Bill Text: NY S01750 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Establishes the state financial literacy fund which provides funding for project grants to organizations in order to establish financial capability and financial literacy programs, products content and/or services for at-risk populations in New York.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-09 - REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO EDUCATION [S01750 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S01750-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         1750--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 13, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. SANDERS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance -- recommitted  to
          the  Committee  on  Banks  in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 --
          committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
          recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the state finance law and the education law, in relation
          to establishing the state financial literacy fund

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

     1    Section 1.  The state finance law is amended by adding a  new  section
     2  99-rr to read as follows:
     3    §  99-rr.  State financial literacy fund. 1. Notwithstanding any other
     4  provision of law, rule, regulation, or practice to the  contrary,  there
     5  is hereby established in the joint custody of the state comptroller, the
     6  attorney  general, and commissioner of taxation and finance a fund to be
     7  known as the "state financial literacy fund".
     8    2. For the purposes of this section, the following  terms  shall  have
     9  the following meanings:
    10    a.  "Financial capability" means: (i) financial literacy and access to
    11  appropriate financial products; and
    12    (ii)(A) the ability to act, including knowledge,  skills,  confidence,
    13  and motivation; and
    14    (B)  the  opportunity  to  act, through access to beneficial financial
    15  products and institutions.
    16    b. "Financial literacy" means the ability to use knowledge and  skills
    17  to  manage  financial  resources effectively for a lifetime of financial
    18  well-being.
    19    c. "Organization" means a state agency, state authority or  an  organ-
    20  ization  that  possesses a federal tax exemption under section 501(c)(3)
    21  of the United States internal revenue code.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02476-02-4
        S. 1750--A                          2

     1    d. "Unbanked" means an individual not served by an insured institution
     2  in any capacity.
     3    e.  "Underbanked"  means  an  individual with an account at an insured
     4  institution  but  who  has  obtained  alternative,  nonbank,   financial
     5  services in the past twelve months.
     6    3.  Such  fund shall consist of all moneys collected by the state from
     7  courts of the unified court system pursuant to  article  twenty-four  of
     8  the insurance law and all other moneys appropriated, credited, or trans-
     9  ferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law. The moneys
    10  in  the  state  financial  literacy fund shall be kept separate from and
    11  shall not be commingled with any other moneys  in  the  custody  of  the
    12  state comptroller.
    13    4.  Beginning on April first, two thousand twenty-five and annually on
    14  April first each year thereafter, the attorney general shall transfer  a
    15  sum up to one million dollars, subject to available funding, from moneys
    16  pursuant to subdivision three of this section.
    17    5. Moneys of such fund shall be made available to the attorney general
    18  and  shall  be used for project grants to duly applying organizations to
    19  establish  financial  capability  and   financial   literacy   programs,
    20  products,  content  and/or services for at-risk populations in New York.
    21  The attorney general shall establish the application criteria  for  such
    22  organizations for the purposes of the fund as defined in this section.
    23    6.  Moneys  in such fund shall only be expended for a grant to provide
    24  the following financial  capability  and  financial  literacy  programs,
    25  products, content and/or services:
    26    a.  to design, develop and/or offer free classroom or web based finan-
    27  cial education content intended  to  help  an  unbanked  or  underbanked
    28  consumer  (i) achieve, identify and access lower cost financial products
    29  and services; (ii) establish or improve  their  credit;  (iii)  increase
    30  their saving or retirement funds; or (iv) lower their debt;
    31    b.  to  provide individualized, free financial coaching to an unbanked
    32  or underbanked consumer;
    33    c. to design, develop and/or  offer  free  financial  products  and/or
    34  services  intended to help an unbanked or underbanked consumer (i) iden-
    35  tify and access responsible financial products and services; (ii) estab-
    36  lish or improve their credit; (iii) increase their saving or  retirement
    37  funds; or (iv) lower their debt; or
    38    d. to design, develop and/or offer free classroom-based programs to be
    39  implemented  in  the  state  education  system to increase the financial
    40  capability and financial education of the state's youth.
    41    7. a. Every organization awarded a  project  grant  pursuant  to  this
    42  section shall:
    43    (i) promote and enhance the economic security of consumers;
    44    (ii)  include an evaluation component which is designed to measure and
    45  document the extent to which such project achieved its intended  outcome
    46  and  increased  financial  well-being  of  consumers  who  utilized such
    47  project; and
    48    (iii) submit an annual report to the attorney general documenting:
    49    (A) the specific uses to which such funds were allocated;
    50    (B) the number of individual consumers aided through the use  of  such
    51  funds;
    52    (C)  the  quantitative  results  regarding  the impact of such project
    53  grant; and
    54    (D) any other information requested by the attorney general.
        S. 1750--A                          3

     1    b. Failure to submit a report pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of  para-
     2  graph  a  of  this subdivision shall render such organization ineligible
     3  for project grant funding during the subsequent fiscal year.
     4    c. The attorney general shall post annually on their website a summary
     5  of  the  annual reports received pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of para-
     6  graph a of this subdivision.
     7    8. The moneys shall be payable from the fund on the audit and  warrant
     8  of the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commission-
     9  er of the division of human rights.
    10    §  2.  The  education  law is amended by adding a new section 803-c to
    11  read as follows:
    12    § 803-c. Instruction relating to financial literacy. 1. The department
    13  shall require that a school district incorporate into the social studies
    14  curriculum for each of the grades kindergarten through  eight  financial
    15  literacy instruction for pupils enrolled in such grades.  The purpose of
    16  such  instruction  shall be to provide students with the basic financial
    17  literacy necessary for sound financial decision-making.
    18    2. The instruction shall meet  the  requirements  established  by  the
    19  department and shall:
    20    a.  be  appropriate  to, and reflect the age and comprehension of, the
    21  students enrolled in the particular grade level; and
    22    b. include content associated with personal  financial  responsibility
    23  as determined by the department.
    24    3.  The  commissioner  shall  provide  school  districts  with  sample
    25  instructional materials and resources that may be used  to  support  the
    26  implementation of the financial literacy instruction requirement.
    27    §  3.  Section  305  of  the  education law is amended by adding a new
    28  subdivision 57 to read as follows:
    29    57. The commissioner is authorized to  develop  a  concise  course  of
    30  instruction  in financial literacy and personal financial management and
    31  require that such course be completed by students  prior  to  graduation
    32  from  high  school.  Such course of instruction may be incorporated into
    33  other class work or courses of instruction provided  to  such  students.
    34  The  financial  literacy  course  shall  include content associated with
    35  personal  financial  responsibility,  financial  literacy  and  personal
    36  financial management as determined by the commissioner.
    37    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.