9 ted by section four hundred eighty-four of the judiciary law, adjusted 10 for any interruption in employment. Vacation or leave time provided by 11 the employer or leave taken for a condition that is a qualifying reason 12 for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. 13 2612(a)(1) and (3) shall not be considered an interruption in qualifying 14 employment. Any period of [temporary leave from service] interruption in 15 qualifying employment taken by an eligible attorney shall not be consid- 16 ered in the calculation of qualified service. However, the period of 17 [temporary leave shall be considered an] interruption in qualifying 18 employment and the calculation of the time period of qualified service 19 shall recommence when the eligible attorney returns to [full time] 20 service. 21 § 3. Paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 679-e of the education 22 law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56 of the laws of 23 2009, is amended to read as follows: 24 a. An eligible attorney may apply for reimbursement after the 25 completion of each year of qualified service provided however that 26 reimbursement to each eligible attorney shall not exceed [three thousand27four hundred] eight thousand dollars, per qualifying year, subject to 28 appropriations available therefor. The president may establish: (i) an 29 application deadline and (ii) a method of selecting recipients if in any 30 given year there are insufficient funds to cover the needs of all the 31 applicants. Awards shall be within the amounts appropriated for such 32 purpose and based on availability of funds. 33 § 4. Paragraph b of subdivision 3 of section 679-e of the education 34 law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56 of the laws of 35 2009, is amended to read as follows: 36 b. An eligible attorney may apply after the completion of the [fourth] 37 second year of qualified service, and annually thereafter after the 38 completion of the [fifth] third through [ninth] eleventh year of quali- 39 fied service, and may seek a student loan expense grant for only the 40 previous year of qualified service within the time periods prescribed by 41 the president. An eligible attorney may receive student loan expense 42 grants for no more than [six] eight years of qualified service within an 43 eligible period. 44 § 5. This act shall take effect April 1, 2025. Nothing in this act 45 shall be implemented in a manner that diminishes the current award or 46 status of eligible attorneys currently participating in the program.