Bill Text: NY A04607 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Enacts the higher education community service act to promote volunteer service by higher education students; creates a council for higher education community service to regulate and recognize persons and programs associated therewith; requires a report to the governor, temporary president of the senate and speaker of the assembly.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to higher education [A04607 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A04607-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4607 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 3, 2017 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, RIVERA, SCHIMMINGER, ORTIZ, GUNTHER, MOYA -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CURRAN, CYMBROWITZ, GALEF, HOOPER, MAGEE, PERRY, WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the "higher education community service act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds and 2 declares that the American tradition of volunteer community service is 3 essential to the common good and is vital to the success of not-for- 4 profit agencies, institutions and organizations dealing with a vast 5 array of critical social problems. It recognizes growing support for the 6 idea that postsecondary students should receive recognition for substan- 7 tial commitment to volunteer service, and should be given greater 8 encouragement to participate in volunteer community service activities. 9 Volunteers and volunteer programs should be praised for their efforts in 10 helping and serving others, which result in changes in the way the 11 community views young people and in the way young people view their 12 responsibilities to the community. 13 The legislature further declares its desire to promote further inte- 14 gration of community service at institutions of higher education by 15 encouraging student-initiated and student-designated community service 16 projects. 17 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 319 to read 18 as follows: 19 § 319. Higher education community service act. 1. Short title. This 20 section shall be known and may be cited as the "higher education commu- 21 nity service act". 22 2. Establishment of higher education community service act. There is 23 hereby established a higher education community service act for the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03648-01-7A. 4607 2 1 purpose of promoting and recognizing volunteer service involvement by 2 students in higher education. Activities conducted under the higher 3 education community service act shall include: 4 a. a campus based screening process to identify and nominate success- 5 ful and promising community service projects and initiatives for recog- 6 nition; 7 b. identification of existing quality community service programs, 8 projects and initiatives involving postsecondary students that produce a 9 sense of social responsibility and commitment to the community; 10 c. incentives for institutions of higher education, students and other 11 members of the college community to participate in long term community 12 service programs; 13 d. encouragement of institutions to formulate a systematic process to 14 disseminate information concerning prospective volunteer projects to the 15 participants of general volunteer programs on or off campus; 16 e. establishment of a foundation to receive private funds to be used 17 to promote a wide variety of service related projects. Private funds 18 shall include, but not be limited to donations, grants and fundraisers; 19 and 20 f. establishment of a three-year program of implementation, including 21 pilot programs and ongoing review and evaluation. 22 3. Establishment of volunteer connections. The commissioner, in 23 consultation with the chancellor of the state university, the chancellor 24 of the city university of New York and the president of the commission 25 on independent colleges and universities shall develop a program to 26 establish effective volunteer connections between institutions of higher 27 education and their respective communities. 28 4. Council for higher education community service. a. A council for 29 higher education community service shall be established within the 30 department for the purpose of conducting activities pursuant to this 31 section. The council shall be composed of eleven members, one of whom 32 shall be the commissioner, ex officio, and ten of whom shall be 33 appointed by the governor: two on the recommendation of the temporary 34 president of the senate, two on the recommendation of the speaker of the 35 assembly, one on the recommendation of the minority leader of the 36 senate, and one on the recommendation of the minority leader of the 37 assembly. Such members shall include representatives of the state 38 university, city university of New York, the independent colleges and 39 universities of New York and the New York campus compact. Two of the 40 council members shall be students, selected by the governor. The coun- 41 cil shall select from among its appointed members a chair and vice chair 42 who shall serve in office for terms of one year and who shall be eligi- 43 ble for reelection for successive terms. 44 b. The council shall oversee the creation of a statewide postsecondary 45 community service center to disseminate information regarding existing 46 volunteer activities, make volunteer connections between students and 47 the communities, integrate public and community service into the curric- 48 ulum, provide guidance and coordination, monitor and evaluate volunteer 49 programs and activities and promote the continuation of public and 50 community service. 51 c. The council shall meet at least four times each year. Members of 52 the council shall receive no compensation for their services but shall 53 be reimbursed by the higher education community service foundation for 54 reasonable expenses actually and necessarily incurred by them in the 55 performance of their duties pursuant to this section.A. 4607 3 1 d. The council shall report by September first each year to the gover- 2 nor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assem- 3 bly on the progress of implementation of this section, with recommenda- 4 tions for future activities. 5 5. Petitioning by council. The council shall, within ninety days of 6 its appointment, petition the regents to incorporate as a private, not- 7 for-profit education corporation under this chapter, the New York foun- 8 dation for higher education community service, to receive funds to be 9 used as requested by the council to support and administer activities 10 authorized in this section, and other projects that encourage and assist 11 community service activities. 12 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of September next 13 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.