Bill Text: NY S05167 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates a volunteer firefighter scholarship program and a volunteer firefighter scholarship fund; rewards volunteer firefighters who respond to twenty-five percent of emergency calls for eight years with a student loan award equal to four times the SUNY tuition rate; makes an appropriation therefor.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S05167 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S05167-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5167

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 23, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  ORTT  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance

        AN ACT to amend the education law and the state finance law, in relation
          to creating a volunteer firefighter scholarship program and  a  volun-
          teer fire fighter scholarship fund; and making an appropriation relat-
          ing therefor

          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  669-i
     2  to read as follows:
     3    §  669-i.  Volunteer firefighter scholarship program. 1.  Eligibility.
     4  (a) A volunteer firefighter scholarship award shall be made to an appli-
     5  cant who:
     6    (i) serves as an active volunteer firefighter as defined  in  subdivi-
     7  sion one of section two hundred fifteen of the general municipal law who
     8  has attended twenty-five percent of emergency calls for each year; and
     9    (ii)  complies  with the applicable provisions of this article and all
    10  requirements promulgated by the office of higher education,  hereinafter
    11  referred to as the "office", for the administration of the program.
    12    (b) Student loans eligible for this program are:
    13    (i) student loans accrued while attending a private or public institu-
    14  tion  of higher education within New York state from which the recipient
    15  received credits which were used to acquire a bachelor's  degree  at  an
    16  approved program; or
    17    (ii)  student loans accrued while attending an accredited trade school
    18  or vocational program within New York state  from  which  the  recipient
    19  received a certificate or license.
    20    2.  Amount.  Within  amounts appropriated therefor and based on avail-
    21  ability of funds, awards shall be granted to applicants that the  office
    22  has  determined  are  eligible  to receive such awards. The office shall
    23  grant such awards in an amount up to four times the current tuition rate

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05500-01-3
        S. 5167                             2

     1  at a state university of New York college. Upon notification of an award
     2  under this program, the office shall pay the interest on the recipient's
     3  student loans for eight years and, upon the completion of the  program's
     4  requirements,  any  remaining  student loan interest and principal up to
     5  four times the current tuition rate at a state university  of  New  York
     6  college.  If the amount of the recipient's remaining student loan inter-
     7  est and principal is less than four times the current tuition rate at  a
     8  state  university  of  New  York  college  at the end of the program, an
     9  amount equal to the  difference  between  (a)  four  times  the  current
    10  tuition  rate  at  a state university of New York college or the initial
    11  principal on the recipient's student loans, whichever is less,  and  (b)
    12  the  amount  of  principal  and  interest paid at the end of the program
    13  shall be issued to the recipient. In the event that a recipient fails to
    14  maintain eligibility in the program, no further payments shall  be  made
    15  until the recipient again becomes eligible for the program.
    16    3.  Conditions.  (a)  A recipient shall agree to reside exclusively in
    17  New York state and shall not be employed in any other state,  for  eight
    18  years.
    19    (b) A recipient shall be an active volunteer firefighter as defined in
    20  subdivision  one of section two hundred fifteen of the general municipal
    21  law who has attended twenty-five percent of  emergency  calls  for  each
    22  year, for eight years. The recipient shall annually submit to the office
    23  an  affidavit  signed  by his or her chief or company director verifying
    24  the recipient's participation in emergency calls is at or above  twenty-
    25  five percent for the prior year.
    26    4.  Contract. (a) A recipient shall sign a contract with the office to
    27  have his or her full award converted to a student loan  according  to  a
    28  schedule  to  be  determined  by  the  office if such recipient fails to
    29  fulfill the requirements set out in subdivision three  of  this  section
    30  unless  such  requirement  is  waived by the commissioner. The terms and
    31  conditions of the contract shall be established by the rules  and  regu-
    32  lations by the office. A waiver issued by the commissioner shall only be
    33  for up to one year of requirements and must be renewed by the commission
    34  to  waive  requirements  for  additional years. Any obligation to comply
    35  with such provisions as outlined in this paragraph  shall  be  cancelled
    36  upon the death of the recipient.
    37    (b)  The commissioner may, in extreme circumstances including, but not
    38  limited to, temporary or permanent disability, illness and family  emer-
    39  gency  resulting in relocation or extended family leave, waive an amount
    40  of the award converted into a student loan equal to the  amount  of  the
    41  award  multiplied  by  the  years  the  recipient  fulfilled  his or her
    42  requirements under subdivision three of this section divided by eight.
    43    (c) Notwithstanding any provisions of this paragraph to the  contrary,
    44  the  office is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to provide
    45  for the waiver or suspension of any  financial  obligation  which  would
    46  involve extreme hardship.
    47    5. Recipient selection. The office shall establish: (a) an application
    48  deadline of within two years of completing a qualifying course of study;
    49  (b)  a  method  of  selecting  recipients if in any given year there are
    50  insufficient funds to cover the needs of  all  the  applicants  provided
    51  that priority shall be given to eligible applicants; and (c) a method of
    52  recording how much each recipient owes in student loans at any time, how
    53  much  each recipient had taken out in principal in student loans and how
    54  much has been paid on each recipient's student loans by the program.
    55    6. Rules and regulations. The office is authorized to promulgate rules
    56  and regulations, and may promulgate emergency regulations, necessary for
        S. 5167                             3

     1  the implementation of the provisions of this section including, but  not
     2  limited  to, the criteria for distributing the awards, which may include
     3  a lottery or other form of random selection.
     4    § 2.  The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 91-e to
     5  read as follows:
     6    §  91-e.  Volunteer  firefighter  scholarship fund. 1. There is hereby
     7  established in the joint  custody  of  the  state  comptroller  and  the
     8  commissioner  of  taxation and finance a fund to be known as the "volun-
     9  teer firefighter scholarship fund".
    10    2. Such fund shall consist of  all  revenues  received  from  contrib-
    11  utions,  donations and all other moneys appropriated, credited or trans-
    12  ferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law.
    13    3. Moneys of the fund, following appropriation by the legislature, may
    14  be expended for the volunteer  firefighter  scholarship  program  estab-
    15  lished  pursuant  to  section  six hundred sixty-nine-i of the education
    16  law. Moneys shall be paid out of the fund on the audit  and  warrant  of
    17  the  state  comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the commis-
    18  sioner of education.
    19    § 3. The sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000), or so  much  thereof
    20  as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the volunteer firefighter
    21  scholarship  fund  as  established pursuant to section 91-e of the state
    22  finance law from any moneys in the state treasury in the general fund to
    23  the credit of the account not otherwise appropriated  for  services  and
    24  expenses  of the account for the purposes of carrying out the provisions
    25  of this act. Such moneys shall be payable on the audit  and  warrant  of
    26  the comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the commissioner of
    27  education in the manner prescribed by law.
    28    § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    29  it shall have become a law.