Bill Text: NY A02154 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Expands the veterans tuition awards program to allow the transfer of unused benefits to a spouse, survivor or child; defines terms.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-3)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to higher education [A02154 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A02154-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2154

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 23, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Higher Education

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to expanding the veterans
          tuition  awards  program to allow the transfer of unused benefits to a
          spouse, survivor or child

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.   This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Veteran
     2  Family Educational Attainment Act".
     3    § 2. Subdivision  1  of  section 669-a of the education law is amended
     4  by adding five new paragraphs g, h, i, j, and k to read as follows:
     5    g.  "Immediate family" means a spouse, child or survivor of  a  quali-
     6  fied veteran.
     7    h.  "Qualified  veteran"  means  a  veteran  who  would be eligible to
     8  receive tuition awards if he or she satisfied the enrollment and  appli-
     9  cation  requirements    set   forth in paragraph a of subdivision two of
    10  this section.
    11    i. "Spouse" or "domestic partner" means: (i) a person who is  a  resi-
    12  dent  of this state, and (ii) a person who has a legal relationship with
    13  a qualified veteran permitted under the laws of this state and the  city
    14  of  New  York  for  couples  who  have  a  close  and committed personal
    15  relationship or a person who has  a  legal  marriage  with  a  qualified
    16  veteran  permitted under the laws of the state and city of New York, and
    17  (iii) whose qualified veteran has not elected  to  utilize  his  or  her
    18  benefit.
    19    j.  "Survivor"  means:  (i)  a person who is a resident of this state,
    20  (ii) married to a qualified veteran who died as  a  result  of  military
    21  service,  (iii)  married  the  qualified veteran within fifteen years of
    22  discharge from his or her military service in which the cause of  death,
    23  disease  or  injury  started  or  was  aggravated, or was married to the
    24  veteran for at least one year, or had a child with the qualified veteran

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01348-01-3
        A. 2154                             2

     1  and lived together with the veteran  continuously  until  the  veteran's
     2  death  or,  if  separated, was not at fault for the separation, and (iv)
     3  whose qualified veteran has not elected to utilize his or her benefit.
     4    k. "Child" means: (i) a person who is a resident of this state, (ii) a
     5  biological,  adopted,  foster  offspring, stepson or stepdaughter, legal
     6  ward, offspring of a domestic partner, or the person to whom the  quali-
     7  fied  veteran stands in loco parentis, and (iii) whose qualified veteran
     8  has not elected to utilize his or her benefit.
     9    § 3.  Section 669-a of the education law is amended by  adding  a  new
    10  subdivision 5 to read as follows:
    11    5.  a.  A  qualified  veteran who would be eligible to receive tuition
    12  awards if he or she satisfied the enrollment  and  application  require-
    13  ments  set  forth in paragraph a of subdivision two of this section, may
    14  elect to transfer all or a portion of the  tuition  award  such  veteran
    15  would have received to any one or more of such veteran's immediate fami-
    16  ly members.
    17    b.  A  veteran who elects to transfer his or her award shall designate
    18  the eligible immediate family member or members to whom  such  award  is
    19  being transferred and the number of months such transfer shall be effec-
    20  tive  for  each such dependent. Such designation shall be made on a form
    21  prescribed by the commissioner, shall be  appended  to  the  application
    22  specified in subdivision two of this section, and the commissioner shall
    23  make  the form and relevant information of this section available on the
    24  corporation's website.
    25    c. No eligible immediate family member to whom  a  transfer  has  been
    26  made  pursuant  to  this  subdivision  shall  receive a tuition award in
    27  excess of the award  available  to  an  individual  veteran  under  this
    28  section.
    29    §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
    30  have become a law.    Effective  immediately,  the  addition,  amendment
    31  and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
    32  of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are  authorized  to be made and
    33  completed on or before such effective date.