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.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3531
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 28, 2025
___________
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.
LBD07062-01-5
S. 3531 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 their chief or company director verifying the
24 recipient's participation in emergency calls is at or above twenty-five
25 percent for the prior year.
26 4. Contract. (a) A recipient shall sign a contract with the office to
27 have their full award converted to a student loan according to a sched-
28 ule to be determined by the office if such recipient fails to fulfill
29 the requirements set out in subdivision three of this section unless
30 such requirement is waived by the commissioner. The terms and conditions
31 of the contract shall be established by the rules and regulations by the
32 office. A waiver issued by the commissioner shall only be for up to one
33 year of requirements and must be renewed by the commission to waive
34 requirements for additional years. Any obligation to comply with such
35 provisions as outlined in this paragraph shall be cancelled upon the
36 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 the requirements
42 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. 3531 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.
