Bill Text: NY S01813 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes the volunteer firefighters and emergency medical service volunteer tuition assistance grant program; provides that counties shall have the option to establish such program by the enactment of a local law; provides for state reimbursement to counties for fifty percent of tuition assistance costs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION [S01813 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S01813-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1813
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 11, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a  volun-
          teer  firefighters  and  emergency  medical  service volunteer tuition
          assistance grant program
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 609-a
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 609-a. Volunteer firefighters and emergency medical  service  volun-
     4  teer  tuition assistance grant program. 1. For purposes of this section,
     5  the following terms shall have the following meanings:
     6    a. "volunteer firefighter" shall mean an active volunteer member of  a
     7  fire  company  of  a  county,  a fire company of a city, town or village
     8  located within such county, or a fire district fire  department  located
     9  within  such  county,  whether  or  not any such company is incorporated
    10  under any general or special law.
    11    b. "volunteer emergency  medical  service  personnel"  shall  mean  an
    12  active  volunteer member of any emergency medical service as established
    13  within a county, town, village or city or local tax district, whether or
    14  not any such service is incorporated under any general or special law.
    15    c. "at least a part-time basis" shall mean enrollment for at least six
    16  hours per semester or four hours per quarter.
    17    d. "tuition" shall mean the total semester, quarter or classroom  hour
    18  cost  of  instruction  to the student at a state-operated institution or
    19  community college, as defined pursuant to section three hundred fifty of
    20  this chapter, excluding mandatory fees, book charges and room and board.
    21    2. Any county within the state is hereby authorized, by the  enactment
    22  of   a   local   law,   to   establish   and   implement   a   volunteer
    23  firefighters/emergency  medical  service  volunteer  tuition  assistance
    24  grant    program    to   provide   tuition   assistance   to   volunteer
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00654-01-7
        S. 1813                             2
     1  firefighters/emergency medical service volunteers enrolled on at least a
     2  part-time basis at state-operated institutions or community colleges  as
     3  those  terms  are  defined in section three hundred fifty of this title.
     4  Any  program  established pursuant to this section shall provide tuition
     5  assistance  grants  to  such  volunteer  firefighters/emergency  medical
     6  service  volunteers  in  an  amount  up  to fifty percent of the tuition
     7  required to be paid to  such  state-operated  institution  or  community
     8  college by such firefighter/emergency medical service volunteer.
     9    3.  Any  county  which  establishes a volunteer firefighters/emergency
    10  medical service volunteer tuition assistance grant program  pursuant  to
    11  the  provisions  of this section shall be entitled to reimbursement from
    12  the state for one-half of the actual cost of tuition assistance paid  by
    13  such  county  to  volunteer  firefighters  or  emergency medical service
    14  personnel.
    15    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to academ-
    16  ic semesters, quarters and classroom hours beginning on or after January
    17  1, 2019.